This Side of Paradise Family Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

"Dear, don't think of getting out of bed yet. I've always suspected that early rising in early life makes one nervous." (1.1.8)

Amory's mom Beatrice wants him to sleep in all the time because she's convinced that getting up early in the morning will make him nervous. In other words, she wants him to live like a spoiled prince.

Quote #5

She fed him sections of "Fêtes Galantes" before he was ten; at eleven he could talk glibly, if rather reminiscently, of Brahms and Mozart and Beethoven. (1.1.15)

As he grows up, Amory learns a lot of fancy stuff from his mom, who is determined to turn him into a sophisticated elitist. Even before he's ten, he's talking like a snob about classical music.

Quote #6

As [Amory and his mother] kissed coolly and he stepped into the electric, he felt a quick fear lest he had lost the requisite charm to measure up to her. (1.1.143)

Amory sees his mother as someone he should live up to, but not in a good way. He obsesses about whether he can keep up with her in terms of coolness and style. It'd be nice if their relationship was based more on love than style, but oh well. C'est la vie (as the super-stylish French say).