Reading was like a drug, a dope. The novels created moods in which I lived for days.
Richard WrightRead
He had lived and acted on the assumption that he was alone, and now he saw that he had not been. What he had done made others suffer. No matter how much he would long for them to forget him, they would not be able to. His family was a part of him, not only in blood, but in spirit.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the impact of one's actions on others, highlighting the deep connection between family members.
Richard Wright's quote emphasizes the profound realization that a person's actions, driven by a sense of isolation, can profoundly affect those around them, particularly family. It suggests that family bonds transcend mere biological ties and that one’s actions resonate within the collective spirit of family, underscoring the importance of recognizing and valuing these connections.
Themes
RelationshipsFamilyConnectionActionsImpact
In practice
Example use cases
In a family therapy session, this quote can be used to illustrate how one's behavior affects the whole family.
More from Richard Wright
All quotes →It had been only through books-at best, no more than vicarious cultural transfusions-that I had managaed to keep myself alive in a negatively vital way. Whenever my environment had failed to support or nourish me, I had clutched at books.
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I was not leaving the south to forget the south, but so that some day I might understand it
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Hunger has always been more or less at my elbow when I played, but now I began to wake up at night to find hunger standing at my bedside, staring at my gauntly.
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It made me love talk that sought answers to questions that could help nobody, that could only keep alive in me that enthralling sense of wonder and awe in the face of the drama of human feeling which is hidden by the external drama of life.
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I listened, vaguely knowing now that I had committed some awful wrong that I could not undo, that I had uttered words I could not recall even though I ached to nullify them, kill them, turn back time to the moment before I had talked so that I could have another chance to save myself.
Richard WrightRead
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