After this crisis Maurice became a man. Hitherto---if human beings can be estimated---he had not been worth anyone's affection, but conventional, petty, treacherous to others, because to himself. Now he had the highest gift to offer. The idealism and brutality that ran through boyhood had joined at last, and twined into love. No one might want such love, but he could not feel ashamed of it, because it was "h" neither body or soul, nor body and soul, "he working through both. He still suffered, yet a sense of triumph had come elsewhere. Pain had shown him a niche behind the world's judgments, whither he could withdraw. There was still much to learn, and years passed before he explored certain abysses in his being---horrible enough they were. But he discovered the method and looked no more at scratches in the sand. Discuss what is the crisis: What is it that occurs before the quotation. Explain why it is important. What is the quotation speaking of? Identify a particular piece of the quotation (language, phrase or image) and explain its meaning. Then finally discuss what of significance occurs after the quotation.

Edited by Customer (name blocked for privacy) on June 10 2006 at 8:36 PM