To me, there is nothing higher than fiction. Nothing. It is fundamentally who I am. I am a teller of stories. For me, that's the only way I can make sense of the world, with all the dance that it involves.
Arundhati RoyRead
When she looked at him now, she couldn't help thinking that the man he had become bore so little resemblance to the boy he had been. His smile was the only piece of baggage he had carried with him from boyhood into manhood.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on how a person can change significantly over time, with only a small part of their childhood remaining.
Arundhati Roy's quote illustrates the profound transformation that individuals undergo as they transition from youth to adulthood. It highlights the contrast between the innocence and simplicity of childhood and the complexities of adult life, suggesting that while we may evolve in many ways, certain innate qualities, like a genuine smile, can persist and serve as a connection to our earlier selves.
Themes
TransformationChildhoodAdulthoodSmileChange
In practice
Example use cases
During a graduation speech, one might quote this to emphasize the journey of growth.
More from Arundhati Roy
All quotes →When she listened to songs that she loved on the radio, something stirred inside her. A liquid ache spread under her skin, and she walked out of the world like a witch.
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Caste is about dividing people up in ways that preclude every form of solidarity, because even in the lowest castes, there are divisions and sub-castes, and everyone's co-opted into the business of this hierarchical, silo-ised society.
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When I decided to write 'The God of Small Things', I had been working in cinema. It was almost a decision to downshift from there. I thought that 300 people would read it. But it created a platform of trust.
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In California, there are huge problems because of dams. I'm against big dams, per se, because I think that they are economically unfeasible. They're ecologically unsustainable. And they're hugely undemocratic.
Arundhati RoyRead
To call someone 'anti-American', indeed, to be anti-American, is not just racist, it's a failure of the imagination.
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