“Something always stopped him: bad luck, a racial barrier, a law, his own vanity or arrogance or fear of losing face.” (pg. 55) What do you suppose is the real reason Papa never finishes law school?3

Papa never followed through on any of his ventures. It's hard to say why he quit law school, but then again, "he never quite finished anything he set out to do." I think Papa is one of those people who just can't finish anything. Rather then be left having faced the challenge and won, he'd rather start the process all over again.