How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from The Graduate.
Quote #7
[Shot of Ben reflected in the hotel room mirror watching TV, while Mrs. Robinson gets dressed and leaves the room.]
Eventually even the affair gets stale and leaves him feeling alienated and checked out. It's because he's not finding any meaning or connection with Mrs. Robinson. He knows this is not who he is. He feels alone even in bed with her.
Quote #8
BENJAMIN: You're the first…you're the first thing for so long that I've liked. The first person I could stand to be with.
[Elaine reaches over and puts her hand on his.]
Finally, Benjamin breaks through his alienation because Elaine understands what he's been feeling about his lack of direction. This is such a powerful experience for him that he falls in love with her immediately and devotes the rest of the film to pursuing her.
An obvious fact is that Elaine's the first person in his age group he's had contact with since he returned home. He hasn't looked up old friends from the neighborhood or contacted his buddies from college. He only got in touch with Elaine because of constant hounding by his parents and Mr. Robinson. Was he afraid that his friends and classmates were successfully moving ahead with their plans and this would upset him? Was he putting on a persona in college and hanging with people he really had nothing in common with? Or did he have no friends in college at all?