QuoteProject
For," I said, "a murdered man or woman dies not in God's time, but in Man's. He... or she... is cut short before he... or she... can atone for sin, and so all errors must be forgiven. When you think of it that way, all murderers are a gateway for heaven.
Stephen King
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote suggests that murderers create a pathway to forgiveness for the victims by cutting their lives short before they can atone for their sins.

In this quote, Stephen King explores the profound and controversial idea that the act of murder not only affects the victim and the perpetrator but also alters the moral landscape regarding sin and redemption. He implies that since victims die before they can seek forgiveness for their own sins, their murderers inadvertently facilitate a release from earthly ties, potentially enabling the victims to ascend to heaven more quickly. This controversial perspective prompts a rethinking of morality surrounding both life and death, highlighting the complex interplay between human actions and divine judgment.

Themes

ForgivenessMurderPhilosophyRedemptionSin

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about the complexities of morality in literature, this quote could be used to illustrate how authors tackle themes of sin and redemption.

More from Stephen King

Try any goddam thing you like, no matter how boringly normal or outrageous. If it works, fine. If it doesn't, toss it. Toss it even if you love it.
Stephen KingRead
Eddie discovered one of his childhood's great truths. Grownups are the real monsters, he thought.
Stephen KingRead
Hairstyles change, and skirt lengths, and slang, but high school administrations? Never.
Stephen KingRead
Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.
Stephen KingRead
That's the day's business. Thinking. Thinking and isolation, because it doesn't matter if you pass the time of day with someone or not; in the end, you're alone. He seemed to have put in as many miles in his brain as he had with his feet. The thoughts kept coming and there was no way to deny them.
Stephen KingRead
Late last night and the night before, tommyknockers, tommyknockers knocking on my door. I wanna go out, don't know if I can 'cuz I'm so afraid of the tommyknocker man.
Stephen KingRead

Similar quotes

Underlying the whole scheme of civilization is the confidence men have in each other, confidence in their integrity, confidence in their honesty, confidence in their future.
William Bourke CockranRead
What the expression is intended to mean, I think, is that there is a better and a worse element in the character of each individual, and that when the naturally better element controls the worse then the man is said to be "master of himself", as a term of praise. But when - as a result of bad upbringing or bad company one s better element is overpowered by the numerical superiority of one s worse impulses, then one is criticized for not being master of oneself and for lack of self control.
PlatoRead
I was a westerner in Iran, an Iranian in the West. I had no identity. I didn't even know anymore why I was living.
Marjane SatrapiRead
The ideas I had about supernatural beings came to me the same way that my mathematical ideas did. So I took them seriously.
John Forbes Nash, Jr.Read
What makes revolutionary thought unique is its clarity and dignity, and its clear grasp of freedom and justice: simple, clear words that are understood without the need for any help from elite writers or thinkers.
Nawal El SaadawiRead
You can't keep a juvenile moral institution alive on two displays of its sash per year.
Mark TwainRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.