I am a person who continually destroys the possibilities of a future because of the numbers of alternative viewpoints I can focus on the present.
Doris LessingRead
The World War I, I'm a child of World War I. And I really know about the children of war. Because both my parents were both badly damaged by the war. My father, physically, and both mentally and emotionally. So, I know exactly what it's like to be brought up in an atmosphere of a continual harping on the war.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Doris Lessing reflects on the lasting impact of war on individuals, particularly children, shaped by their parents' experiences.
In this quote, Doris Lessing expresses how her upbringing was profoundly influenced by the aftermath of World War I, highlighting the deep scars that such conflicts leave on families. She acknowledges both her parents' struggles, illustrating the emotional and psychological burdens that can carry over to the next generation, ultimately portraying the children's perspective in a war-torn society.
Themes
WarChildrenTraumaParentsImpact
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about the effects of war on future generations.
More from Doris Lessing
All quotes →In the writing process, the more the story cooks, the better. The brain works for you even when you are at rest. I find dreams particularly useful. I myself think a great deal before I go to sleep and the details sometimes unfold in the dream.
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Humanity's legacy of stories and storytelling is the most precious we have. All wisdom is in our stories and songs. A story is how we construct our experiences. At the very simplest, it can be: 'He/she was born, lived, died.' Probably that is the template of our stories - a beginning, middle, and end. This structure is in our minds.
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There is a great line of women stretching out behind you into the past, and you have to seek them out and find them in yourself and be conscious of them.
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You should write, first of all, to please yourself. You shouldn't care a damn about anybody else at all. But writing can't be a way of life - the important part of writing is living. You have to live in such a way that your writing emerges from it.
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When a white man in Africa by accident looks into the eyes of a native and sees the human being (which it is the chief preoccupation to avoid), his sense of guilt, which he denies, fumes up in resentment and he brings down the whip.
Doris LessingRead
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