Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.
John SteinbeckRead
Men seem to be born with a debt they can never pay no matter how hard they try.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that humans carry an inherent burden or obligation that is impossible to fully resolve.
John Steinbeck’s quote reflects on the existential burdens that individuals face throughout their lives. It suggests that no matter the efforts one makes to alleviate the pressures and debts of existence—such as societal expectations, personal aspirations, or moral responsibilities—there remains an inescapable debt that is part of the human condition. This concept evokes feelings of sympathy and understanding about the complexities of life and the struggles that are universal among all people.
Themes
DebtStruggleHuman ConditionExistenceObligation
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the struggles of modern life, this quote can highlight the burdens people feel.
More from John Steinbeck
All quotes →At one point, as Samuel urges Adam to raise his boys well regardless of the blood that might be in them, Adam tells him, "You can't make a race horse of a pig." Samuel replies, "No, but you can make a very fast pig.
John SteinbeckRead
And when that crop grew, and was harvested, no man had crumbled a hot clod in his fingers and let the earth sift past his fingertips. No man had touched the seed, or lusted for the growth. Men ate what they had not raised, had no connection with the bread. The land bore under iron, and under iron gradually died; for it was not loved or hated, it had no prayers or curses.
John SteinbeckRead
The comfortable people in tight houses felt pity at first, and then distaste, and finally hatred for the migrant people.
John SteinbeckRead
People do not want advice - they want corroboration.
John SteinbeckRead
It is one of the triumphs of the human that he can know a thing and still not believe it.
John SteinbeckRead
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