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The Headmaster
Ruth is the protagonist of Susan Friedman’s story “Summer Dance.” The narrator relates to her because of her middle-class Jewish background, and because they both hide their true identities and motivations from their classmates. When the narrator plagiarizes “Summer Dance” and submits it for the literary competition, he changes Ruth’s name and gender to his own.
Ruth Levine Quotes in Old School
The Old School quotes below are all either spoken by Ruth Levine or refer to Ruth Levine. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 6: The Forked Tongue
Quotes
The whole thing came straight from the truthful diary I’d never kept: the typing class, the bus, the apartment; all mine. And mine too the calculations and stratagems, the throwing over of old friends for new, the shameless manipulation of a needy, loving parent and the desperation to flee not only the need but the love itself. Then the sweetness of flight, the lightness and joy of escape. And, yes, the almost physical attraction to privilege, the resolve to be near it at any cost: sycophancy, lies, self-suppression, the masking of ambitions and desires, the slow cowardly burn of resentment toward those for whose favor you have falsified yourself. Every moment of it was true.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Old School LitChart as a printable PDF.
Ruth Levine Quotes in Old School
The Old School quotes below are all either spoken by Ruth Levine or refer to Ruth Levine. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 6: The Forked Tongue
Quotes
The whole thing came straight from the truthful diary I’d never kept: the typing class, the bus, the apartment; all mine. And mine too the calculations and stratagems, the throwing over of old friends for new, the shameless manipulation of a needy, loving parent and the desperation to flee not only the need but the love itself. Then the sweetness of flight, the lightness and joy of escape. And, yes, the almost physical attraction to privilege, the resolve to be near it at any cost: sycophancy, lies, self-suppression, the masking of ambitions and desires, the slow cowardly burn of resentment toward those for whose favor you have falsified yourself. Every moment of it was true.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
