How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from The Breakfast Club.
Quote #4
ANDREW: […] And my friends, they just laughed and cheered me on. And, afterwards, when I was sittin' in Vernon's office, all I could think about was Larry's father. And Larry havin' to go home and… and explain what happened to him. And the humiliation… f***ing humiliation he must've felt. It must've been unreal… I mean, I mean, how do you apologize for something like that? There's no way… it's all because of me and my old man. Oh, God, I f***ing hate him! He's like this… he's like this mindless machine that I can't even relate to anymore. "Andrew, you've got to be number one! I won't tolerate any losers in this family…. Your intensity is for s***! Win. Win! Win!!" You son of a b****! You know, sometimes, I wish my knee would give…and I wouldn't be able to wrestle anymore. And he could forget all about me.
Andrew's dad has been driving him to compete—maybe because he wants to relive his own athletic glory days through his son's success. But it seems like success is more important to Andrew's dad than Andrew himself is.
Quote #5
ANDREW: My God, are we gonna be like our parents?
CLAIRE: Not me… ever
ALLISON: It's unavoidable; it just happens.
CLAIRE: What happens?
ALLISON: When you grow up, your heart dies.
JOHN: So, who cares?
ALLISON: I care.
Allison doesn't want her heart to die—she wants to remain the sensitive young woman she apparently is. Unlike Claire and Andrew, Allison has no friends and isn't popular—but she's way more accepting of different kinds of people. She has feelings of real empathy. But she sees adults as being totally insensitive, locked up in themselves, and not open to reality. Whether this is a fair judgment or not, it definitely represents a genuine mindset.
Quote #6
ANDREW: Okay, fine... but I didn't dump my purse out on the couch and invite people into my problems... Did I? So what's wrong? What is it? Is it bad? Real bad? Parents?
ALLISON: Yeah... (Andrew nods.)
ANDREW: What do they do to you?
ALLISON: They ignore me...
Allison's parents ignore her. So, they're not abusing her like Bender's dad, or forcing her to compete against her will like Andrew's dad, or using her as a tool against each other like Claire's parents, or forcing her to get good grades like Brian's parents. They're just not paying any attention at all. So, this is part of why Allison seems so isolated and lonely—she's cut herself off from the world because she hasn't received the parental love she desires.