Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.
John SteinbeckRead
I saw in their eyes something I was to see over and over in every part of the nation- a burning desire to go, to move, to get under way, anyplace, away from any Here. They spoke quietly of how they wanted to go someday, to move about, free and unanchored, not toward something but away from something. I saw this look and heard this yearning everywhere in every states I visited. Nearly every American hungers to move.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses a universal longing for freedom and movement away from current situations or constraints.
John Steinbeck reflects on a shared desire among Americans to escape their present circumstances and seek new experiences. This longing for movement and freedom suggests a deeper craving for change and liberation from the confines of everyday life, highlighting a fundamental aspect of the human spirit's quest for exploration and adventure.
Themes
FreedomMovementChangeYearningExplorationAdventure
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about pursuing dreams, this quote could inspire listeners to seek new paths.
More from John Steinbeck
All quotes βAt one point, as Samuel urges Adam to raise his boys well regardless of the blood that might be in them, Adam tells him, "You can't make a race horse of a pig." Samuel replies, "No, but you can make a very fast pig.
John SteinbeckRead
And when that crop grew, and was harvested, no man had crumbled a hot clod in his fingers and let the earth sift past his fingertips. No man had touched the seed, or lusted for the growth. Men ate what they had not raised, had no connection with the bread. The land bore under iron, and under iron gradually died; for it was not loved or hated, it had no prayers or curses.
John SteinbeckRead
The comfortable people in tight houses felt pity at first, and then distaste, and finally hatred for the migrant people.
John SteinbeckRead
People do not want advice - they want corroboration.
John SteinbeckRead
It is one of the triumphs of the human that he can know a thing and still not believe it.
John SteinbeckRead
Similar quotes
Both tears and sweat are salty, but they render a different result. Tears will get you sympathy; sweat will get you change.
Jesse JacksonRead
The barrier to change is not too little caring; it is too much complexity. To turn caring into action, we need to see a problem, see a solution, and see the impact. But complexity blocks all three steps.
Bill GatesRead
What happened to the world was gradual. I've forgotten what it actually was, but I have faint, fetal memories of what it was like. A smoldering dread that never really caught fire till there wasn't much left to burn. Each sequential step surprised us. Then one day we woke up, and everything was gone.
Isaac MarionRead
Emigration is no longer a solution; it's a defeat. People are risking death, drowning every day, but they're knocking on doors that are not open.
Tahar Ben JellounRead
That is how you know you've left childhood behind-when you wish for time to go backward.
Alice HoffmanRead
Self-approval and self-acceptance in the now are the main keys to positive changes in every area of our lives.
Louise HayRead