We all live in suspense, from day to day, from hour to hour; in other words, we are the hero of our own story.
Mary MccarthyRead
The exile is a singular, whereas refugees tend to be thought of in the mass ... What is implied in these nuances of social standing is the respect we pay to choice. The exile appears to have made a decision, while the refugee is the very image of helplessness.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote contrasts the concepts of exile and refugee, emphasizing the respect given to individual choice versus the perceived helplessness of the masses.
Mary McCarthy's quote dives into the nuanced differentiation between exiles and refugees, highlighting how society views these two groups. Exiles are often seen as individuals who made a deliberate choice to leave their homeland, suggesting agency and autonomy, while refugees are often viewed collectively, associated with victimhood and a lack of power over their circumstances. This distinction hints at deeper social implications concerning identity and the respect afforded to personal choices amid crisis.
Themes
ExileRefugeeChoiceHelplessnessSocial Standing
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on immigration policy at a community forum, this quote can highlight the importance of understanding individual circumstances.
More from Mary Mccarthy
All quotes βEvery word she writes is a lie, including "and" and "the."
Mary MccarthyRead
Anti-Semitism is a horrible disease from which nobody is immune, and it has a kind of evil fascination that makes an enlightened person draw near the source of infection, supposedly in a scientific spirit, but really to sniff the vapors and dally with the possibility.
Mary MccarthyRead
If one means by style the voice, the irreducible and always recognizable and alive thing, then of course style is really everything.
Mary MccarthyRead
To care for the quarrels of the past, to identify oneself passionately with a cause that became, politically speaking, a losing cause with the birth of the modern world, is to experience a kind of straining against reality, a rebellious nonconformity that, again, is rare in America, where children are instructed in the virtues of the system they live under, as though history had achieved a happy ending in American civics.
Mary MccarthyRead
You mustn't force sex to do the work of love or love to do the work of sex.
Mary MccarthyRead
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