Tender is the Night: Book 2

Quote 1:

"'Well, how can any one tell what's eccentric and what's crazy?'" (151).

This statement took place in a conversation between Nicole's sister, Baby Warren, and Dick. Dick reassured her that Nicole is fine and just eccentric. Baby responded with a question about how could anyone decipher normal activity from abnormal activity. I think this quote brings out the issue of the fine line between crazy as in an illness and crazy as in eccentric. Baby said Nicole was a normal girl before her breakdown and her family thought Nicole had mix emotions about a boy. But in reality Nicole's father had raped her and this impacted her to be emotionally unstable. Like Miss Warren pointed out, it's hard to see what is really happening. She had no idea what Nicole went through and just thought it was a normal reaction over some generic boy. This shows highlights the percentage of uncertainty between two neighboring subjects. 

Quote 2:

"Nicole's world had fallen to pieces, but it was only a flimsy and scarcely created world;" (143).

This quote supports the idea of how a little event or word could destroy even the strongest person. An average person has a mediocre world, one that is at least planted into the soil. In Nicole's case, she was already fragile, so her world isn't even fully functioning or stable. Her world was like a city rebuilding after it had been hit by a typhoon, only to get crushed under an earthquake. In context, it goes on saying "was it an hour ago she had waited by the entrance, wearing her hope like a corsage at her belt". Nicole was hopeful an hour before this encounter and her world was in the best state it could be. But after how Dick indifferently treats her, her world became shaky again. This just shows how unstable Nicole still is. Even though she is improving her condition, she could relapse any minute.