Chapter 4

Parallel - "No. Worse. I don't know why I stay with them."(50)

This parallels to earlier in the book where Neil is unsure why he still puts up with work at the library.

Contrast - "Do you love me Neil?"(51)
"I'll sleep with you whether you do or not, so tell me the truth."(51)

These statements contradict eachother just based on the nature of their meanings. The first one is about love. Love being a commitment to the other person, and wanting to establish a long lasting relationship. Brenda says that line, but immediately afterwards says the second quote. The nature of the second one makes the relationship seem like a fling to her, making the conversation a bit awkward for me to read to be honest, since she is blatantly lying about her love, if she is willing to do the second statement.

Props -
-The art book
-Cherry Bowl
-The fruit Aunt Gladys gave to Neil
-The couch where Neil and Brenda lay on - The place where they seem to make love the most often, probably the most imporgtant prop in the chapter.
-Uncle Max's Plate

Class Language - Neil referring to the boy who liked Gauguin as "the colored boy"(50).

Meaningful Passage - The conversation between the colored boy and Neil on pg. 60 showed the effects of racism on the boy. He reacts a bit exaggerated to Neil's questions because he thinks Neil judges him based on his color, as most of the white society does.

Chapter 3

Parallel - "I felt a deep knowledge of Newark, an attachment so rooted that it could not help but branch out into affection." (31)

This relates back to the conversation he had with Brenda, where Neil got offended by the way she talked about Newark. It seems he feels a personal connection to the city, so when she seems condescending towards the city, he feels like she is being like that towards him as well.

Contrast - "Though in their toreador pants and sweaters these young daughters of Italian leatherworkers, Polish brewery hands, and Jewish furriers were hardly duchesses. They were not Brenda either..."(32)

He is comparing the girls he sees while working at the library to Brenda, and gives a large contrast in his views of them. He does not view them as anyone of high class stature, while with Brenda he views her as more upstanding and elegant.

Props - 
-Art Books
-The "huge weeping willow"
-Patimkin TV
-Fruit at the Patimkin's
-Ping Pong Set - Most important as Neil realizes he enjoys winning a lot, and makes the game more intense than it has to be. He has become like Brenda, or at least realized he shares her love and intensity for winning.

Class Language - On pg. 37, the man in the library talking with Neil about the art pictures tells him, "He don't take pictures like no colored men would. He's a good picture taker..."(36) A very racist comment, to say the least, as the man is saying the artist has some good pictures based majorly on the fact of his skin color.

Meaningful Passage - On pg. 46, Neil describes making love to Brenda for the first time as "though I'd finally scored that twenty-first point."(46) I took this as a bit of a permonition or foreshadowing that he compares this moment to getting with the person he supposedly loves to winning a sports game. It could be foreshadowing that their relationship is just temporary because of this comparison.