Prayers for the condemned man will be offered on an adding machine. Numbers constitute the only universal language.
Nathanael WestRead
He felt as though his heart were a bomb, a complicated bomb that would result in a simple explosion, wrecking the world without rocking it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote conveys the intense emotional turmoil and destructive potential of unexpressed feelings.
In this quote, Nathanael West illustrates the overwhelming nature of deep emotional experiences. The metaphor of the heart as a 'complicated bomb' suggests that while one's inner feelings may be intricate and multifaceted, their release could lead to a significant yet perhaps unnoticed impact on the world around them, highlighting the tensions between personal emotions and external realities.
Themes
EmotionTurmoilDestructionHeartFeelingsImpact
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about mental health at a community event.
More from Nathanael West
All quotes →Art Is a Way Out. Do not let life overwhelm you. When the old paths are choked with the débris of failure, look for newer and fresher paths. Art is just such a path. Art is distilled from suffering.
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He smoked a cigarette, standing in the dark and listening to her undress. She made sea sounds; something flapped like a sail; there was the creak of ropes; then he heard the wave-against-a-wharf smack of rubber on flesh. Her call for him to hurry was a sea-moan, and when he lay beside her, she heaved, tidal, moon-driven.
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