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We commonly say in the trade that the most dangerous animal in a zoo is Man.
Yann Martel
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote suggests that humans can be more dangerous than wild animals, emphasizing the inherent flaws in human nature.

Yann Martel's quote points to the ironic truth that, while animals in a zoo are often perceived as dangerous, it is humans who possess the capacity for greater malice and destruction. The assertion compels us to reflect on our own nature and the potential harm we can inflict on ourselves and the world around us, suggesting that our intellect and emotions can lead to more severe consequences than wild instincts.

Themes

DangerousHuman NaturePhilosophyIronyAnimals

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about human impact on nature, one might say, 'We commonly say in the trade that the most dangerous animal in a zoo is Man' to emphasize humanity's destructive potential.

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