Try any goddam thing you like, no matter how boringly normal or outrageous. If it works, fine. If it doesn't, toss it. Toss it even if you love it.
Stephen KingRead
Eddie discovered one of his childhood's great truths. Grownups are the real monsters, he thought.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that adults often display more harmful and monstrous behaviors than children, challenging perceptions of innocence and maturity.
In this quote, Stephen King encapsulates a profound realization that Eddie has about the world of adulthood. It reflects the idea that as people grow up, they often become jaded, selfish, and morally compromised, potentially embodying the very monsters that children fear. This perspective invites readers to reconsider their assumptions about maturity and innocence, suggesting that the true monsters in life may be those who have lost their sense of compassion and empathy rather than the fears that dwell in the imagination.
Themes
MonstersAdulthoodTruthChildhoodFear
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the loss of innocence in childhood, this quote could serve as a poignant reminder.
More from Stephen King
All quotes →Hairstyles change, and skirt lengths, and slang, but high school administrations? Never.
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Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.
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That's the day's business. Thinking. Thinking and isolation, because it doesn't matter if you pass the time of day with someone or not; in the end, you're alone. He seemed to have put in as many miles in his brain as he had with his feet. The thoughts kept coming and there was no way to deny them.
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Late last night and the night before, tommyknockers, tommyknockers knocking on my door. I wanna go out, don't know if I can 'cuz I'm so afraid of the tommyknocker man.
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At nineteen, it seems to me, one has a right to be arrogant; time has usually not begun its stealthy and rotten subtractions. It takes away your hair and your jump-shot, according to a popular country song, but in truth it takes away a lot more than that.
Stephen KingRead
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