Quote 13
For three years I had thought of myself as a man and here with a few words he'd made me as helpless as an infant. (6.82)
Dr. Bledsoe takes away the narrator's feeling of manliness – this is a moment of rebirth.
Quote 14
Play the game, but play it your own way – part of the time at least. Play the game, but raise the ante, my boy. Learn how it operates, learn how you operate – I wish I had time to tell you only a fragment. (7.28)
In other words, the vet tells the narrator to know thyself. Does this passage conflict with, agree with, or complement the grandfather's advice?
Quote 15
Be your own father, young man. And remember, the world is possibility if only you'll discover it. Last of all, leave the Mr. Nortons alone, and if you don't know what I mean, think about it. Farewell. (7.90)
By telling the narrator to be his own father, the vet is telling him to guide and discover opportunities for himself, as opposed to following those who want to give him a path to follow – Mr. Norton, Brother Jack, who are both called 'father' for some reason or other. This also cements the vet as one of the few characters in the novel capable of speaking the truth. And look where that got him.