"Poor France, what future waits for you!’’
The teacher, aka "Sourpuss," utters the quote above at the beginning of the film, after he catches Antoine passing the pinup photograph around. His words show his worry that the children he teaches will become the future of France one day, leading the country into ruin. He is exasperated with the ways that children behave, but he treats them meanly and condescendingly in class.
Mrs. Doinel: He lies just as easy as he breathes.
Mr. Doinel: Just like you!
Here Mr. and Mrs. Doinel argue about the fact that Antoine behaves badly at school. Among his many infractions are his frequent lies. When Mrs. Doinel is frustrated to discover that her son is a liar, Mr. Doinel, the boy's stepfather, calls her on her hypocrisy. He knows that she is having an affair and has been lying about it, and so points out that Antoine probably learned how to lie from her. In this moment we see that the lives of the adults in Antoine's life are just as chaotic as Antoine's life, and that people rarely behave in ethical ways.
"No, I lie from time to time, I believe. In some cases, if I were to tell them the truth, they wouldn’t have believed me anyway so I prefer to lie instead.’’
When Antoine is asked why he lies to his parents, he tells the psychologist at the observation center that even if he tells the truth, he is still accused of lying. We see this happening when Antoine accidentally sets in fire a cupboard and his parents do not believe him that he didn’t do it on purpose. In this moment, Antoine confides in the psychologist that he is caught in a vicious circle from which he can’t escape because even if he tells the truth, no one believes him.
Judge: I think we should place your child under observation in a special home.
Mrs. Doinel: Could it be by the sea, Your Honor?
Mrs. Doinel goes to a judge to see what he thinks they ought to do about Antoine, who has been deemed too wayward for normal society. The judge suggests that they ought to send Antoine to an observation center, a kind of camp for juvenile delinquents where he will be subject to militant rules and psychological treatment. In an uncharacteristically loving moment, Mrs. Doinel asks if Antoine can be sent to a facility near the ocean. She knows that her son has never been to the ocean, and so wants to see if now is his chance. It is a touching, sad, and rather comic request; of course, a stay at an observation center is not about location or beauty, but about discipline.
Antoine: Sir, it's my mother.
Sourpuss: What about her?
Antoine: She's just died.
After his day of playing hooky from school, Antoine must come up with a suitable excuse for his absence. Thinking of an excuse that Sourpuss couldn't possibly fault him for, he tells him that his mother just died, even though she is still alive. This moment is somewhat shocking, because it shows that Antoine is capable of baldly telling lies, but it also rings true, in that as far as Antoine's relationship with his mother goes, she may as well be spiritually dead to him. His lie represents their emotional estrangement, and serves as the perfect excuse for his absence.
"Doinel, if your paper is first today, it's because I've decided to give the results beginning with the worst."
Truffaut deceives the viewer in this moment, just as he deceives Antoine. Having seen Antoine poring over the pages of Balzac and committing himself to the task of writing a good paper, we expect that perhaps his paper will have turned out well. When Sourpuss decides to discuss his paper first, therefore, we and he expect that perhaps he got a good grade. However, the opposite is true, and in the same sentence, Sourpuss reveals that he is starting with Antoine's paper because it's the worst.
"Your father says he doesn't care what happens to you. You can go to a trade school. You wanted a job? You'll see how much fun a foundry can be!"
Mrs. Doinel says this to Antoine when she comes to visit him at the observation center. Fed up with a note that he recently sent to her and Mr. Doinel, she breaks ties with him once and for all, informing Antoine that they have decided to give up custody of him and hand him over to the state. She is so appalled by his behavior and his ungratefulness, that she tauntingly tells him that he can get a job just like he's always wanted, knowing that Antoine will not like working one bit. This quote shows the cruelty and insensitivity of Mrs. Doinel.
"I deface the classroom walls"
At first, we hear Antoine say this in voiceover in his own voice as he writes on the wall of the classroom when everyone is at recess. The next morning, when he is getting ready for school, he looks in the mirror and we hear an adult male voice say, "I deface the classroom walls" as he looks at his reflection. While the voice is not identified, it seems to represent the adult Antoine. In this moment, as he looks in the mirror, Antoine confronts his rebellious side, facing his own identity, and the ways that he has become a disobedient child and student. While we are not privy to his thoughts, he seems somewhat perplexed by himself, by his own need to break free from his difficult childhood.
Antoine: I need some money for lunch, dad. Only 1,000 francs.
Mr. Doinel: Therefore you hope for 500. Therefore you need 300. Here's 100.
This interaction between Antoine and his stepfather shows two things. First, it shows that Antoine is always asking for more money than he actually needs, always trying to con the system to get more from the people who are charged with taking care of him. As his stepfather points out, he doesn't need 1,000 francs for lunch money. Secondly, Mr. Doinel's response shows that Antoine is constantly being punished for his greed and impudence. Instead of giving his stepson the 300 francs that he needs, Mr. Doinel chooses to give him less than he needs. Thus, we see that there is a cycle of deprivation and greed that occurs between Antoine and his parents.
"Now, Doinel, go get some water and erase those insanities, or I'll make you lick the wall, my friend."
The teacher gives this order to Antoine after he writes the mocking poem on the wall. He is fed up, and he threatens that if Antoine doesn't clean up the writing quickly enough, he will have to lick it off the wall. This line shows how harsh the punishments are at school, and how the adults do not seek to have a dialogue with the students or understand them. Instead, they want to inflict strict control.
