How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"What do I expect?" said Wilhelm. He felt as though he were unable to recover something. Like a ball in the surf, washed beyond reach, his self-control was going out. "I expect help!" [. . .] "When I suffer—you aren't even sorry. That's because you have no affection for me, and you don't want any part of me." (3.97)
It's hard to say what makes Wilhelm most upset: the fact that his father won't share his money, or the fact that his father expects Wilhelm to deal with his problems alone. Wilhelm desperately wants his father's support, but Dr. Adler wants nothing to do with his son's troubles and failures. What would you do?
Quote #2
If you only knew one per cent of what goes on in the city of New York! You see, I understand what it is when the lonely person begins to feel like an animal. When the night comes and he feels like howling from his window like a wolf. (4.75)
It's insights like these that make Wilhelm trust Tamkin, despite some serious doubts about the dude. Like Wilhelm, Tamkin seems to understand what it feels like to be lonely for human comfort—to want to run with a pack, instead of going it alone. Did someone say wolfpack?
Quote #3
"In here, the human bosom—mine, yours, everybody's—there isn't just one soul. There's a lot of souls. But there are two main ones, the real soul and a pretender soul. Now! Every man realizes that he has to love something or somebody. He feels that he must go outward. 'If thou canst not love, what art thou?' Are you with me?" (4.90)
Wilhelm is drawn to Tamkin's notion of the two souls because he craves human sympathy and love. Um, desperate much?