How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
He was shamefully idle, spiritless, sensual, snobbish. (2.6)
Yeah, this is a good description of Tom Tristram. But it's also how Newman perceives Tristram—which tells us even more about Newman's identity. Newman's #1 priority is being upwardly mobile and working hard. To him, Tristram seems more like a Persian cat than a man.
Quote #5
"I didn't know I had a social position, he said, and if I have, I haven't the smallest idea what it is." (4.1)
Okay, so Newman is fibbing a little bit. He's obsessed with his social position.
Quote #6
He had apparently once possessed a certain knowledge of English, and his accent was oddly tinged with the cockneyism of the British metropolis. (5.4)
Newman is just a little nostalgic for his American roots. He even finds reminders of his old identity in M. Nioche…even just because M. Nioche speaks good English.