Technology and Modernization Quotes in Angle of Repose

How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #1

As a modern and a one-legged man, I can tell you that the conditions are similar. (1.1.11)

That's a bold statement, Lyman. While it would be easy to dismiss this as some classic old-dude crankiness, Lyman has plenty of valid complaints about life in the modern world.

Quote #2

Rodman knows nothing whatever about Grandfather, nothing about his inventiveness or his genius for having big ideas twenty years ahead of their time. (1.1.34)

Lyman's son Rodman is naively convinced that he lives in the most progressive era in human history. What he doesn't realize is that his great-grandfather was a visionary himself back in the day: he was basically the Steve Jobs of mine engineering. Rodman should be thanking guys like him for building the world that he enjoys today.

Quote #3

It is not the Nevada City I knew as a boy. Towns are like people. Old ones often have character, the new ones are interchangeable. (1.7.3)

Lyman has more one-liners about modernization than he has pairs of pants—and everyone knows how much the dude loves a good pair of bell-bottoms. Jokes aside, it's hard to argue with his point; after all, we live in a time when the biggest attraction in most U.S. cities is a Walmart Supercenter.