In the front row Stevens spots Dana, the notorious overachiever, pretending to read Finnegans Wake.
This line shows that Stevens, the main character, has an opinion on every one of his students and it shows the type of teacher he is as well by using words such as "notorious" and "pretending"
He strolls into his classroom wearing his uniform—faded black jeans that sag in the rear and a worn fleece pullover.
This piece of text shows the outfit and style of the professor and also illustrates the type of clothing as well using words such as "sag", "worn", and "faded".
—a skinny young man in a Bob Dylan t-shirt, skin-tight jeans, and checkerboard-patterned Vans sneakers.
The author describes the appearance of Bobby Jorgenson by using vivid imagery and describing the clothing of the character.
where he smokes cigarettes on the shore and ignores his wife’s phone calls.
This phrase shows the professors character and is the explanation for a later sentence where he says that he's "five minutes late, as usual".
In the back row a girl scribbles furiously in a fancy journal. Against the far wall a young man in sweat pants and a Minnesota Twins hat snores quietly—his desk empty, except for his head.
This example of imagery shows the state of boredom or trance that his students are in. Statements like "snores quietly" and "scribbles furiously" indicate that the students know that he is late and are responding to his lateness by impatiently waiting.