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Why can’t the world hear? I ask myself. Within a few moments I ask it many times. Because it doesn’t care, I finally answer, and I know I’m right. It’s like I’ve been chosen. But chosen for what? I ask.
Markus Zusak
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote reflects on the indifference of the world to individual suffering and the search for purpose in that reality.

In this quote, Markus Zusak expresses a deep existential pondering about the world's inability to listen or care for individual struggles. This contemplation leads to a realization of chosen suffering, leaving the speaker to question the purpose behind it and their role in a seemingly indifferent world. It highlights the personal struggle to find meaning and significance amidst a backdrop of global apathy.

Themes

WorldIndifferencePurposeSufferingMeaning

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in a speech about personal struggles and resilience.

More from Markus Zusak

Just be patient, she told herself, and with the mounting pages, the strength of her writing fist grew.
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It felt as though the whole globe was dressed in snow. Like it has pulled it on, the way you pull on a sweater. Next to the train line, footprints were sunken to their shins. Trees wore blankets of ice. As you may expect, someone has died.
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Because you don't learn anything unless you can find the patience to read. TV takes that away from you. It robs you from your mind.
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Or had she always loved him? It's likely. Restricted as she was from speaking, she wanted him to kiss her. She wanted him to drag her hand across and pull her over. It didn't matter where. Her mouth, her neck, her cheek. Her skin was empty for it, waiting.
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I think it's a mistake to think, 'Am I going to write a young adult book, or do I desperately want to write a book for adults?' I think the better ambition is to try to write someone's favorite book, because those categorizations of adult, young adult, become kind of superfluous.
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I could introduce myself properly, but it's not really necessary. You will know me well enough and soon enough, depending on a diverse range of variables. It suffices to say that at some point in time, I will be standing over you, as genially as possible. Your soul will be in my arms. A color will be perched on my shoulder. I will carry you gently away.
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