How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
Perhaps the part of me that observed listlessly but saw all, missing nothing, was still the malicious, arguing part; the dissenting voice, my grandfather part; the cynical, disbelieving part – the traitor self that always threatened internal discord. Whatever it was, I knew I'd have to keep it pressed down. I had to. For if I were successful tonight, I'd be on the road to something big. (16.7)
The narrator is willing to suppress central parts of his identity in order to fulfill his ambition.
Quote #8
Still, I liked my work during those days of certainty. I kept my eyes wide and ears alert. The Brotherhood was a world within a world and I was determined to discover all the secrets and to advance as far as I could. I saw no limits, it was the one organization in the whole country in which I could reach the very top and I meant to get there. (17.199)
The narrator's ambitions have been transferred from wanting to be Bledsoe's assistant to reaching the top echelons of the Brotherhood. A large part of why the narrator overlooks the more fishy and disturbing aspects of the Brotherhood is that the organization provides an outlet for his ambition.