How we cite our quotes: Chapter.Paragraph
Quote #1
My dating life seems to rotate around three types of men: preppy Ivy Leaguers who believe they're characters in a Fitzgerald novel; slick Wall Streeters with money signs in their eyes, their ears, their mouths; and sensitive smart-boys who are so self-aware that everything feels like a joke. (2.12)
Amy's view of the guys she dates reveals that she really doesn't have a whole lot of respect for them. This statement of the character traits they have in common makes it sound like she's putting them in three different packages, none of which allow them to be concerned with anything more than money or themselves. In a way, Amy's so self-centered that it isn't surprising she'd go for these guys—but at the same time, it suggests that her view of men is pretty limited and full of stereotypes.
Quote #2
My dad was a man of infinite varieties of bitterness, rage, distaste. In my lifelong struggle to avoid becoming him, I'd developed an inability to demonstrate much negative emotion at all […] It was a constant problem: too much control or no control at all. (7.76)
Nick's abusive father is a major force in Gone Girl's portrayal of masculinity. We don't know what happened to Bill Dunne in his own childhood to make him a candidate for anger management, but one thing's for sure: he did major damage to Nick's concept of himself as a man, particularly his ability to honestly express emotion.
Quote #3
"Double Lives: A Memoir of Ends and Beginnings will especially resonate with Gen X males, the original man-boys, who are just beginning to experience the stress and pressures involved with caring for aging parents. In Double Lives, I will detail:
My growing understanding of a once-troubled, distant father
My painful, forced transformation from a carefree young man into the head of a family as I deal with the imminent death of a much loved mother." (18.10-12)
This excerpt from the book proposal Amy finds on Nick's desktop shows more than Nick's desire to cash in on his current trauma through a potential runaway bestseller. While the voice in the proposal seems confident and self-assured in his identity as an only son providing for his parents and wife, we as readers know the truth.
He's not growing in understanding of his father. Amy claims he's shirking his responsibility as "head of the family," and really, the current circumstances haven't been as much of a life-changing wakeup call as, say, losing his job. Through the proposal, Nick's attempting to recreate an identity for himself as a man who is successful in all the areas he knows he's failing in.