The great thing about using the past is that it gives you the most colossal freedom to invent. The research is necessary, of course, but no one writes a novel to dramatically illustrate what everybody already knows.
Peter CareyRead
I did not know that history is like a blood stain that keeps on showing on the wall no matter how many new owners take possession, no matter how many times we pint over it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
History is persistent and cannot be erased despite attempts to conceal it.
This quote by Peter Carey suggests that the impacts of history are enduring and unavoidable. Just like a blood stain on a wall that remains visible regardless of how many times the surface is painted over, history leaves a lasting mark on society and individuals, influencing the present and future no matter how much we wish to forget or ignore it.
Themes
HistoryMemoryPersistenceInfluenceIdentity
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture on the importance of learning from history, this quote perfectly encapsulates the enduring nature of historical events.
More from Peter Carey
All quotes →Our prime minister could embrace and forgive the people who killed our beloved sons and fathers, and so he should, but he could not, would not, apologise to the Aboriginal people for 200 years of murder and abuse. The battle against the Turks, he said in Gallipoli, was our history, our tradition. The war against the Aboriginals, he had already said at home, had happened long ago. The battle had made us; the war that won the continent was best forgotten
Peter CareyRead
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