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I guess I just couldn't see standing there -- alive, talking, thinking, breathing, being -- one second, and dead the next. It really bothered me. Death by violence isn't the same as dying any other way, accident or disease or old age. It just ain't the same.
S. E. Hinton
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote reflects on the abruptness of death, especially through violence, contrasting it with natural death.

In this quote, S. E. Hinton expresses a profound discomfort with the concept of death, particularly when it is sudden and violent. The speaker grapples with the stark reality of being vibrantly alive one moment and then non-existent the next, highlighting the emotional weight and psychological impact that violent death carries compared to other forms of passing, such as through aging, accidents, or illness. This contemplation raises deeper questions about the nature of existence and mortality, illustrating a broader societal issue surrounding violence.

Themes

DeathViolenceLifeMortalityExistence

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about the impact of violence in society, this quote can help illustrate the emotional toll of such events.

More from S. E. Hinton

Your mother is not crazy. Neither, contrary to popular belief, is your brother. He is merely miscast in a play. He would have made the perfect knight in a different century, or a very good pagan prince in a time of heroes. He was born in the wrong era, on the wrong side of the river, with the ability to do anything and finding nothing he wants to do.
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Sometimes, I feel like I spent the first part of my life wishing to be a teen-age boy, and the second part condemned to being one.
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That's why people don't ever think to blame the Socs and are always ready to jump on us. We look hoody and they look decent. It could be just the other way around - half of the hoods I know are pretty decent guys underneath all that grease, and from what I've heard, a lot of Socs are just cold-blooded mean - but people usually go by looks.
S. E. HintonRead
Anything you read can influence your work, so I try to read good stuff.
S. E. HintonRead
Things were rough all over, but it was better that way. That way you could tell the other guy was human too.
S. E. HintonRead
I had it then. Soda fought for fun, Steve for hatred, Darry for pride, and Two-Bit for conformity. Why do I fight? I thought, and couldn't think of any real good reason. There isn't any real good reason for fighting except self-defense.
S. E. HintonRead

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