An author ought to write for the youth of his own generation, the critics of the next, and the schoolmaster of ever afterwards.
Interpretation
An author should consider their immediate audience, future critics, and the educators who will teach their work.
F. Scott Fitzgerald emphasizes the dual responsibility of the author to create work that resonates with their own generation while also standing the test of time, appealing to future critics and serving as educational material for generations to come. This quote illustrates the timeless quality of literature and the profound impact it has on society and culture across different eras.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about the responsibilities of writers at a literary festival.
Don't be so anxious about it,' she laughed. 'I'm not used to being loved. I wouldn't know what to do; I never got the trick of it.' She looked down at him, shy and fatigued. 'So here we are. I told you years ago that I had the makings of Cinderella.' He took her hand; she drew it back instinctively and then replaced it in his. 'Beg your pardon. Not even used to being touched. But I'm not afraid of you, if you stay quiet and don't move suddenly.
The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.
It was about then [1920] that I wrote a line which certain people will not let me forget: "She was a faded but still lovely woman of twenty-seven."
The words seemed to bite physically into Gatsby.
But you can love more than just one person, can't you?
A sudden gust of rain blew over them and then another - as if small liquid clouds were bouncing along the land. Lightning entered the sea far off and the air blew full of crackling thunder. The table cloths blew around the pillars. They blew and blew and blew. The flags twisted around the red chairs like live things, the banners were ragged, the corners of the table tore off through the burbling billowing ends of the cloths.
Simple idea with powerful consequences: everyone who intersects your life knows something you don't.
If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out
To wake up one morning and feel that I was a last a grown-up person, emptied of resentment, vengeful thoughts and other wasteful childish emotions. To find myself, in other words, an adult. Truman Capote
A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.
If we could choose, we'd always want to be in flow and thriving, but that's not realistic. Growth has levels, and learning how to navigate them is important.
Living well is the best revenge.
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