We burned with love for ourselves, all of us, starters of the fire we suffered- our love was the affliction for which only our love was the cure.
Jonathan Safran FoerRead
In America right now, we use words like 'smart' to talk about bombs. American rhetoric is grounded in ideas of capital-G Good, capital-E Evil, and it's very clear who is on which side. But in a book you can do just the opposite. You can use all lower-case words.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote criticizes the binary nature of American discourse on morality, emphasizing the nuanced approach that literature can offer.
In this quote, Jonathan Safran Foer highlights the simplification of complex moral issues in American society by framing them as purely good or evil. He contrasts this with the depth and complexity that literature allows, suggesting that writing can explore the gray areas of morality rather than confining itself to clear-cut categories. This reflects a broader commentary on how language shapes our understanding of morality, conflict, and human experience.
Themes
MoralityLanguageNuanceLiteratureDiscourse
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on moral philosophy, one might reference this quote to highlight the complexities of ethical language.
More from Jonathan Safran Foer
All quotes →Memory was supposed to fill the time, but it made time a hole to be filled. Each second was two hundred yards, to be walked, crawled. You couldn't see the next hour, it was so far in the distance. Tomorrow was over the horizon, and would take an entire day to reach.
Jonathan Safran FoerRead
She was not crying Which surprised me very much But I understand now That she had found places For her melancholy That were behind more masks Than only her eyes
Jonathan Safran FoerRead
What do babies dream of? She must be dreaming of the before-life, just as I dream of the afterlife.
Jonathan Safran FoerRead
A few weeks after the worst day, I started writing lots of letters. I don't know why, but it was one of the only things that made my boots lighter.
Jonathan Safran FoerRead
What is being awake if not interpreting our dreams, or dreaming if not interpreting our wake?
Jonathan Safran FoerRead
Similar quotes
We are always complaining that our days are few, and acting as though there would be no end to them.
Seneca The YoungerRead
What we make of people, and what we see in the mirror when we look at ourselves, depends on what we know of the world, what we believe to be possible, what memories we have, and whether our loyalties are to the past, the present or the future.
Theodore ZeldinRead
This non-proletarianised plebs has been racialist when it has been colonialist; it has been nationalist - chauvinist - when it has been armed; and it has been fascist when it has become the police force.These ideological effects on the plebs have been uncontestable and profound.
Michel FoucaultRead
Money is a singular thing. It ranks with love as man's greatest source of joy. And with death as his greatest source of anxiety. Over all history it has oppressed nearly all people in one of two ways: either it has been abundant and very unreliable, or reliable and very scarce.
John Kenneth GalbraithRead
There's such divinity doth hedge a king _x000D_ That treason can but peep to what it would.
William ShakespeareRead
The separation of state and church must be complemented by the separation of state and science, that most recent, most aggressive, and most dogmatic religious institution.
Paul FeyerabendRead