No one's ever dared come out and say it before, but there's not a man among us that doesn't think it, that doesn't feel just as you do about her and the whole business - feel it somewhere down deep in his scared little soul.
Ken KeseyRead
Like a cartoon world, where the figures are flat and outlined in black, jerking through some kind of goofy story that might be real funny if it weren't for the cartoon figures being real guys.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote compares real life to a cartoon, highlighting the absurdity of our experiences.
Ken Kesey uses the metaphor of a cartoon to explore the juxtaposition of reality and absurdity. It suggests that while life may appear funny and exaggerated like a cartoon, the underlying realities of our existence can be more serious and complex, infused with genuine emotion and truth amidst the superficial humor.
Themes
LifeCartoonAbsurdityRealityHumor
In practice
Example use cases
Sharing this quote during a presentation about the nature of art and reality.
More from Ken Kesey
All quotes →His whole body shakes with the strain as he tries to lift something he knows he can't lift, something everybody knows he can't lift. But, for just a second, when we hear the cement grind at our feet, we think, by golly, he might do it.
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You've got to get out and pray to the sky to appreciate the sunshine; otherwise you're just a lizard standing there with the sun shining on you.
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But I remember one thing:_x000D_ _x000D_ it wasn't me that started acting deaf;_x000D_ _x000D_ it was people that first started acting like_x000D_ _x000D_ I was too dumb to hear or see or say anything at all
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The job is to seek mystery, evoke mystery, plant a garden in which strange plants grow and mysteries bloom. The need for mystery is greater than the need for an answer.
Ken KeseyRead
If this glorious birth to death hassle is the only hassle we are ever to have ..if our grand exhilarating fight of life is such a tragically short little scrap anyway,compared to the eons of rounds before and after-then why should one want to relinquish even a few precious seconds of it?
Ken KeseyRead
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