Karim grew up in South London.He lived in the suburbs with people who owned an estate. When he was a child, Karim and his friends were not used to their lessons, and they always got into fights. Education was not an end in itself.
When they were teenagers, half of them quit school to go to work.They became garage mechanics or managers.
While Karim was studying at college, he meet Eleanor and her crowd. But he left college, much to his parents' regret. In comparison with his new friends, he did not have much knowledge about art and languages...and compared to people like Eleanor he felt down-hearted because he saw that he knew none of the things that Eleanor's crowd wrote books about, whereas Karim prefered to have fun with his friends, singing songs like "I am a walrus". He admired them and wanted to be like them.
He who had once criticized priviliged children envied them now.
Even though he was angry with them, he still wanted to be like them. He always wanted to be able to express himself easily.
He was a commuter with an accent that was typical of the suburbs. He was ashamed of it and resentful. He decided to sever all links with his past when Eleanor told him that his accent was cute.
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