The supercilious assumption was that on Sunday afternoon I had nothing better to do.
Chapter 2 · Narrator
Context
After Tom forces Nick off the train at the ash-heaps, Nick reflects on Tom's presumptuous behavior, noting his entitled expectation that Nick would comply.
Analysis
This brief observation economically captures Tom's characteristic arrogance and sense of entitlement. The word 'supercilious'—meaning showing an air of contemptuous superiority—precisely defines Tom's attitude toward everyone around him. Nick's resentment is quiet but clear, establishing his ambivalent role as someone who follows along while inwardly judging. The sentence reveals how Tom's wealth translates into power over others' time and autonomy.
How to Use in Essay
Useful for essays on Tom's character, the dynamics of power and entitlement, or Nick's complicity in events he claims to disapprove of.