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It seems entirely possible to me that horrible things can be going on without us becoming horrible people.
Jonathan Safran Foer
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Interpretation

What this quote means

One can experience or witness negativity without allowing it to shape one's character.

This quote by Jonathan Safran Foer suggests that while the world may be filled with distressing events, it is still possible for individuals to maintain their humanity and not let these experiences negatively define who they are. It emphasizes the idea that external circumstances do not have to dictate our internal values and behaviors.

Themes

HumanityNegativityCharacterMoralityEmpathy

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about the impact of war on society, this quote can illustrate how individuals can remain compassionate despite surrounding violence.

More from Jonathan Safran Foer

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What do babies dream of? She must be dreaming of the before-life, just as I dream of the afterlife.
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A few weeks after the worst day, I started writing lots of letters. I don't know why, but it was one of the only things that made my boots lighter.
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What is being awake if not interpreting our dreams, or dreaming if not interpreting our wake?
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