Dear, don't think of getting out of bed yet. I've always suspected that early rising in early life makes one nervous.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that waking up early can induce anxiety and stress in young people.
F. Scott Fitzgerald's quote reflects on the pressures associated with early rising, particularly in youth. It indicates that the routine of getting up early can lead to a state of nervousness, perhaps due to the expectations and responsibilities that come with it. This can be seen as a critique of societal norms that glorify early rising, hinting that it might not always be beneficial for mental well-being.
In practice
During a discussion on work-life balance, one might quote Fitzgerald to emphasize the importance of sleep for mental health.
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.
My advice to people today is as follows: if you take the game of life seriously, if you take your nervous system seriously, if you take your sense organs seriously, if you take the energy process seriously, you must turn on, tune in, and drop out.
It was life, often unsatisfying, frequently cruel, usually boring, sometimes beautiful, once in a while exhilarating.
I mean that everything this afternoon has been too beautiful, and that perhaps everything together will never be so right again. I'm very glad therefore you've been a part of it.
Many a life has been injured by the constant expectation of death. It is life we have to do with, not death. The best preparation for the night is to work diligently while the day lasts. The best preparation for death is life.
In the English language there are orphans and widows, but there is no word for the parents who loses a child.
It hurt, and that is not a euphemism. It hurt like a beating.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.