“My father always says that you can have a high IQ and still be stupid.”
Cameron Porter’s father’s philosophy encapsulates the paradox of IQ tests that are ineffective in gauging all forms of a person’s acumen. The tests are fixed; hence, ignore the reality that some individuals may score lowly in them, but they are very shrewd in real life.
“There were these guys, all white, who talked about guns and about how the country was getting too soft and letting too many immigrants in, that sort of thing
Cameron Porter encounters the white individuals at the shooting camp, where he visits with his friend Len. The white individuals’ anti-immigrant, jingoist opinions emphasize that they do not favor the idea of the country permitting individuals into America from other countries.
“Before it happened, I used to think of suicide sometimes. Now I think about it all the time. I think if I could pull it off, my parents would be a lot happier. They could deal with it. I’ve really cost them a lot of money. They’d probably come up with a timetable when they would get over it. It’s not like I want to die. It’s more like I just want to get this whole thing over with.”
Cameron Porter’s concession suggests that he is forlorn. He is disheartened by the wrong things he has been involved in and thinks that by committing suicide, the difficulties he causes in his parents’ lives and other people would cease. He has not pardoned himself for the blunders he has committed in his lifetime.
