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I did not do it. Yet now I wish I had.’ He turned to face the hall, that sea of pale faces. ‘I wish I had enough poison for you all. You make me sorry that I am not the monster you would have me be, yet there it is. I am innocent, but I will get no justice here.
George R. R. Martin
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote expresses a conflict between innocence and the desire for vengeance in a situation of injustice.

In this quote, the speaker confronts the pain of being wronged and the disappointment in a world that fails to deliver justice. The speaker grapples with the temptation to embrace a darker side to retaliate against those who have wronged him, highlighting a disturbing yet profound commentary on morality and the nature of human conflict.

Themes

InnocenceInjusticeVengeanceMoralityConflict

In practice

Example use cases

This quote could be used in a discussion about the themes of justice in literature.

More from George R. R. Martin

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I write from this tight third-person viewpoint, where each chapter is seen through the eyes of one individual character. When I'm writing that character, I become that character and identify with that character.
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Once a man has seen a dragon in flight, let him stay home and tend his garden in content, someone had written once, for this wide world has no greater wonder." Tyrion scratched at his scar and tried to recall the author's name.
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