Teddy Wisdom and Knowledge Quotes

How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Section.Paragraph)

Quote #1

Teddy turned around at the waist, without changing the vigilant position of his feet on the Gladstone, and gave his father a look of inquiry, whole and pure. (1.4)

Teddy' s physicality is immediately contrasted with that of his father. The words "whole and pure" stand out as our initial impression of our main character.

Quote #2

During this little exchange, Teddy had faced around and resumed looking out of the porthole. "We passed the Queen Mary at three-thirty-two this morning, going the other way, if anybody's interested," he said slowly. "Which I doubt." (2.1)

Teddy is right – his parents are more interested in using him as battle territory than actually listening to what he has to say.

Quote #3

Teddy hesitated. "I said `rather' embarrassing. I qualified it." (2.9)

Teddy is interested in words and phrases, and in particular in using them properly. We see this again when he speaks with Ensign Matthewson. His preoccupation with words does seem a bit odd, since Teddy claims that intellectual matters are useless.