Crude thoughts and fierce forces are my state. I do not know who I am. Nor what I was. I cannot hear a sound. Pain is near that will be like no pain felt before.
Norman MailerRead
The natural role of twentieth-century man is anxiety.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that anxiety is a defining characteristic of modern human existence.
Norman Mailerβs assertion reflects the existential condition of individuals in the twentieth century, where rapid changes, societal pressures, and the complexities of modern life contribute to a pervasive sense of anxiety. It implies that as humanity evolves, so too do the mental and emotional challenges we face, with anxiety becoming an inescapable part of our experience and identity in an increasingly uncertain world.
Themes
AnxietyTwentieth CenturyHuman ExperienceExistentialModern Life
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about mental health trends in the 20th century, this quote illustrates the era's collective anxiety.
More from Norman Mailer
All quotes βI no longer gave a sick dog's drop for the wisdom, the reliability and the authority of the public's literary mind, those creeps and old ladies of vested reviewing.
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There's nothing glorious about being a professional. . . . Professionalism probably comes down to being able to work on a bad day.
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At bottom, I mean profoundly at bottom, the FBI has nothing to do with Communism, it has nothing to do with catching criminals, it has nothing to do with the Mafia, the syndicate, it has nothing to do with trust-busting, it has nothing to do with interstate commerce, it has nothing to do with anything but serving as a church for the mediocre. A high church for the true mediocre.
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Alimony is the curse of the writing class.
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