We're always attracted to the edges of what we are, out by the edges where it's a little raw and nervy.
E. L. DoctorowRead
We are all good friends. Friendship is what endures. Shared ideals, respect for the whole character of a human being.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Friendship is characterized by shared values and mutual respect, creating lasting bonds.
In this quote by E. L. Doctorow, the essence of true friendship is highlighted as a relationship enduring through shared ideals and deep respect for one another's character. This implies that genuine connections go beyond superficial interactions, emphasizing the importance of understanding and appreciating the whole person behind the friendship.
Themes
FriendshipRespectIdealsEnduranceConnection
In practice
Example use cases
In a graduation speech emphasizing the lasting nature of bonds formed in school.
More from E. L. Doctorow
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Books are acts of composition: you compose them. You make music: the music is called fiction.
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I've known several cases of writers who decide to write about something and they research the hell out of it and when they're ready to write, they can't move because they are so burdened. I start writing. Whatever I need somehow comes to hand.
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Things that appear on the front page of the newspaper as 'fact' are far more dangerous than the games played by a novelist, and can lead to wars.
E. L. DoctorowRead
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And then there are my friends, and they have their own lives. While they like to talk everything through, to analyze and hypothesize, what I really need, what I'm really looking for, is not something I can articulate. It's nonverbal: I need love. I need the thing that happens when your brain shuts off and your heart turns on. And I know it's around me somewhere, but I just can't feel it.
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He who does not see the whole world in his friends, does not deserve that the world should hear of him.
Johann Wolfgang Von GoetheRead