Previous
Ma
Quinn’s father was a soldier who died in Afghanistan. We never learn his first name, though people in the town often refer to him by his nickname, “Saint Springfield.” Quinn’s father was by all accounts a heroic figure who, when he was not on duty, spent his free time volunteering at a soup kitchen.
Quinn’s Father Quotes in All American Boys
The All American Boys quotes below are all either spoken by Quinn’s Father or refer to Quinn’s Father. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
2. Friday: Quinn Quotes
I wasn’t a stand-in for Dad. Nobody could be that. When the IED got him in Afghanistan, he became an instant saint in Springfield. I wasn't him. I'd never be him. But I was still supposed to try. That was my role: the dutiful son, the
All-American boy with an All-American fifteen-foot deadeye jump shot and an All-American 3.5 GPA.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Quinn is taking his younger brother, Willy, over to their neighbor’s house before going to Jill’s party. Quinn explains that ever since his father died, each member of his family has had a different “role” to play. Quinn’s role is that of All-American boy: the “dutiful son” who succeeds at school and on the basketball court, thereby living up to his father’s heroic legacy. We might assume that Quinn would take pride in these achievements, but there is an undeniable hint of bitterness lurking beneath his words here. The fact that Quinn’s father became an “instant saint” in Springfield suggests Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam
4. Saturday: Quinn Quotes
I begin almost every day the same way: Ma's voice in my head, telling me what I needed to do, what I needed to think about, how I needed to act. But on mornings like this one––or if Coach Carney was making us do suicides up and down the court for fifteen minutes, or when Dwyer dropped another five-pounder on either side of the bar on my last rep in the weight room––it was Dad's voice in my head, or at least what I thought was his voice. I hadn't heard it in so long, I couldn’t even tell if it was his or if I was making it up. Whatever it was, it got me to where I needed to get.
PUSH! If you don't, someone else will. LIFT! If you don't, someone else will. Faster faster, faster, faster FASTER!
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Quinn has explained that after seeing what happened to Rashad at Jerry’s, he wasn’t able to enjoy Jill’s party, and was instead haunted by the memory of Paul beating Rashad. He sleeps badly on Friday night, and the next morning wakes up with his dad’s voice in his head. Once again, Quinn is shown to be facing enormous pressure. Crucially, this passage indicates that Quinn has internalized the pressure other people put on him, such that he now puts it on himself without anybody else’s participation. This is revealed by his statement that he “couldn’t even tell” if it is Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occa
6. Sunday: Quinn Quotes
I felt like such an ass. I'd quickly convinced myself I had no idea who that kid with Paul was that night. And yeah, there were like a thousand kids in each grade at school, or whatever, but I did know him. Or know of him, really. I'd seen him––Rashad––in that uniform, and it'd made me think of my dad wearing his own at college. How my dad had looked proud in all those pictures.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
At the Galluzzo’s family barbecue, Quinn and Jill quietly discuss the incident at Jerry’s. Quinn confesses that he witnessed the incident first-hand, and Jill tells him that the boy who was beaten was Rashad, a kid at their school. Quinn is shocked, and his memories of seeing Rashad in his ROTC uniform make him think about his own dad. This train of thought shows how we empathize with others through finding connections and similarities between our lives. Quinn imagines that Rashad must be similar to his dad in some way because of their shared connection to the military. This increases Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium r
7. Monday: Quinn Quotes
“I mean, it's Paul. This is the same guy I’ve seen carrying my mom up the front steps, for God's sake.” I was thinking about that time Ma got trashed because it was her first wedding anniversary without Dad. Paul had been so
gentle. He'd taken the frigging day off just so she didn’t have to spend it alone. “She was tanked,” I said to Jill. “And he helped her home. I remember him putting her down on the couch and pulling the afghan over her.”
“Paulie's always been the good guy.”
