The writer is the person who stands outside society, independent of affiliation and independent of influence.
Don DelilloRead
Murray said, ´I don´t trust anybody´s nostalgia but my own. Nostalgia is a product of dissatisfaction and rage. It´s a settling of grievances between the present and the past. The more powerful the nostalgia, the closer you come to violence. War is the form nostalgia takes when men are hard-pressed to say something good about their country.´
Interpretation
What this quote means
Nostalgia can be a dangerous sentiment fueled by dissatisfaction and unresolved grievances, often leading to violence.
In this quote, Don Delillo explores the complexities of nostalgia, suggesting it is born out of anger and longing for the past, which can distort our perceptions of the present. He warns that when nostalgia becomes overwhelmingly strong, it can escalate into violence, particularly when individuals grapple with conflicts about their identity and the state of their nation.
Themes
NostalgiaDissatisfactionGrievancesViolenceIdentityHistory
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the impact of war on society, one might invoke this quote to illustrate the dangers of nostalgic thinking.
More from Don Delillo
All quotes →War is the form nostalgia takes when men are hard-pressed to say something good about their country.
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I used to think it was possible for an artist to alter the inner life of the culture. Now bomb-makers and gunmen have taken that territory.
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[I]n the American soul there is a lonely individual standing in a vast landscape. He is either on a horse or driving a car, depending, and either way he’s carrying a gun. This is one of the essential images in American mythology.
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