You wouldn’t be normal if you were never afraid. Even the bravest men experience fear. One of the biggest jobs we all face in combat is to overcome fear.
Joseph HellerRead
He had decided to live forever or die in the attempt.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the determination to pursue an extraordinary goal, regardless of the risks involved.
Joseph Heller's quote highlights the extreme commitment and courage required to chase one's dreams, suggesting that one should be willing to face the ultimate consequences in pursuing a life that is meaningful and fulfilling. It encapsulates the idea that true bravery lies in the willingness to go to great lengths, even to the point of risking everything, for the sake of an ambition or a profound desire to achieve immortality in some form, whether literal or metaphorical.
Themes
CourageDeterminationAmbitionRiskCommitment
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a motivational speech about pursuing one's dreams no matter the challenges.
More from Joseph Heller
All quotes →History did not demand Yossarian's premature demise, justice could be satisfied without it, progress did not hinge upon it, victory did not depend on it. That men would die was a matter of necessity; WHICH men would die, though, was a matter of circumstance, and Yossarian was willing to be the victim of anything but circumstance. But that was war. Just about all he could find in its favor was that it paid well and liberated children from the pernicious influence of their parents.
Joseph HellerRead
The enemy is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he's on.
Joseph HellerRead
Hungry Joe collected lists of fatal diseases and arranged them in alphabetical order so that he could put his finger without delay on any one he wanted to worry about.
Joseph HellerRead
The country was in peril; he was jeopardizing his traditional rights of freedom and independence by daring to exercise them.
Joseph HellerRead
Sure, that's what I mean,' Doc Daneeka said. 'A little grease is what makes this world go round. One hand washes the other. Know what I mean? You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.' Yossarian knew what he meant. That's not what I meant,' Doc Daneeka said, as Yossarian began scratching his back.
Joseph HellerRead
Similar quotes
I have seen war. I have seen war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded. I have seen men coughing out their gassed lungs. I have seen the dead in the mud. I have seen cities destroyed. I have seen 200 limping, exhausted men come out of line—the survivors of a regiment of 1,000 that went forward 48 hours before. I have seen children starving. I have seen the agony of mothers and wives. I hate war.
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In these cases, where there is an unjust aggression, I can only say that it is licit to stop the unjust aggressor. I emphasize the word: "stop". I'm not saying drop bombs, make war, but stop the aggressor. The means used to stop him would have to be evaluated.
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There's no pride in having been a child soldier.
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Solitary trees, if they grow at all, grow strong.
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I spoke without fear of contradiction. I simply did not suffer self-doubt.
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