“That's what I want to think.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
At school on Monday, Quinn and Jill eat lunch together and discuss the incident at Jerry’s. Quinn suddenly recalls a time when Paul beat up another kid called Marc Blair––that time on Quinn’s behalf. He struggles to reconcile this memory and his memory of the incident at Jerry’s with his impression of Paul as a “good guy,” a father figure, and a hero. How can it be that these two different sides of Paul add up to the same person? Jill and Quinn realize that they have both trusted Paul as a “good” man and have assumed that they can Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque
13. Thursday: Quinn Quotes
I'd been thinking about that all day, but I didn’t have the words for it until Ma brought up Dad. Everybody wanted me to be loyal. Ma wanted me to be loyal. Guzzo wanted me to be loyal. Paul wanted me to be loyal. Your dad was loyal to the end, they'd all tell me. Loyal to his country, loyal to his family, they meant. But it wasn't about loyalty. It was about him standing up for what he believed in. And I wanted to be my dad's son. Someone who believed a better world was possible––someone who stood up for it.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
After Coach Carney calls Ma to tell her about Quinn’s plan to go to the march, Ma sternly tells Quinn not to participate. Unusually for her, she invokes Quinn’s dad in order to warn him about protesting. However, Quinn has turned this around, pointing out that while he can’t know what his dad would have thought about the incident at Jerry’s, he knows that his dad was committed to standing up for what he believed in. This is a turning point for Quinn, during which he realizes that standing up for one’s principles is far more important than ideas of Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beata
15. Friday: Quinn Quotes
What about Dad? Talk about a man who died for his convictions. How many times did he re-up after 9/11?. Three. I was old enough now to know he wasn’t fearless. He'd probably been scared shitless every time he went back. He wasn’t strong because he wasn’t afraid. No, he was strong because he kept doing it even though he was afraid.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
On Friday, Quinn admits that he is terrified about the protest. His fear grows even deeper when he sees tanks and cops in paramilitary gear outside school. He confesses his fears to Jill, but as he does so he realizes that just because he is afraid, doesn’t mean he shouldn’t participate. Rather than being a problem or a sign of weakness, fear is perfectly natural. Indeed, some of the most important and courageous acts will inevitably be accompanied by a sense of fear, as Quinn realizes while he thinks about his dad. This passage highlights Quinn’s ongoing evolution in maturity. Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia.
Get the entire All American Boys LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Quinn’s Father Character Timeline in All American Boys
The timeline below shows where the character Quinn’s Father appears in All American Boys. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
2. Friday: Quinn
...to take his younger brother, Willy, over to the house of their neighbors, the Cambis. Quinn’s father was a soldier who was killed in Afghanistan, and ever since his death Quinn feels...
(full context)
...kind, pitiful look, which Quinn is used to getting as the son of “Saint Springfield.” Quinn’s father was a “model man” who volunteered at the soup kitchen when he was off-duty and...
(full context)
...once they are there, Quinn is unable to stop thinking about what happened. Ever since Quinn’s father ’s death, Paul has been a father figure to Quinn, and he is haunted by...
(full context)
4. Saturday: Quinn
...unrecognizable, like an entirely different person. Quinn sleeps badly and wakes up on Saturday with his father ’s voice in his head, urging him to push himself. Quinn does so many push-ups...
(full context)
...this week. Quinn gets in the shower and thinks about the scouts coming from colleges. His father was given a full ride through ROTC, and Quinn feels that he needs to do...
(full context)
Mother’s Pizza is packed. On the wall there is a photo of Quinn’s father at the St. Mary’s soup kitchen, and Quinn always tries to avoid sitting near it....
(full context)
13. Thursday: Quinn
...out the window at the Galluzzos’ house, and remembers the day he stood there during his father ’s funeral. Paul had told him that if he ever needed anything at all, he...
(full context)
...the video has been released to make Paul look like a “fool.” She asks what Quinn’s father would think, and Quinn replies that he doesn’t know, but that he thinks he would...
(full context)
...was in ninth grade. He claimed to have been inspired by the example set by Quinn’s father , and wanted to be “a hero” and “somebody who makes a difference.” Quinn had...
(full context)
15. Friday: Quinn
...that the police are preparing for “major riots.” Quinn expresses his fears, but thinks about his father , who “died for his convictions.” He thinks about how frightened his dad must have...
(full context)
