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Throughout Tell Me Everything, Bob Burgess’s covert cigarette-smoking represents how impossible it is to truly know another person. Though Bob and his friend Lucy Barton have built an entire ritual around Bob’s weekly smoke, Bob keeps this secret from his wife Margaret, going to elaborate lengths to prevent her from detecting the smell on his clothes. And despite living so closely with Bob, Margaret does indeed fail to pick up on his new habit, even though Bob’s new friend Matt Beach thinks the smell of smoke is unmissable. Moreover, as Bob’s feelings for Lucy grow increasingly amorous, their shared knowledge of Bob’s cigarette use stands in for the romantic feelings they can never bring themselves to voice. By the end of the narrative, while Bob decides that he will not act on his feelings for Lucy, he never gives up smoking entirely, a sign that even after he recommits to his life with Margaret, there remain pieces of his interior world that his wife will never have access to.
Bob’s Cigarettes Quotes in Tell Me Everything
The Tell Me Everything quotes below all refer to the symbol of Bob’s Cigarettes. 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:
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Book 1, Chapter 8 Quotes
“Years ago, when I was small, I have a memory of reading a book, and it had those black-and-white drawings in it, so it was some kind of book of fables, I think. And all I remember is that there was a picture of a man, he was older, and every time you turned the page, he was a little more slumped. Because it was his job in the world to eat people’s sins, and I have—my whole life—remembered that. That’s what the story Olive told me yesterday was about, about a sin eater.” Lucy looked over at Bob thoughtfully. “And that’s what you are.”
[…] They sat quietly while Bob finished his cigarette, and then he stuck the butt back into its pack. Bob said, “Thank you, Lucy.”
“Of course,” she said.
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After Bob, on one his routine walks with Lucy, explains that Jim tried to conceal Helen’s cancer diagnosis from him, Lucy reflects that Bob is a “sin-eater,” forever taking the weight of other people’s selfishness or thoughtfulness into himself. In addition to introducing the idea of “sin-eating,” which will become an important motif in the novel, Lucy’s dialogue here again emphasizes just how profoundly childhood impressions can extend into adulthood. And it is not any childhood experience but the memory of a story that so lives on in Lucy’s brain. “I have—my whole life—remembered that” children’s book, Lucy confesses, the 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 consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissim
Book 3, Chapter 5 Quotes
“Oh no, that would be great!” Matt said. “You are the only person in the world who cares where I am.” But he said it cheerfully. Then he said, “Can I see where you are too?”
“Sure,” Bob said. So he set that up for Matt as well. “Now you’re the only person who can track me,” Bob said. “I don’t even let my wife track me.”
“Why not?” Matt asked, and Bob said it was because he sometimes went off to have a cigarette.
She doesn’t know you smoke?” Matt asked. “Even I know you smoke.”
“How?” Bob asked, and Matt said, “Because I can smell it.”
“Oy,” said Bob, and Matt said, “I like how you say oy.”
Bob could not wait to tell Lucy all about it.
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In the aftermath of Gloria’s death, Bob grows concerned about Matt Beach’s mental health, so he decides that tracking Matt’s phone will give him some peace of mind that his friend is safe. First, this passage is interesting because it again underlines the limits of marital intimacy. Bob, desperate to hide his symbolic cigarette habit (and the walks with Lucy that facilitate it), won’t give Margaret access to his phone’s location tracking feature, even if he barely hesitates to give such access to his new friend Matt. But it is not just Bob who is narrowing the bounds of his 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 consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iur
He took a drag of his cigarette and said, “Lucy, I’m so sorry about seeing you in the store and—” But she was already shaking her head, and she touched his arm lightly and said, “Bob, please don’t give it another thought, I was just being a jerk.”
They sat there looking at the river. There was enough of a wind to make small white caps appear in the middle of it, and also the wind blew the smoke over Bob as he sat. But he did not get up, as he would have in the past.
Lucy was restored to him.
On the shifting sand they stood on.
“Thanks, Lucy,” he said, as he put the cigarette butt back into the pack.
“Of course,” she said.
