So it was the hand that started it all . . . His hands had been infected, and soon it would be his arms . . . His hands were ravenous.
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the consequences of unchecked desires and the nature of one's actions leading to larger problems.
In this quote, Ray Bradbury highlights the idea that small actions or desires, represented by 'the hand,' can initiate significant and often disastrous consequences. The imagery of infection spreading from hands to arms serves as a metaphor for how unchecked impulses can escalate into larger issues, suggesting a warning about the dangers of indulgence and the importance of mindfulness in our actions.
In practice
During a discussion about addiction, you might use this quote to illustrate how small cravings can evolve into significant issues.
I've written about 2,000 short stories; I've only published 300 and I feel I'm still learning. Any man who keeps working is not a failure. He may not be a great writer, but if he applies the old fashioned virtues of hard, constant labor, he'll eventually make some kind of career for himself as a writer. Ray Bradbury, 1967 interview (Doing the Math - that means for every story he sold, he wrote six "un-publishable" ones. Keep typing!)
I never went to college, so I went to the library.
There must be something in books, something we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.
I think the sun is a flower, That blooms for just one hour.
The first thing a writer should be is - excited. He should be a thing of fevers and enthusiasms. Without such vigor, he might as well be out picking peaches or digging ditches; God knows it'd be better for his health.
You can't try to do things; you simply must do them.
Gentle Jesus, meek and mild' is a snivelling modern invention, with no warrant in the gospels.
The greed of gain has no time or limit to its capaciousness. Its one object is to produce and consume. It has pity neither for beautiful nature nor for living human beings. It is ruthlessly ready without a moment's hesitation to crush beauty and life.
God destines us for an end beyond the grasp of reason.
A man may be theologically knowing and spiritually ignorant.
I am thrice homeless, as a native of Bohemia in Austria, as an Austrian among Germans, and as a Jew throughout the world. Everywhere an intruder, never welcomed.
Sexual intercourse is kicking death in the ass while singing.
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