“We only rise above mediocrity when there's something at stake. p. 174”

“An artist would not rise above the mediocrity if he condemns it.”

“The most twisted but perennial of American myths is that everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed. (p. 174)”

“I tried to talk about it to Lily, to make her see that for once, I'd earned a feeling. [p. 174]”

“The only way to rise above is to rise above. The only way to respond to wrong is with right. The only way to deal with injustice is to be just.”

“A man who aspires to rise above the mediocre, to be something more than the ordinary, surely deserves admiration, even if he fails and loses a fortune on account of his ambitions(...)if one has failed only where others have not had the courage or will to try, there is consolation - indeed, deep satisfaction - to be gained from his observation when looking back over one's life.#Page no.134”