The writer is the person who stands outside society, independent of affiliation and independent of influence.
Don DelilloRead
War is the form nostalgia takes when men are hard-pressed to say something good about their country.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that nostalgia can lead people to romanticize war when they find it difficult to express positive sentiments about their nation.
In this quote, Don Delillo highlights the complex relationship between nostalgia, war, and national identity. He implies that during challenging times, people may resort to glorifying past conflicts as a way to evoke pride and meaning in their country, even though war often brings destruction and suffering. This reflects a tendency to utilize an idealized past to cope with present difficulties and a critique of how patriotism can sometimes manifest in troubling ways.
Themes
WarNostalgiaPatriotismIdentityNationalism
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech on the history of conflict, you might reference this quote to discuss how societies romanticize their military past.
More from Don Delillo
All quotes βAmerican writers ought to stand and live in the margins, and be more dangerous.
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I used to think it was possible for an artist to alter the inner life of the culture. Now bomb-makers and gunmen have taken that territory.
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[I]n the American soul there is a lonely individual standing in a vast landscape. β¨He is either on a horse or driving a car, depending, and either way heβs carrying a gun. β¨This is one of the essential images in American mythology.
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There's a curious knot that binds novelists and terrorists...Years ago I used to think it was possible for a novelist to alter the inner life of the culture. Now bomb-makers and gunmen have taken that territory. They make raids on human consciousness. What writers used to do before we were all incorporated.
Don DelilloRead
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