Of the widow's countless death-duties there is really just one that matters: on the first anniversary of her husband's death the widow should think I kept myself alive.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
. . . there is a wish in the heart of mankind to be distracted and confused. Truth is but one attraction, and not always the most powerful.
Interpretation
What this quote means
People often prefer distractions over seeking the truth, which is only one of many attractions in life.
Joyce Carol Oates reflects on the human tendency to seek distractions rather than confront the sometimes uncomfortable truths of life. The desire for diversion can overshadow the pursuit of genuine understanding, as truth may not always offer the immediate gratification that other distractions provide. This quote suggests a deeper exploration of human nature and our complex relationship with reality and escapism.
Themes
TruthDistractionHuman NatureUnderstandingReality
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about societal behaviors and tendencies.
More from Joyce Carol Oates
All quotes βI never really knew I wanted to 'be' a writer, but I was always writing from a very young age. It became more conscious as an ideal when I was in my twenties.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
I'm drawn to write about upstate New York in the way in which a dreamer might have recurring dreams. My childhood and girlhood were spent in upstate New York, in the country north of Buffalo and West of Rochester. So this part of New York state is very familiar to me and, with its economic difficulties, has become emblematic of much of American life.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
My writing is often a way of 'bearing witness' for others who lack the education and the opportunity to tell their own stories, so I hope that my writing won't be affected too much by my personal life.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
The worst cynicism: a belief in luck.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
When my brother called to inform me, on the morning of May 22, 2003, that our mother Caroline Oates had died suddenly of a stroke, it was a shock from which, in a way, I have yet to recover.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
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