The deep joy we take in the company of people with whom we have just recently fallen in love is undisguisable.
John CheeverRead
At my back I hear the word-"homosexual"-and it seems to split my world in two.... It is ignorance, our ignorance of one another, that creates this terrifying erotic chaos. Information, a crumb of information, seems to light the world.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights how ignorance can lead to fear and division, specifically regarding sexuality, while knowledge can foster understanding and connection.
John Cheever's quote reflects on the profound impact of ignorance about homosexuality, suggesting that such ignorance can create a chaotic and fearful experience both personally and socially. He emphasizes that the mere acquisition of knowledge—represented metaphorically as 'a crumb of information'—has the power to illuminate and bridge the divides created by misunderstanding, ultimately facilitating greater empathy and connection among individuals.
Themes
IgnoranceKnowledgeUnderstandingSexualityRelationships
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion about LGBTQ+ rights, one might quote Cheever to emphasize the importance of education in combating prejudice.
More from John Cheever
All quotes →For me a page of good prose is where one hears the rain. A page of good prose is when one hears the noise of battle.... A page of good prose seems to me the most serious dialogue that well-informed and intelligent men and women carry on today in their endeavor to make sure that the fires of this planet burn peaceably.
John CheeverRead
For me, a page of good prose is where one hears the rain and the noise of battle. It has the power to give grief or universality that lends it a youthful beauty.
John CheeverRead
The world that was not mine yesterday now lies spread out at my feet, a splendor. I seem, in the middle of the night, to have returned to the world of apples, the orchards of Heaven. Perhaps I should take my problems to a shrink, or perhaps I should enjoy the apples that I have, streaked with color like the evening sky.
John CheeverRead
What I am going to write is the last of what I have to say. I will say that literature is the only consciousness we possess and that its role as consciousness must inform us of our ability to comprehend the hideous danger of nuclear power.
John CheeverRead
Art is the triumph over chaos.
John CheeverRead
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