lines 316-319: "the excitement of our program had now been gone for weeks, but still we kept on with a tired doggedness. it was too late to turn back, for we had both wandered too far into a net of expectations and had left no crumbs behind."
what does this mean?
This deals with the narrator's plans to turn Doodle into a strong and robust boy. Doodle, however, is not strong or robust. He suffers from a variety of ailments that are compounded by the physical strain of intense exercise.
...for we had both wandered too far into a net of expectations and had left no crumbs behind.
This quote is an allusion to the fairy tale Hansel and Gretel. The father in the story tries to lose his kids because he cannot afford to feed them. Hansel leaves a trail of pebbles so they can find their way back to the house. The narrator had taken his brother too far in his exercise routine and lost site of any parameters of safety.
