How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"Look here, it's all very tidy and convenient to see the world in black and white," said the Major, trying to soften his tone slightly. "It's a particular passion of young men eager to sweep away their dusty elders." (14.113)
As he has grown older, the Major has started to see things less in black-and-white and more in shades of grey. And we're not just talking about his hair color.
Quote #8
The age of great men, when a single mind of intelligence and vision might change the destiny of the world, was long gone. He had been born into a much smaller age, and no amount of daydreaming would change the facts. (15.4)
Here we see the Major engaging in a popular old-person pastime: longing for the golden days. But the fact is that more people means change is harder. It was easier to make change in the Major's day in part because there were fewer people to influence.
Quote #9
"At our age, surely there are better things to sustain us, to sustain a marriage, than the brief flame of passion?" (20.37)
At the end of the book, the Major seems to give in to old age, but Grace, who is just as old as the Major is, gets him to reconsider. She tells him that old age is no excuse to give up searching for passion.