At the beginning of the novel, Rick is thought of by schoolteachers and his family as someone destined to achieve very little. Angry at this assumption, Rick dreams of greatness in spite of the naysayers in his life. In particular, Rick clearly remembers a teacher saying to him, “[Y]ou’re a generalist, Richard. Some people like your sister are born to be specialists. Others are born to be generalists if they apply themselves […] which you don’t” (32). Rick is contrasted with his intelligent and high-achieving sister, who is studying mathematics at university and is praised by their community as someone who is destined to go far. Rick, on the other hand, is mistakenly assumed to be unambitious and uninterested in success.

Rick’s father explains that Rick is a “good, strong, well-mannered boy” who will run the family hardware store (29). Instead of being flattered by his father’s description of his manners and strength, Rick feels that this description is condescending. He is frustrated by his reputation; he believes that he is destined for more, but that school has not allowed him to demonstrate his abilities. Rick remembers the feeling of saving a six-year-old boy by pushing him out of the way of an oncoming bus, saving the boy’s life.