After all, damn it, what does being in love mean if you can't trust a person.
That's the public-school system all over. They may kick you out, but they never let you down.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the challenges of the public-school system, emphasizing that while students may face setbacks, the system itself remains steadfast.
Evelyn Waugh's quote reflects the paradox of the public-school system, where students may be expelled or face harsh treatment but are still supported by the overarching structure that aims to educate. It suggests that despite potential failures at the individual level, the system continues to function and provide opportunities for learning and growth, embodying a resilience that can be both frustrating and reassuring.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used during a speech at a school board meeting to discuss educational reform.
More from Evelyn Waugh
All quotes βIt is a curious thing... that every creed promises a paradise which will be absolutely uninhabitable for anyone of civilized taste.
There are no poetic ideas; only poetic utterances.
Punctuality is the virtue of the bored.
...she had regained what I thought she had lost forever, the magical sadness which had drawn me to her, the thwarted look that had seemed to say, "Surely I was made for some other purpose than this?
That was the change in her from ten years ago; that, indeed, was her reward, this haunting, magical sadness which spoke straight to the heart and struck silence; it was the completion of her beauty.
Similar quotes
You should never read just for "enjoyment." Read to make yourself smarter! Less judgmental. More apt to understand your friends' insane behavior, or better yet, your own. Pick "hard books." Ones you have to concentrate on while reading. And for god's sake, don't let me ever hear you say, "I can't read fiction. I only have time for the truth." Fiction is the truth, fool! Ever hear of "literature"? That means fiction, too, stupid.
Every teacher should realize he is a social servant set apart for the maintenance of the proper social order and the securing of the right social growth. In this way, the teacher always is the prophet of the true God and the usherer-in of the true Kingdom of God.
To read is to have experiences; every book changes my life at least a little bit. The first time I can remember this happening was when I was 10, with a biography of Thomas Edison.
Literature is my Utopia. Here I am not disenfranchised. No barrier of the senses shuts me out from the sweet, gracious discourses of my book friends. They talk to me without embarrassment or awkwardness.
When you look at human rights, look at gender, and the rights of girls for education in the world - that are crucial issues - some are saying 'Oh, these are western values.' But these are really universal values.
I ransack public libraries & find them full of sunk treasure.