How we cite our quotes: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
His father, an ineffectual, inarticulate man with a taste for Byron and a habit of drowsing over the Encyclopedia Britannica, grew wealthy at thirty through the death of two older brothers. (1.1.1)
Amory's father wasn't much of a role model. The guy was a lazy dude who got rich because his two hardworking brothers died and left him their estates.
Quote #2
In consequence, Stephen Blaine handed down to posterity his height of just under six feet and his tendency to waver at crucial moments, these two abstractions appearing in his son Amory. (1.1.1)
The only things Amory really inherits from his dad are his height and his difficulty in making decisions. Thanks for all that, Dad.
Quote #3
When Amory was five he was already a delightful companion to her. (1.1.4)
Beatrice thinks of Amory more as a little companion than as a son. He's almost like a toy poodle that she likes showing off to her friends. And as you can imagine, this isn't the healthiest way to grow up.
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).
Quote #7
"I'd never marry again. I've got my two children and I want myself for them." (1.4.264).
Clara won't marry Amory because she wants to save as much of herself for her children as she possibly can. It's tough for Amory, but he respects Clara's decision because he knows she's a good Mama Bear.
Quote #8
"I've enjoyed imagining you were my son, that perhaps when I was young I went into a state of coma and begat you, and when I came to, had no recollection of it… it's the paternal instinct, Amory." (I.5)
Monsignor Darcy confesses at one point that he wishes he were Amory's father. He has always felt a fatherly affection for Amory, and besides, it's not like Amory's real dad did a great job in his role as Papa Bear.
Quote #9
"Yet when I see a happy family it makes me sick to my stomach." (2.2.225)
Amory can barely stand to look at a happy family (and not just because they're all alike) because he knows that it is something he never really experienced growing up. Now he's been dumped by his fiancée and he wonders whether he'll ever get the chance to start his own family… happy or not.
Quote #10
"Well, my first point is that through a mixture of conditions of which the family is the first, there are these two sorts of brains." (2.5.154).
Family is the main factor that shapes people's personalities, at least within the world of This Side of Paradise. And depending on what kind of family you have, your brain can turn out two different ways—happy or unhappy.