Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.
John SteinbeckRead
He saw something that makes a man doubtful of the constancy of the realities outside himself. It was the shocking discovery that makes a man wonder if I've missed this, what else have I failed to see?
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the unsettling realization that one's understanding of reality may be flawed or incomplete.
In this quote, John Steinbeck conveys a deep sense of existential doubt and introspection. The protagonist experiences a profound moment of clarity that challenges his perception of the world, leading him to question the reliability of his observations and beliefs. This realization prompts a broader contemplation about what other truths may have eluded him, illustrating the inherent uncertainty of human experience and the quest for knowledge.
Themes
DoubtRealityPerceptionIntrospectionKnowledge
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion about existential philosophy, one might use this quote to highlight the uncertainty of human understanding.
More from John Steinbeck
All quotes →At one point, as Samuel urges Adam to raise his boys well regardless of the blood that might be in them, Adam tells him, "You can't make a race horse of a pig." Samuel replies, "No, but you can make a very fast pig.
John SteinbeckRead
And when that crop grew, and was harvested, no man had crumbled a hot clod in his fingers and let the earth sift past his fingertips. No man had touched the seed, or lusted for the growth. Men ate what they had not raised, had no connection with the bread. The land bore under iron, and under iron gradually died; for it was not loved or hated, it had no prayers or curses.
John SteinbeckRead
The comfortable people in tight houses felt pity at first, and then distaste, and finally hatred for the migrant people.
John SteinbeckRead
People do not want advice - they want corroboration.
John SteinbeckRead
It is one of the triumphs of the human that he can know a thing and still not believe it.
John SteinbeckRead
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To me... it appears that there have been differences of opinion and party differences, from the first establishment of government to the present day, and on the same question which now divides our own country; that these will continue through all future time; that every one takes his side in favor of the many, or of the few, according to his constitution, and the circumstances in which he is placed.
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No public character has ever stood the revelation of private utterance and correspondence.
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My pessimism extends to the point of even suspecting the sincerity of other pessimists.
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