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[I]n Africa I was a member of a family—of a sort of family that the people of your culture haven't known for thousands of years. If gorillas were capable of such an expression, they would tell you that their family is like a hand, of which they are the fingers. They are fully aware of being a family but are very little aware of being individuals. Here in the zoo there were other gorillas—but there was no family. Five severed fingers do not make a hand.
Daniel Quinn
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote emphasizes the significance of familial bonds over individualism, using gorillas as a metaphor for interconnectedness within a family.

Daniel Quinn's quote reflects on the concept of family, suggesting that true familial connections go beyond mere individual existence. He contrasts the communal living of gorillas, who embody a sense of unity akin to fingers on a hand, with the disjointed nature of zoo gorillas, highlighting that without genuine connection and awareness of each other, family members lack a cohesive identity.

Themes

FamilyRelationshipsConnectionUnityIndividuality

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of family structures in understanding our identities.

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Do you see the slightest evidence anywhere in the universe that creation came to an end with the birth of man? Do you see the slightest evidence anywhere out there that man was the climax toward which creation had been straining from the beginning? ...Very far from it. The universe went on as before, the planet went on as before. Man's appearance caused no more stir than the appearance of jellyfish.
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