You wouldn’t be normal if you were never afraid. Even the bravest men experience fear. One of the biggest jobs we all face in combat is to overcome fear.
Joseph HellerRead
You have deep-seated survival anxieties. And you don't like bigots, bullies, snobs or hypocrites. Subconsciously there are many people you hate." "Consciously, sir, consciously," Yossarian corrected in an effort to help. "I hate them consciously.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote explores the conflict between subconscious feelings and conscious recognition of hate towards certain negative traits in people.
In this dialogue from Joseph Heller's 'Catch-22', Yossarian highlights the struggle between the deep, often unacknowledged instincts that drive human behavior and the conscious recognition of one's feelings. It reflects on the complex nature of human emotions, particularly hate, and how individuals may acknowledge their dislike for certain types of people who embody traits such as bigotry or hypocrisy, suggesting that these feelings can be both subconscious and conscious.
Themes
HateConsciousnessBigotryEmotionsPsychology
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about social justice, one might use this quote to illustrate the recognition of personal biases.
More from Joseph Heller
All quotes →History did not demand Yossarian's premature demise, justice could be satisfied without it, progress did not hinge upon it, victory did not depend on it. That men would die was a matter of necessity; WHICH men would die, though, was a matter of circumstance, and Yossarian was willing to be the victim of anything but circumstance. But that was war. Just about all he could find in its favor was that it paid well and liberated children from the pernicious influence of their parents.
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He had decided to live forever or die in the attempt.
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Hungry Joe collected lists of fatal diseases and arranged them in alphabetical order so that he could put his finger without delay on any one he wanted to worry about.
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The country was in peril; he was jeopardizing his traditional rights of freedom and independence by daring to exercise them.
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