I wanted to wear her as you would a piece of clothing, to fold into her ribs, be a stone in her mouth.
Hisham MatarRead
Dreams have consequences. There is no turning back. A revolution is not a painless march to the gates of freedom and justice. It is a struggle between rage and hope, between the temptation to destroy and the desire to build. Its temperament is desperate. It is a tormented response to the past, to all that has happened, the recalled and unrecalled injustices - for the memory of a revolution reaches much further back than the memory of its protagonists.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Dreams and revolutions come with challenges and consequences, reflecting a profound struggle for justice and freedom.
Hisham Matar's quote delves into the complex nature of revolutions, suggesting that the pursuit of freedom and justice is fraught with tension and emotional turmoil. It highlights the duality of revolution as both a response to past injustices and a struggle between destruction and creation, emphasizing that the fight for change is not only a public movement but also a deeply personal and historical experience that resonates through time.
Themes
DreamsRevolutionJusticeFreedomHopeStruggle
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used during a rally for social justice to inspire participants about the importance of their fight.
More from Hisham Matar
All quotes →Similar quotes
If you see that some aspect of your society is bad, and you want to improve it, there is only one way to do so: you have to improve people. And in order to improve people, you begin with only ONE thing: you can become better yourself.
Leo TolstoyRead
I played an integral part in helpings formulating that new vision... that we must abandon apartheid and accept one united South Africa with equal rights for all, with all forms of discrimination to be scrapped from the statute book.
F. W. De KlerkRead
We have the chance to build this new energy economy in ways that reflect our deepest values of inclusion, diversity, and equal opportunity for everyone.
Van JonesRead
You must constantly ask yourself these questions: Who am I around? What are they doing to me? What have they got me reading? What have they got me saying? Where do they have me going? What do they have me thinking? And most important, what do they have me becoming? Then ask yourself the big question: Is that okay? Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.
Jim RohnRead
The tragedy is not that things are broken. The tragedy is that things are not mended again.
Alan PatonRead
Young people should be at the forefront of global change and innovation. Empowered, they can be key agents for development and peace. If, however, they are left on society's margins, all of us will be impoverished. Let us ensure that all young people have every opportunity to participate fully in the lives of their societies.
Kofi AnnanRead