How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from An American in Paris.
Quote #4
ADAM: I'm a concert pianist. That's a pretentious way of saying I'm unemployed at the moment.
Jerry and Adam may both be starving artists, but as this quote shows, Adam's got more self-awareness than his buddy Jerry. Adam can call himself a concert pianist, and Jerry can call himself a painter. But the reality of the situation is that, no matter how they choose to identify themselves, they're both struggling to get by day-to-day because neither has found great success.
Quote #5
ADAM: That's the eighth fellowship I've won, and you know something? I'm getting pretty homesick. Not only that, but I'm beginning to feel like the world's oldest child prodigy.
Adam feels the pain and scrutiny of artistic dreams deferred more than Jerry does. While Jerry's cool with shutting out the haters, Adam acknowledges that his dream's taking a mighty long time to accomplish, if he even accomplishes it at all.
Quote #6
ADAM: You know, one time I ran out of fellowships and had to go to work for a living. I had to stop because I discovered I was liking it, and I didn't want to become a slave to the habit.
If you've got big, creative dreams, we're willing to bet you can relate to Adam here. He may be so broke that he can't afford postage stamps, but he'd rather be poor and pursuing his dream than working for The Man.