He said that people who loved [animals] to excess were capable of the worst cruelties toward human beings. He said that dogs were not loyal but servile, that cats were opportunists and traitors, that peacocks were heralds of death, that macaws were simply decorative annoyances, that rabbits fomented greed, that monkeys carried the fever of lust, and that roosters were damned because they had been complicit in the three denials of Christ.
Everything that goes into my mouth seems to make me fat, everything that comes out of my mouth embarrasses me.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the struggle with self-image and the impact of words on personal feelings.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez's quote highlights the dual challenges of managing one's physical appearance and the repercussions of one's own spoken words. It captures the frustration of feeling heavy burdened by both food intake, which leads to weight gain, and verbal expressions, which often lead to embarrassment. This poignant statement reflects a deeper commentary on the complexities of human experience, addressing how both our physical and verbal actions can have profound effects on our self-esteem and social interactions.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a speech about the importance of self-acceptance and openness about our struggles.
More from Gabriel Garcia Marquez
All quotes →Amputees suffer pains, cramps, itches in the leg that is no longer there. That is how she felt without him, feeling his presence where he no longer was.
She had the revelation one Sunday that while the other instruments played for everyone the violen played for her alone .
He sank into the rocking chair, the same one in which Rebecca had sat during the early days of the house to give embroidery lessons, and in which Amaranta had played Chinese checkers with Colonel Gerineldo Marquez, and in which Amarana Ursula had sewn the tiny clothing for the child, and in that flash of lucidity he became aware that he was unable to bear in his soul the crushing weight of so much past.
Nobody deserves your tears, but whoever deserves them will not make you cry.
Both described at the same time how it was always March there and always Monday, and then they understood that José Arcadio Buendía was not as crazy as the family said, but that he was the only one who had enough lucidity to sense the truth of the fact that time also stumbled and had accidents and could therefore splinter and leave an eternalized fragment in a room.
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