Goodbye, Columbus #3

While both Neil and Brenda had doubts about the future of their relationship before, on page 134 they both acknowledge their feelings for the first time. Just a few pages earlier, Neil and Brenda greeted each other with an 'I love you.' On page 134 when they are arguing, however, both of them say "I loved you". This is one of the most meaningful parts of the book because this moment marks the "official" end to their relationship. Neil and Brenda's feelings for each other are not totally gone, but the relationship itself is now just an old summer romance. One thing that confused me is how long it took for them to break up. I thought that on page 119 when Neil says "I drove Brenda to the train at noon, and she left me" that he was making the decision to break up, but he continues to say he loves her even days after the fact.

Goodbye, Columbus #2

One parallel is between Aunt Gladys and Mr. Patimkin. Both of them are always bothering Neil about his food, under the incorrect assumption that he never eats enough. The parallel between them is clearly shown on pages 56 and 57. In the first quote, Neil is talking about how Mr. Patimkin treats him when he eats dinner with them. In the second quote, Aunt Gladys has just been told that Neil will be staying with the Patimkins for a week.

"...Mr. Patimkin continued to think I ate like a bird. When invited to dinner I would, for his benefit, eat twice what I wanted, but the truth seemed to be that after he'd characterized my appetite that first time, he never really bothered to look again." (56)

"'You don't get enough to eat here? You leave over sometimes I show your Uncle Max your plate it's  shame. A child in Europe could make a four-course meal from what you leave over" (57).

For whatever reason, both Aunt Gladys and Mr. Patimkin have a strange fascination with food. It's almost a way of life for them.

Goodbye, Columbus #1

Class is a major theme in Goodbye, Columbus. Within the first few pages, the stark contrast between Brenda's class and Neil's class is evident, present in every interaction between the two regardless of the context.

Neil is very conscious of his own socio-economic class . When he goes to pick up Brenda, for example, he says "'I'll be driving a--' I hung back with the year, 'a tan Plymouth.'" Neil deliberately didn't include the year when he described his car to Brenda in a failed attempt to put them on equal footing. Brenda will see the car anyway, and Neil knows this, but he so embarrassed that he won't admit it to himself out loud.

Later, when Neil and Brenda are walking together after the tennis game, Brenda tells Neil that she had her nose fixed. The conversation gets very awkward and uncomfortable very fast. He knows that he should probably just stop talking, but he can't help himself from asking Brenda how much it costs.