It is by all odds the loftiest of cities. It even managed to reach the highest point in the sky at the lowest moment of the depression.
E. B. WhiteRead
Life is like writing with a pen. You can cross out your past but you can't erase it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Life allows us to make changes and corrections, but our past actions and experiences remain part of us.
This quote by E. B. White highlights the idea that while we can modify our current path or decisions—much like crossing out words with a pen—our past is something we cannot completely erase. It serves as a reminder that our history shapes who we are, and instead of attempting to erase the past, we should learn from it and move forward.
Themes
LifePastPenChangeAcceptance
In practice
Example use cases
In a graduation speech to emphasize embracing past experiences.
More from E. B. White
All quotes →It isn't silence you can cut with a knife any more, it's interchange of ideas. Intelligent discussion of practically everything is what is breaking up modern marriage.
E. B. WhiteRead
The main thing I try to do is write as clearly as I can. Because I have the greatest respect for the reader, and if he's going to the trouble of reading what I've written -- I'm a slow reader myself and I guess most people are -- why, the least I can do is make it as easy as possible for him to find out what I'm trying to say, trying to get at. I rewrite a good deal to make it clear.
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A despot doesn't fear eloquent writers preaching freedom- he fears a drunken poet who may crack a joke that will take hold.
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All writing is communication; creative writing is communication through revelation-it is the Self-escaping into the open.
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