The quote reflects on the painful experiences of individuals who attended a harsh boarding school on the South Coast. The narrator hints at the severity of the treatment they endured, indicating that this environment caused significant distress and trauma in their lives. The impact of such cruelty is emphasized, as it not only affected the students but also left a lasting imprint on their futures.

This account underscores a common theme in literature of how institutional environments, especially those meant to provide education, can become places of suffering. The narrator's mention of "so many men" suggests a shared narrative of hardship, revealing the broader implications of such experiences on a generation and their subsequent relationships with each other and society.