It is my feeling that a story is not finished until it is read, and that the reader finishes it through his or her life experience, prejudices, worldview and thoughts.
If life was an arc of light that began in darkness, ended in darkness, the first part of his life had happened in ordinary glare. Here it was as though he had found a polarized lens that deepened and intensified all seen through it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that life's journey transitions from darkness to light, emphasizing the transformation of perspective that can enhance one's experience of life.
Annie Proulx's quote reflects on the nature of existence, portraying life as a progression from darkness through a phase of ordinary experiences, ultimately hinting at the potential for deeper understanding and intensity as one gains a clearer perspective. The metaphor of a polarized lens symbolizes the transformative power of perception, suggesting that with the right mindset, the mundane can become profound and vivid.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about overcoming challenges, this quote can help illustrate the journey of finding clarity.
More from Annie Proulx
All quotes →No wonder, he thought, that the panhandle people were a godly lot, for they lived in sudden, violent atmospheres. Weather kept them humble.
You should write because you love the shape of stories and sentences and the creation of different words on a page. Writing comes from reading, and reading is the finest teacher of how to write.
I think it's important to leave spaces in a story for readers to fill in from their own experience.
If a piece of knotted string can unleash the wind, and if a drowned man can awaken, then I believe a broken man can heal.
But the only rhyme he could summon for 'out' was 'sauerkraut,' which lacked poetic glory. He let it go. The right line would come in time. That was the thing about poetry. It crept up through the draws and coulees of the brain.
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if we have not found the heaven within,we have not found the heaven without
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We are all victims of the violence that animals suffer... their liberation is also our liberation.
not to find out new principles, or new arguments, never before thought of . . . but to place before mankind the common sense of the subject, in terms so plain and firm as to command their assent, and to justify ourselves in the independent stand we are compelled to take.
Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom, the good thief said from his cross (Luke 23:42). There are perhaps no more human words in all of Scripture, no prayer we can pray so well.
There are the saints of every day, the 'hidden' saints, a sort of 'middle class of holiness'... to which we can all belong.