“A hero is a goddam stupid thing to have in the first place and a general block to anything you might wanta accomplish on your own.”
“Aw I don't wanta go to no such thing, I just wanta drink in alleys.'...But you'll miss all that, just for some old wine.'There's wisdom in wine, goddam it!' I yelled. 'Have a shot!”
“In this life, you have to be your own hero.”
“You don't have to be a hero to accomplish great things---to compete. You can just be an ordinary chap, sufficiently motivated to reach challenging goals.”
“I'm the one flunking out of this goddam place, and you're asking me to write you a goddam composition.”
“I know we didn't accomplish anything, but it felt great to sit there and talk about our place in things.”