I wondered about the science of storms and how sometimes it seemed that a storm wanted to break the world and how the world refused to break.
Benjamin Alire SaenzRead
Why do we smile? Why do we laugh? Why do we feel alone? Why are we sad and confused? Why do we read poetry? Why do we cry when we see a painting? Why is there a riot in the heart when we love? Why do we feel shame? What is that thing in the pit of your stomach called desire?
Interpretation
The quote explores the complexities of human emotions and the reasons behind them.
In this quote, Benjamin Alire Sáenz reflects on the myriad emotions that define the human experience, prompting deep introspection about feelings such as joy, sadness, love, and desire. By asking a series of profound questions, he encourages readers to contemplate the reasons behind their emotional responses and the interconnectedness of art, literature, and individual experiences.
In practice
This quote could be used in a discussion about the importance of understanding our emotions at a psychology seminar.
I wondered about the science of storms and how sometimes it seemed that a storm wanted to break the world and how the world refused to break.
Words were different when they lived inside of you.
I wondered what that was like, to hold someone’s hand. I bet you could sometimes find all of the mysteries of the universe in someone’s hand.
Summer was here again. Summer, summer, summer. I loved and hated summers. Summers had a logic all their own and they always brought something out in me. Summer was supposed to be about freedom and youth and no school and possibilities and adventure and exploration. Summer was a book of hope. That's why I loved and hated summers. Because they made me want to believe.
Man is the only animal that can remain on friendly terms with the victims he intends to eat until he eats them.
Strange, is it not, my brothers, how often in America those great watchwords of human energy - 'Be strong!' 'Know thyself!' 'Hitch your wagon to a star!' - how often these die away into dim whispers when we face these seething millions of black men? And yet do they not belong to them? Are they not their heritage as well as yours?
You!" he cried. "You never hated because you never lived. I know what you are all of you, from first to last--you are the people in power! You are the police--the great, fat smiling men in blue and buttons! You are the Law, and you have never been broken. But is there a free soul alive that does not long to break you, only because you have never been broken?
I think that when in doubt about the truth of an issue, it's safer and in better taste to select the least numerous of the adversaries.
More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.
To work for the common good is the greatest creed.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.