You will become way less concerned with what other people think of you when you realize how seldom they do.
David Foster WallaceRead
When they were introduced, he made a witticism, hoping to be liked. She laughed extremely hard, hoping to be liked. Then each drove home alone, staring straight ahead, with the very same twist to their faces. The man who'd introduced them didn't much like either of them, though he acted as if he did, anxious as he was to preserve good relations at all times. One never knew, after all, now did one now did one now did one.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the superficial connections people often make and the underlying loneliness that can accompany social interactions.
In this quote by David Foster Wallace, the author highlights the irony of human relationships where individuals may engage in earnest attempts to be liked and accepted, often resorting to humor or laughter. However, beneath the facade of jovial exchanges lies a profound sense of isolation, as individuals drive home alone, detached from one another despite the initial attempts at connection. The quote illustrates the complexity of social interactions and the masks people wear to navigate them, revealing a deeper commentary on the human condition.
Themes
RelationshipsLonelinessSocial InteractionHumorAcceptance
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a discussion about the challenges of forming meaningful connections in modern society.
More from David Foster Wallace
All quotes →Everything in my own immediate experience supports my deep belief that I am the absolute center of the universe, the realest, most vivid and important person in existence.
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It seems important to find ways of reminding ourselves that most 'familiarity' is meditated and delusive.
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Under fun's new administration, writing fiction becomes a way to go deep inside yourself and illuminate precisely the stuff you don't want to see or let anyone else see, and this stuff usually turns out (paradoxically) to be precisely the stuff all writers and readers share and respond to, feel.
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Acceptance is usually more a matter of fatigue than anything else.
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Bliss - a-second-by-second joy and gratitude at the gift of being alive, conscious - lies on the other side of crushing, crushing boredom. Pay close attention to the most tedious thing you can find (Tax Returns, Televised Golf) and, in waves, a boredom like you’ve never known will wash over you and just about kill you. Ride these out, and it’s like stepping from black and white into color. Like water after days in the desert. Instant bliss in every atom.
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