How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Wilhelm thought, Here he is, Here he is. If only I could figure this guy out. (4.9)
Wilhelm doesn't trust Tamkin entirely, but he believes that some of what Tamkin says must be true. Whatever else he may know, Tamkin has a real talent for walking the thin line between fact and fiction.
Quote #2
This was the moment to take a new look at Tamkin, and he viewed him closely but gained nothing by the new effort. It was conceivable that Tamkin was everything that he claimed to be, and all the gossip false. But was he a scientific man, or not? If he was not, this might be a case for the district attorney's office to investigate. Was he a liar? That was a delicate question. Even a liar might be trustworthy in some ways. (4.14)
Wilhelm knows that Tamkin likes to brag and boast and make himself look big, but that doesn't mean that everything he says is a lie—does it?
Quote #3
What a creature Tamkin was when he took off his hat! The indirect light showed the many complexities of his bald skull, his gull's nose, his rather handsome eyebrows, his vain mustache, his deceiver's brown eyes. [. . .] At mid-body he was thick. He stood pigeon-toed, a sign perhaps that he was devious or had much to hide. (4.40)
In her Introduction to the 1996 Penguin Books edition of Seize the Day, American writer Cynthia Ozick remarks that in Saul Bellow's writing, we can find "a refreshed phrenology": i.e., a presentation of human heads, faces, and bodies as clear signs of the characters contained within. In her reading, Bellow's descriptions of Tamkin's head, face, and body tell us everything we need to know about the man inside.