“Mr. Lynch was one of the few teachers who admitted that even here at St. Raphael’s, a Manhattan prep school for the rich and / or brilliant (Mitty fell into the first category), there was such a thing as cheating.”

Tucked into parenthesis is a brief reference to the wealth of Mitty’s family, evident from their ability to afford the elite high school, St. Raphael’s. But there are other clues that his family leads a life of privilege, from their lavishly furnished apartment in Manhattan, to their second home in Connecticut, to the fact that Mitty never is concerned with the cost of anything he buys. And yet, it’s also clear that Mitty not a snob; for instance, he enjoys chatting with everyone, no matter their social class.

“Olivia, whom Mitty adored, had chosen typhoid fever and was already so advanced in her research that she was using the library of Columbia University’s medical school because every other library in New York City was too limited.”

Olivia’s studious habits are in clear contrast to Mitty’s slacker-like ways. She is a dedicated and focused student who dives right into her homework as soon as it is assigned, unlike Mitty, who doesn’t see the point of expending that much effort. He instead procrastinates. And yet, despite their differences, Olivia and Mitty are drawn together, enjoying each other’s company.

“Mitty undid the string and peered in, but the opening was narrow and he couldn’t see exactly what was down there. He inverted the envelope over his hand and tapped. The contents slid into his palm. The stuff really was scabs.”

When Mitty finds the scabs, he is unaware of the potential danger that he is in. However, at the end of each chapter, the narrator highlights the danger of breathing in such contaminated material. The suspense builds immediately.