How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
He had given Tamkin his last money. There wasn't enough of it to cover his obligations anyway, and Wilhelm had reckoned that he might as well go bankrupt now as next month. "Either broke or rich," was how he had figured, and that formula had encouraged him to make the gamble. (4.29)
Call us kooky, but this decision actually seems to make a little bit of sense—a very little bit. After all: if you're going to go down, why not go down in a blaze of glory? Bon Jovi wouldn't have it any other way, and what's good enough for Bon Jovi is good enough for Wilhelm too. You might even say that Wilhelm has been…living on a prayer. Heh-heh.
Quote #5
"He says there's a reason why I can't go back to my old territory, and there is. I told everybody I was going to be an officer of the corporation. And I was supposed to. It was promised. But then they welshed me because of the son-in-law. I bragged and made myself look big."
"If you was humble enough, you could go back. But it doesn't make much difference. We'll make you a good living on the market." (4.111-112)
Although Wilhelm likes to tell himself—and others—that he doesn't have the option of going back to the Rojax Corporation, Dr. Adler, Margaret, and Tamkin all tell him that he does. That's three against one, but are they right? Could Wilhelm choose to return to work if he wanted to?
Quote #6
Kiss those seven hundred books good-by, and call it one more mistake in a long line of mistakes—Oh, Mama, what a line! (4.118)
How is it that Wilhelm can see the patterns of his life, but not be able to change them? If he knows he makes the same kinds of mistakes over and over, why does he keep making them?