How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from The Graduate.
Quote #1
PILOT: Ladies and gentlemen, we are about to begin our descent into Los Angeles.
That just says it all. Returning home from college is a descent for Benjamin. He's going down, down, down into an environment that he can't relate to.
Quote #2
MR. BRADDOCK: The guests are all downstairs, Ben. They're all waiting to see you.
BENJAMIN: Look, Dad - could you explain to them that I have to be alone for a while?
MR. BRADDOCK: These are all our good friends, Ben. Most of them have known you since, well, practically since you were born.
The graduation party is a nightmare scenario for Ben. He knows he'll be asked about his future and he has no answers. The guests aren't meaning to be intrusive; as Mr. Braddock says, they're family friends who want to congratulate him and show some interest in his plans. But this is just too much for him to bear at the moment. No one is really speaking his language. Hearing without listening, as Paul Simon writes.
Quote #3
MR. CARLSON: Hey, there's our award winning scholar.
MRS. CARLSON: We're all very proud of you, Ben.
BENJAMIN: Thank you, Mrs. Carlson.
One reason Ben wants to hide in his room is that people have a view of him based on all his college accomplishments. He is an award-winning scholar, as well as a track star and editor of the college newspaper. That's a lot to live up to, but that stuff is meaningless to Ben right now. So he feels distant from people who value those accomplishments.