We burned with love for ourselves, all of us, starters of the fire we suffered- our love was the affliction for which only our love was the cure.
Jonathan Safran FoerRead
Suddenly Yankel was overcome with a fear of dying, stronger than he felt when his parents passed of natural causes, stronger than when his only brother was killed in the flour mill or when his children died, stronger even than when he was a child and it first occurred to him that he must try to understand what it could mean not to be alive -- to be not in darkness, not in unfeeling -- to be not being, not to be.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects a profound existential fear of death and the meaning of non-existence.
In this quote, Jonathan Safran Foer explores the complexity of human emotions surrounding death and the fear that arises when confronted with the idea of not existing. Yankel's overwhelming dread emphasizes the deep psychological struggles individuals face, illustrating that the awareness of mortality can provoke a more intense fear than the loss of loved ones, highlighting the intrinsic human desire to understand the essence of being alive.
Themes
DeathFearExistenceMortalityLife
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared during a discussion about the meaning of life and death.
More from Jonathan Safran Foer
All quotes →Memory was supposed to fill the time, but it made time a hole to be filled. Each second was two hundred yards, to be walked, crawled. You couldn't see the next hour, it was so far in the distance. Tomorrow was over the horizon, and would take an entire day to reach.
Jonathan Safran FoerRead
She was not crying Which surprised me very much But I understand now That she had found places For her melancholy That were behind more masks Than only her eyes
Jonathan Safran FoerRead
What do babies dream of? She must be dreaming of the before-life, just as I dream of the afterlife.
Jonathan Safran FoerRead
A few weeks after the worst day, I started writing lots of letters. I don't know why, but it was one of the only things that made my boots lighter.
Jonathan Safran FoerRead
What is being awake if not interpreting our dreams, or dreaming if not interpreting our wake?
Jonathan Safran FoerRead
Similar quotes
The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival.
AristotleRead
For sin is just this, what man cannot by its very nature do with his whole being; it is possible to silence the conflict in the soul, but it is not possible to uproot it
Martin BuberRead
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Edgar Allan PoeRead
Many a professing Christian is a stumbling-block because his worship is divided. On Sunday he worships God; on weekdays God has little or no place in his thoughts.
Dwight L. MoodyRead
Let's make two things clear: Isil is not "Islamic." No religion condones the killing of innocents, and the vast majority of Isil's victims have been Muslim. And Isil is certainly not a state.
Barack ObamaRead
Conflict is a violation of harmony. If you participate in it, you're part of the problem, not the solution.
Wayne DyerRead