We took away your art because we thought it would reveal your souls. Or to put it more finely, we did it to prove you had souls at all.
Kazuo IshiguroRead
And if these incidents now seem full of significance and all of a piece, it's probably because I'm looking at them in the light of what came later.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The significance of past events can only be understood in light of future developments.
This quote emphasizes that our interpretation of past events is often influenced by the outcomes that follow them. It suggests that what we consider meaningful or significant is shaped by our current perspective and the knowledge of how events unfolded afterward, leading us to see connections that may not have been evident at the time.
Themes
SignificancePerspectiveUnderstandingPastFuture
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about how life experiences shape our current decisions, this quote highlights the importance of hindsight.
More from Kazuo Ishiguro
All quotes →You need to remember that. If you’re to have decent lives, you have to know who you are and what lies ahead of you, every one of you.
Kazuo IshiguroRead
I keep thinking about this river somewhere, with the water moving really fast. And these two people in the water, trying to hold onto each other, holding on as hard as they can, but in the end it's just too much. The current's too strong. They've got to let go, drift apart. That's how it is with us. It's a shame, Kath, because we've loved each other all our lives. But in the end, we can't stay together forever.
Kazuo IshiguroRead
What I'm not sure about, is if our lives have been so different from the lives of the people we save. We all complete. Maybe none of us really understand what we've lived through, or feel we've had enough time.
Kazuo IshiguroRead
If you were a boy and a girl and you were in love with each other, really, properly in love, and if you could show it, then the people who run Hailsham, they sorted it out for you. They sorted it out so you could have a few years together before you began your donations.
Kazuo IshiguroRead
We all live inside bodies that will deteriorate. But when you look at human beings, they're capable of very decent things: love, loyalty. When time is running out, they don't care about possessions or status. They want to put things right if they've done wrong.
Kazuo IshiguroRead
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