It would seem that the more irresponsible and crafty one is, the more likely one is to have a talent for storytelling.
Interpretation
Irresponsibility and cunning may enhance one’s storytelling ability.
In this quote, Osamu Dazai suggests that those who are less restrained by morality and who are more cunning can create more compelling narratives. This observation reflects how imagination, coupled with a disregard for conventional ethics, can lead to imaginative storytelling that captivates audiences, perhaps because it taps into the more chaotic and unpredictable aspects of human nature.
In practice
In a discussion about the influence of character traits on creativity, this quote can provide insight into how personality affects storytelling.
I soon came to understand that drink, tobacco and prostitutes were all great means if dissipating (even for a few moments) my dread for human beings. I came even to feel that if I had to sell every last possession to obtain these means of escape, it would be well worth it.
I want to spend my time with people who don't look to be respected. But such good people won't want to spend their time with me.
In my case such an expression as 'to be fallen for' or even 'to be loved' is not in the least appropriate; perhaps it describes the situation more accurately to say that I was 'looked after.
Unhappiness. There are all kinds of unhappy people in the world. I suppose it would be no exaggeration to say that the world is composed entirely of unhappy people. But those people can fight their unhappiness with society fairly and squarly, and society for its part easily understands and sympathizes with such struggles. My unhappiness stemmed entirely from my own vices, and I had no way of fighting anybody.
As long as I can make them laugh, it doesn’t matter how, I’ll be alright. If I succeed in that, the human beings probably won’t mind it too much if I remain outside their lives. The one thing I must avoid is becoming offensive in their eyes: I shall be nothing, the wind, the sky.
To wait. In our lives we know joy, anger, sorrow, and a hundred other emotions, but these emotions all together occupy a bare one percent of our time. The remaining ninety-nine percent is just living in waiting. I wait in momentary expectation, feeling as though my breasts are being crushed, for the sound in the corridor of the footsteps of happiness. Empty. Oh, life is too painful, the reality that confirms the universal belief that it is best not to be born.
Painting is another form of thinking.
Art is the only serious thing in the world. And the artist is the only person who is never serious.
I think that cinema and the arts are central in our lives because we grow up and learn about the world through our exposure to stories. Parents use them as a tool to teach their children fundamental truths and values, much as adults can view them to gain exposure to cultures and individuals that they'd never be able to view in their own lives.
When people ask what 'American Pie' is about, they're missing the point. The song isn't about the lines themselves - it's about what is between the lines. The song is about what isn't there.
You must give birth to your images. They are the future waiting to be born.
What they don't teach you in art school is how your whole life is about discovering who you already were.
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