How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Sometimes it can seem as though kids always do better than their parents. You know—someone's dad was a coal miner, or whatever, but his son goes on to play for a Premiership team, or wins Pop Idol, or invents the Internet. (2.21)
Is it just us or does it seem like Sam is saying that winning a singing competition is better than being a coal miner? We're not knocking belting your heart out if you can carry a tune, but we'd also like to point out the fact that Sam's definitely making a classist judgment here.
Quote #2
They're all right, I suppose, Robert and Andrea, and they were really friendly at first. It's just that they think I'm stupid. They never say as much, and they try and treat me as if I'm not. But I can tell they do. (4.14)
Alicia's parents treat Sam like he's dumb, plain and simple. They might not come right out and say it, but it's clear they think he's from another world because his mom had him at sixteen and he skateboards. Their snap judgment about him based on his background hurts him and drives a wedge between him and Alicia.
Quote #3
That's what Alicia's mum should have said. "Not everybody has a future, Robert."
"I know not everybody is academic. I was just asking him what he wanted to do," said Robert. (4.19-20)
Sam might not have a future as a Harvard professor, but he's not dumb either. He picks up on their not-so-subtle hints about how he's less than they are. It's also telling that Alicia's parents don't know their own daughter isn't academic either. She cares more about strutting her stuff as a model than she does about hitting the books.
Quote #4
"No, he is good, I know," said her mum. "But sometimes, if you don't… If you haven't…"
Alicia started to laugh. "Go on, Mum. Try and finish the sentence in a way that doesn't piss Sam off." (4.31-32)
When Alicia's parents claim Sam doesn't have a future, he's understandably upset. Little does he realize that his own mom will claim the same thing after she learns about the pregnancy. It might make Sam upset to hear it, but he doesn't do anything to stop it from coming true.
Quote #5
Alicia's mum told her dad off for what he'd said, and he apologized. I knew I wasn't going to forget it, though. "You people." Which people? The people who have babies when they're sixteen? What kind of people are they? (9.234)
The gloves come off when Robert learns his daughter is knocked up. We'd like to point out that he doesn't yell at Alicia for her part in the pregnancy, though, instead turning it into a class issue. It's more about the fact that Sam and "his people" are low and get people pregnant at a young age. Yikes.
Quote #6
I knew what they thought of me. They thought I was some hoodie chav who'd messed up their daughter's future, and they sort of hated me for it. I know it sounds funny, but I could understand that. I mean, I certainly hadn't helped, had I? (11.3)
We appreciate that Sam is so candid with us, especially in telling us that he gets the Burns' viewpoint of him. The only problem? If he thinks of himself as less than Alicia even though they both played a role in getting pregnant, he only helps perpetuate the stereotype about his family. Got to push back, Sam.
Quote #7
But I still had to listen to Alicia's mum going on about how badly everything had affected her, and how unfair it was that the boys just float through everything as if it wasn't happening. I didn't bother telling her that when I first met Alicia, she told me she wanted to be a model. That wasn't what her mum and dad wanted to hear. (13.62)
After their tests at school, Alicia's parents hate Sam even more—if that's possible. They blame him for the fact that their daughter bombs her tests, even though he knows there's more to it than that. The fact that their daughter is pregnant is all they can see at this point, and in their minds this is all Sam's fault.
Quote #8
"I'm not offering an opinion about your family," said Alicia's mum. "I'm just talking about the facts."
"And what are the facts about this baby?" said my mum. "He's not an hour old yet." (14.118-119)
Alicia's mom and Sam's mom duke it out in the hospital room over the baby's name. No, not Rufus—his last name. When Alicia's mom brings up "facts," she is really insinuating that Sam isn't the most reliable and responsible guy because of where he comes from. Now do you see why Sam's mom freaks out?
Quote #9
"Yeah, well," I said. "My dad's not like that. My dad…" I didn't know where to begin, really. I was embarrassed to say that my dad hated people from Europe and all that. (17.15)
There's no shortage of opinions about race and class when it comes to Sam's dad. Luckily we don't hear most of it, and instead Sam straight up tells us his dad does it all the time. Sam is really embarrassed of how his dad treats people from other cultures, especially in this scene in the therapist's office.
Quote #10
Maybe Roof will get further up. That's the thing in our family. You know that if you mess up, there'll be another kid along in a minute who might do better. (19.24)
Sam hopes his kid will have a better life than he did. Aw, that's sweet. It also shows us how Sam views himself and the rest of his family: He thinks they are less than people who went to college and didn't have kids as teenager. Like, say, Alicia's parents…