We took away your art because we thought it would reveal your souls. Or to put it more finely, we did it to prove you had souls at all.
Kazuo IshiguroRead
I had the sense when I looked back over my life I would actually see a mess of decisions, a few of which I had thought about, some of which I had sort of stumbled on and many that I had no control over whatsoever.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the complexity of life choices, highlighting the blend of intentionality and randomness in our decisions.
Kazuo Ishiguro's quote emphasizes the intricate nature of life as a series of decisions, both deliberate and accidental. It suggests that upon reflection, one might observe a chaotic mix of choices, pointing to the unpredictable elements that shape our lives, many of which lie beyond our control. This perspective invites deeper contemplation of how we navigate the uncertainties of existence and the balance between agency and fate.
Themes
DecisionsLifeControlChaosReflection
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about personal growth, to illustrate the importance of understanding our choices.
More from Kazuo Ishiguro
All quotes →You need to remember that. If you’re to have decent lives, you have to know who you are and what lies ahead of you, every one of you.
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I keep thinking about this river somewhere, with the water moving really fast. And these two people in the water, trying to hold onto each other, holding on as hard as they can, but in the end it's just too much. The current's too strong. They've got to let go, drift apart. That's how it is with us. It's a shame, Kath, because we've loved each other all our lives. But in the end, we can't stay together forever.
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What I'm not sure about, is if our lives have been so different from the lives of the people we save. We all complete. Maybe none of us really understand what we've lived through, or feel we've had enough time.
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If you were a boy and a girl and you were in love with each other, really, properly in love, and if you could show it, then the people who run Hailsham, they sorted it out for you. They sorted it out so you could have a few years together before you began your donations.
Kazuo IshiguroRead
We all live inside bodies that will deteriorate. But when you look at human beings, they're capable of very decent things: love, loyalty. When time is running out, they don't care about possessions or status. They want to put things right if they've done wrong.
Kazuo IshiguroRead
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