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After Bob, out grocery shopping, spots Lucy being rude to a neighbor of theirs, he is thrown by this new facet of her personality. When Bob raises this incident with Lucy, she is offended, feeling as if he has been “spying” on her—though Bob’s quick apology makes Lucy forgive the whole thing. In this touching exchange, Bob and Lucy return to their regular cigarette ritual, Lucy unburdening Bob with her customary “of course” (which also signals her tolerance of the smoking habit he tries so hard to hide from everyone else). In returning to this treasured routine, Bob is able 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 consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. S
Book 4, Chapter 12 Quotes
“So Bob, here’s the thing. Olive and I have been telling each other stories of unrecorded lives, but what do they mean? At least Diana Beach got to be a good guidance counselor. And yet still—I don’t know. I keep thinking these days about all these people, and people we don't even know, and their lives are unrecorded. But what does anyone’s life mean?” She added, “Please don’t laugh.”
The smoke [Bob] inhaled got stuck and he coughed—hard. He turned toward her as he coughed and coughed. When he was done coughing, he asked, “Did you just ask me what anyone’s life means?”
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Earlier, after Olive told Lucy the story about Pauline and the fisherman, Lucy wondered what the “point” of any of these anti-climactic stories is. But after Lucy discusses the abridged life of her friend Addie Beal, her question takes on new urgency. Addie’s life was devoid of any of the romantic drama or professional accomplishment that is so usually deemed worthy of being recorded in a story—and so instead, her life and death have gone “unrecorded,” her story told only in Olive’s retirement home. “At least Diana Beach got to be a good guidance counselor,” Lucy sighs. But without a 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 consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium i
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Bob’s Cigarettes Symbol Timeline in Tell Me Everything
The timeline below shows where the symbol Bob’s Cigarettes appears in Tell Me Everything. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 1, Chapter 2
...fact, Bob and Lucy were so close that while Bob has been keeping his newfound cigarette habit a secret from Margaret, he feels perfectly comfortable smoking in front of Lucy. Bob...
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...“don’t think about it”—a private joke, since they are both such overthinkers. Bob smokes his cigarette, and when he is done, he thanks Lucy for not minding the smell. “Of course,...
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Book 1, Chapter 5
...talks about Little Annie—she is struggling with the transplant—and Bob smokes. When Bob finishes his cigarette, he tells Lucy, “Thank you.” “Of course,” she replies.
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Book 1, Chapter 6
...goes to visit Susan in Shirley Falls. A few hours later, as Bob smokes a cigarette, Pam calls him with bad news: Jim’s wife Helen has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer,...
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Book 1, Chapter 8
...When Jim tells Bob, Lucy thinks, the tragedy will finally become real. Bob lights a cigarette, and Lucy recalls the fable of the “sin-eaters.” “That’s what you are,” Lucy tells Bob....
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Book 2, Chapter 1
...to discuss the case with Gerry O’Hare. Across town, Bob is trying to hide his cigarette habit from Margaret, who thinks she smells smoke on his clothes. Bob’s phone rings, and...
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Book 2, Chapter 8
Bob smokes his cigarette, and the duo heads back to their cars. As they walk, Bob tells Lucy how...
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Book 3, Chapter 2
Bob drives to the 7/11, where he buys cigarettes and smokes them, not caring if Margaret detects the scent on his clothes. As he...
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Book 3, Chapter 4
Bob and Lucy reach the spot on the riverbank where Bob usually has his cigarette. As Bob smokes, he asks Lucy what it is that drives the “terror” she so...
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...on to another.” Bob thinks that no such person really exists, and he finishes his cigarette.
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Book 3, Chapter 5
...to hide his smoking habit. Sheepishly, Matt tells Bob that he can always smell the cigarette smoke on Bob’s clothes. “Oy,” Bob replies—but he cannot wait to tell Lucy about the...
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Book 3, Chapter 6
They reach the river, and Bob smokes his cigarette. Bob tries to apologize again about the grocery store incident, but Lucy waves it off,...
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Book 4, Chapter 11
After hearing from Matt about Katherine, Bob lights a cigarette and decides to text Lucy. Lucy asks Bob if he has been angry with her,...
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Book 4, Chapter 12
...eventually declaring that she is cold and wants to go home. Instead of putting his cigarette back in the pack as he usually does, Bob drops it out on the ground...
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Book 4, Chapter 14
Bob sometimes still misses Lucy dearly. When he walks by himself, he rarely has a cigarette, so he has started smoking less frequently. One day, when Bob is cleaning out his...
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