These things, she felt, were not to be passed around like disingenuous party favors. She kept an honor code with her journals and her poems. 'Inside, inside,' she would whisper quietly to herself when she felt the urge to tell.
Alice SeboldRead
Because horror on Earth is real and it is every day. It is like a flower or like the sun; it cannot be contained.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that the presence of horror in our lives is inevitable and omnipresent, similar to the beauty of nature.
Alice Sebold's quote reflects on the uncontainable nature of horror in the world, comparing it to a flower or the sun, which signifies that just as beauty is a constant and pervasive aspect of our reality, so too is horror. This duality of existence implies that one must acknowledge and confront the darker aspects of life, as they are an inherent part of the human experience.
Themes
HorrorLifeNatureTruthExistence
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about societal issues, one might say, 'As Alice Sebold reminds us, horror on Earth is real and it is every day, urging us to remain vigilant.'
More from Alice Sebold
All quotes βAfter telling the hard facts to anyone from lover to friend, I have changed in their eyes. Often it is awe or admiration, sometimes it is repulsion, once or twice it has been fury hurled directly at me for reasons I remain unsure of.
Alice SeboldRead
The stains could be seen only in the sunlight, so Ruth was never really aware of them until later, when she would stop at an outdoor cafe for a cup of coffee, and look down at her skirt and see the dark traces of spilled vodka or whiskey. The alcohol had the effect of making the black cloth blacker. This amused her; she had noted in her journal: 'booze affects material as it does people'.
Alice SeboldRead
Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.
Alice SeboldRead
As she stood in the darkened room and watched my sister and father, I knew one of things that heaven meant. I had a choice, and it was not to divide my family in my heart.
Alice SeboldRead
She liked to imagine that when she passed the world looked after her, but she also knew how anonymous she was.
Alice SeboldRead
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The true test of the American ideal is whether we're able to recognize our failings and then rise together to meet the challenges of our time. Whether we allow ourselves to be shaped by events and history, or whether we act to shape them. Whether chance of birth or circumstance decides life's big winners and losers, or whether we build a community where, at the very least, everyone has a chance to work hard, get ahead, and reach their dreams.
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