To find order in chaos - why, of course; that was what he'd wanted all his life. He had been born for this… — Richard Yates

"You don't have much use for black people, do you, Mr Wilder? Deep down you wish we'd all go away. You think our lips are too thick and our noses too flat and you shudder at the thought of our kinky hair. Isn't that about right, Mr Wilder?"

she talked less, or at least did less of the kind of talking whose only purpose was to fill silence

..."a man doesn't spend all these years building something and then kick it to pieces. Don't - well, to put it coarsely, don't shit where you eat."