“Mr. MacPherson knew that Clara would write letters to all of them, explaining why they never heard from John. ‘He’s a failure, my dear, absolutely and the Colby girl, the minister’s daughter if you remember, well, she turned out to be an invalid.’”

MacPherson, like Duddy as an adult, is concerned with his reputation and his career and worries how he will be perceived. MacPherson is particularly concerned about how his former university friends see him, as he was committed to grand pacifist and socialist ideals in college and had bright prospects. He imagines being ridiculed by those former associates, who went on to become doctors and lawyers, because he himself became a humble school teacher.

“‘Why not, eh? You think I have to be a moron just because my old man is a taxi driver. My brother’s studying to be a doctor. I read lots of book.’”

Duddy does not read lots of books at this point in his life; in fact, he doesn’t even read the books assigned to him in school, so he just barely graduates high school. But in the presence of those he wishes to impress—in this case, Jane, the wife of the music teacher—Duddy tries to establish a new identity and storyline for himself. Clutching a John Dos Passos novel, Duddy hopes to be seen as a deep thinker, not a troublemaker by this woman he finds attractive.

“Duddy smiled; he laughed. ‘Jeez,’ he said proudly. ‘That’s something. Jeez.’ Max slapped his face so hard that Duddy lost his balance and fell against the counter.” 

Duddy is not upset or ashamed when he finds out that his cab driver father augments his income by acting as a pimp. Instead, Duddy is amused and intrigued.