You can't quantify human pain the way you can measure out sugar. Death comes one individual at a time.
Yann MartelRead
We are all born like Catholics, aren't we—in limbo, without religion, until some figure introduces us to God?
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that individuals start without inherent beliefs and are influenced by external figures to adopt a religion or belief system.
Yann Martel's quote reflects on the nature of human belief, positing that people enter the world in a neutral state, akin to being in limbo, devoid of predetermined religious inclinations. It implies that religion is often introduced to individuals through external influences, such as family or societal figures, rather than being an innate aspect of their existence.
Themes
BeliefReligionInfluencePhilosophyExistence
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the nature of faith and belief systems in a philosophy class.
More from Yann Martel
All quotes →Come aboard if your destination is oblivion- it should be our next stop. We can sit together. You can have the window seat if you want. But it's a sad view.
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Fiction and nonfiction are not so easily divided. Fiction may not be real, but it's true; it goes beyond the garland of facts to get to emotional and psychological truths.
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The moon was a sharply defined crescent and the sky was perfectly clear. The stars shone with such fierce, contained brilliance that it seemed absurd to call the night dark.
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I thought they were helping me. I was so full of trust in them that I felt grateful as they carried me in the air. Only when they threw me overboard did I begin to have doubts.
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Art is a gift: you create and then you give away. How readers receive that gift is their business. If they hate it, that’s their response to it. Others respond by liking it. Either way, that is their interaction with the book, which is no longer mine.
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