How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I didn't watch that much TV, but I'd seen enough talk shows and soap operas and made-for-TV films to know that a middle-aged guy ditching his wife for a newer, hotter model was pretty standard operating procedure for middle-aged married guys. (1.27)
Well first of all, Bart, it sounds like you watch a lot of TV. Secondly, just because your father's a cliché doesn't make what he did less painful.
Quote #2
The girls were superkind to me, and some of them even cried when they saw me, but it just made me feel weak, like some pitiful freak loser. (2.35)
Bart seems appalled by open displays of emotion. Much better to keep it bottled up until it explodes in a totally inappropriate display of violence. Oh yeah, good plan.
Quote #3
He was slightly plump and balding, not at all the stately, Founding Fathers type you'd expect to be running a place like Baileywell. (3.4)
The Founding Fathers, eh? Somehow Shmoop feels skeptical that Bart would have found Dr. Bratton more impressive and manly had he been wearing a powdered wig.
Quote #4
It made me feel in control, grown-up. Manly. I thought that keeping my mouth shut was what Dad would have wanted. (3.12)
Bart thinks it's manly to repress his emotions. Unfortunately, this strategy doesn't work out for him in the long term.
Quote #5
Dr. Bratton sipped his coffee. All his gestures had a kind of delicate, chirpy grace that I couldn't quite put together with the headmaster of a school for many bullies and future masters of the universe. (3.23)
Bart seems to have some pretty entrenched ideas about masculinity. Must be all those soap operas he watches…
Quote #6
"I think the guy's about ten minutes away from being busted for downloading kiddie porn." (3.58)
Since Dr. Bratton hasn't passed Bart's manly man test, Bart seems to think he's a pedophile. Because that makes sense. Ugh.
Quote #7
"Watch it, okay?" he said. "No touching, F** Face." (4.55)
Hey there, rampant homophobia. This is what Tyro says when Bart accidentally bumps into him in the hall. Charming, right?
Quote #8
My cousin Suzanne painted my fingernails purple, and everyone laughed, except for my uncle Ernie, who for some reason bopped my gay cousin Billy—who'd had nothing to do with it—on the side of the head. (7.4)
Bart's purple fingernail days are long gone, but this anecdote provides a window into where some of his ideas about masculinity might come from. Thanks for nothing, Uncle Ernie.
Quote #9
He was smiling at me, too, a grin that seemed to say, Dude, I'm rich and powerful and confident enough to smile at anyone I choose, regardless of the circumstances, and that person will just have to smile back. (9.22)
Tyro's dad is a classic alpha male. Given Tyro's bullying, it seems like the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.