Mr. Singleton is Colin’s father. He has been obsessed with Colin’s achievement ever since Colin read aloud part of the newspaper to him, unprompted, as a toddler. He loves his son, and the way he shows his love is by pushing Colin to succeed. While Colin does learn rapidly as a result, he feels a constant sense of failure because his father seems always to be moving the mark of success farther away.
Mr. Singleton / Colin’s Father Quotes in An Abundance of Katherines
The An Abundance of Katherines quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Singleton / Colin’s Father or refer to Mr. Singleton / Colin’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:
).
Chapter 2
Quotes
Prodigies can very quickly learn what other people have already figured out; geniuses discover that which no one has ever previously discovered. Prodigies learn; geniuses do. The vast majority of child prodigies don’t become adult geniuses. Colin was almost certain that he was among that unfortunate majority.
Related Characters:
Colin Singleton, Mrs. Singleton / Colin’s Mother, Mr. Singleton / Colin’s Father
Related Symbols:
“Eureka” Moments
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 3
Quotes
You’re a very special person. Colin would hear this a lot, and yet – somehow – he could never hear it enough.
Related Characters:
Colin Singleton, Mrs. Singleton / Colin’s Mother, Mr. Singleton / Colin’s Father
Related Symbols:
The Hole in Colin’s Gut
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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Mr. Singleton / Colin’s Father Character Timeline in An Abundance of Katherines
The timeline below shows where the character Mr. Singleton / Colin’s Father appears in An Abundance of Katherines. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...feels that he will blow up, literally, if his parents don’t leave him alone. Colin’s father immediately follows up by saying that they need to assess Colin’s options for how to...
(full context)
Chapter 3
...going to take a road trip. Colin is already packed. Colin’s parents protest, and his father tells him that a road trip seems like “quitting” his intellectual journey and abandoning his...
(full context)
...When Colin was about two years old, he read aloud off the back of his father’s newspaper. His father’s shock is Colin’s first memory. Thereafter, his parents began reading to him...
(full context)
The evening of his IQ testing, Colin’s father brought home a book about a circle that was missing a piece shaped like a...
(full context)
...taught. He was only a year younger than the other students in his class. Colin’s father pushed him to study hard, but both Colin’s parents kept him on a fairly standard...
(full context)
Chapter 9
...from Katherine XIX and ends up calling his parents. On the phone, he tells his father the truth about staying with Hollis. His father worries that he is too trusting. Colin...
(full context)
Chapter 13
...he was four and only learned twenty-three irregular Latin verb conjugations instead of the twenty-five his dad set for the day. He feels that he is now farther away from his markers...
(full context)
