I have discovered in life that there are ways of getting almost anywhere you want to go, if you really want to go.
I went down to the river, I set down on the bank. I tried to think but couldn't, So I jumped in and sank.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the struggle of trying to find clarity and peace of mind amidst confusion, ultimately leading to a decision to embrace the chaos.
Langston Hughes' quote expresses the frustration of being overwhelmed by thoughts and emotions, resulting in a moment where the speaker chooses to abandon rational thinking in favor of a more instinctive reaction. The act of jumping into the river symbolizes a surrender to the flow of life, suggesting that sometimes, it may be more beneficial to immerse oneself in experiences rather than getting lost in contemplation.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can inspire someone going through a tough decision to take action instead of overthinking.
More from Langston Hughes
All quotes βMy writing has been largely concerned with the depicting of Negro life in America.
I tire so of hearing people say, Let things take their course. Tomorrow is another day. I do not need my freedom when I'm dead. I cannot live on tomorrow's bread.
An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he might choose.
The calm, Cool face of the river, Asked me for a kiss
The only way to get a thing done is to start to do it, then keep on doing it, and finally you'll finish it.
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Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.
Satan can make men dance upon the brink of hell as though they were on the verge of heaven.
I believe that if we don't offer legal ways of emigrating to Europe and immigrating within Europe, we will be lost. If those who come - who are, generally speaking, the poor and needy - are no longer able to enter the house of Europe through the front door, they'll keep making their way in through the back windows.
The Divine was beyond description, beyond knowing, beyond comprehension. To say that the Divine was Creation divided by Destruction was as close as one could come to definition. But the puny of soul, the dull of wit, weren't content with that. They wanted to hang a face on the Divine. They went so far as to attribute petty human emotions - anger, jealousy, etc - to it, not stopping to realize that if God were a being, even a supreme being, our prayers would have bored him to death long ago.
The judge is found guilty when a criminal is acquitted.