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I hate the dining room ceiling, sure, but the whole house? There was no better house.
In his youth, Danny is like any other child in that he is not particularly aware of any reality other than his own. He doesn't notice many things around him, a concrete example being that Sandy and Jocelyn are sisters. And what he perceives -in this case the house- is filtered by his own subjectivity. He has lived there all of his life and has no negative memories of Elna's departure or Maeve's illness. For him, the house is a palace, a playground and a museum. It represents his father, sister and his childhood. He cannot understand how someone could dislike the house and see it for the majestic building that it was. Danny will need a lot of growing up to understand who his mother was and why he didn't like the house.
...the longer we held on to our hatred, the more doomed we would be to spending our lives in a parked car on VanHoebeek Street forever.
Danny and Maeve aren't stupid: they know that sitting in front of the Dutch House is not good for them. As Danny says, they feed their hatred: they remember what they had, what they lost, how terrible Andrea was and how her father was taken from them in so many ways. This hate consumes and limits your ability to move forward. Both brothers know this, but they can't act differently right now. Human nature leads us to keep doing things that are bad for us, even when we know they are bad; In that sense, Danny and Maeve are relatable characters because most readers have experienced something similar as well.
The Dutch house was impossible. She had never thought of that before.
As a child, Danny loved the Dutch House, but although he still loves it long after he was kicked out, he had an epiphany on the day of his father's funeral: the Dutch House really is impossible. Exactly what that means is hard to pin down, but Danny apparently realized what his mother knew when he saw the house: it's too big, too imposing, too decorative, too heavy, and too steeped in the past to be in that place. . you can really live.
After so many years, I thought less of his reluctance to reveal this and more of how stupid I was for not trying harder.
This is a powerful quote for anyone who has ever wished they had put in more effort to meet someone in their life, which most of us probably do. Danny knows that his father is not the easiest man to understand. He is reserved and strong-willed, someone who has lived through a war and a woman who has gone from rags to riches. He's certainly not mean or selfish, but he's an enigma to Danny in many ways. When he was a child and young man, Danny wished that his father would take better care of him; As an older and wiser man, he realizes that perhaps he wasto beJob to try to connect with his father. He could have asked more questions, listened more, and accomplished more. This is a gentle reminder to all readers to never underestimate your loved ones.
Oh, if only we had always lived in a world where every man, woman, and child was equipped with a device for recording audio, still images, and short films. I would have liked more irrefutable evidence than my own memory...
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Patchett has a wonderful ability to allude to the universal, even when writing about a character's thoughts and experiences. Here, Danny wishes he could "prove" that Celeste and Maeve originally liked each other, but he can't because his memory is being challenged by other people's memories. Like many of us, he wished there was a way to access the "truth" of what was actually said and done. It would be a clean and easy way to resolve disputes in the future, as he could simply look up the incident or conversation in question. Unfortunately, that's not how it works: we have to look at our memories in the light of others and recognize that there may be discrepancies or disputes.
The Columbia boys went to school and the Harlem boys went to war, a reality not exposed for a friendly Saturday.
In this simple quote, Patchett illuminates the reality of class and racial divisions in 1970s America. Harlem was a predominantly black socioeconomic neighborhood. His boys were less likely to go to college due to college expenses, and therefore could not get a deferment from conscription. According to the American War Library, 14% of the victims in Vietnam were black men, but they represented only 11% of the population. Conversely, white youths were more likely to enroll in college and thus avoid the draft. Columbia University is located near Harlem, providing an impressive head-to-head comparison of the possible experiences of black and white men.
When I was in college, I found out that I looked a lot like my father.
The similarities between Cyril and Danny take a while to manifest, but once recognized they are impossible to ignore. Danny is comfortable on construction sites, as is his father. He pursues this career and seems to enjoy it more than his family. He can be selfish and short-sighted if he buys Celeste a brownstone without asking, like Cyril did with Elna and the Dutch house. Ultimately, he does what he wants, even though, like Cyril, he is responsible for a family. He believes that he knows what is best for others, which is sometimes not true. They also share positive traits like B. Diligence, diligence, sense of duty, and general optimism.
They were disasters. you are mine
Danny was a good brother who eased Maeve's worries and quelled her desire for revenge against Andrea by going to medical school and spending almost all of the money in the fund. However, he never liked that path and it annoys him and he wishes he could go into real estate. When he finally jumps in, he feels comfortable and, for the first time, himself. As this quote suggests, Danny did it all himself. It was his decisions, his investments, his risks and his courage that made this possible, not the Trust, not Maeve, not his father, not anyone else. Danny is rightfully proud, even though these buildings are "mess."
"Our father was a man who never knew his own wife."
This is a biting and sly quote from Maeve, uttered after telling Danny the story of Elna's disastrous first visit to Dutch House. Elna was a woman used to being poor and frugal, a woman who wanted to be a nun, and a woman who clearly wanted to live a simple life. She now owns a huge and sumptuous house and has a servant of her own, all of which is repugnant to her character. Cyril seems completely taken aback by her disgust at this new life, but as far as we know, he does nothing to assuage her concerns. Unfortunately, Danny mirrors his father to some degree when it comes to his own wife, as evidenced by the fact that he bought Celeste a brownstone without asking her first and without asking if she liked it (she doesn't).
I put it off, not because I thought it would harm Maeve's health, but because we'd be better off without her.
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In many ways, Danny Maeve is a good, loving brother. He cares about her and tries to do what is right for her, supporting her and accommodating to her wishes, even if they are not what he would like. However, this quote illustrates Danny's tendency to make decisions for other people based on what heYthink better. She doesn't allow Maeve to decide for herself whether to let Elna back into her life. He does not reflect on Maeve's desperate desire for a mother, and her own ambivalence towards Elna is not a common sentiment. If Danny hadn't been so myopic here, Maeve might have spent more time with her mother.