Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.
John SteinbeckRead
A book is like a man - clever and dull, brave and cowardly, beautiful and ugly. For every flowering thought there will be a page like a wet and mangy mongrel, and for every looping flight a tap on the wing and a reminder that wax cannot hold the feathers firm too near the sun.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Books reflect the complexity of human nature, showcasing both strengths and weaknesses.
In this quote, John Steinbeck compares a book to a person, suggesting that just like humans, books possess a duality of characteristics such as cleverness and dullness, bravery and cowardice, beauty and ugliness. He implies that within the pages of a book, there are moments of brilliance and inspiration, but also passages that might feel lacking or flawed, much like the experiences in life. The metaphor of a ‘wet and mangy mongrel’ symbolizes the imperfections in literature and life, while ‘wax cannot hold the feathers firm too near the sun’ reflects the limitations and fragility of both human aspirations and the art of writing.
Themes
BooksLiteratureHuman NatureImperfectionCreativity
In practice
Example use cases
In a book club discussing the multifaceted aspects of literature.
More from John Steinbeck
All quotes →At one point, as Samuel urges Adam to raise his boys well regardless of the blood that might be in them, Adam tells him, "You can't make a race horse of a pig." Samuel replies, "No, but you can make a very fast pig.
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And when that crop grew, and was harvested, no man had crumbled a hot clod in his fingers and let the earth sift past his fingertips. No man had touched the seed, or lusted for the growth. Men ate what they had not raised, had no connection with the bread. The land bore under iron, and under iron gradually died; for it was not loved or hated, it had no prayers or curses.
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The comfortable people in tight houses felt pity at first, and then distaste, and finally hatred for the migrant people.
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People do not want advice - they want corroboration.
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It is one of the triumphs of the human that he can know a thing and still not believe it.
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