To his dog, every man is Napoleon; hence the constant popularity of dogs.
Aldous HuxleyRead
The mockery made him feel an outsider; and feeling an outsider he behaved like one, which increased the prejudice against him and intensified the contempt and hostility aroused by his physical defects. Which in turn increased his sense of being alien and alone. A chronic fear of being slighted made him avoid his equals, made him stand, where his inferiors were concerned, self-consciously on his dignity.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote illustrates how feelings of alienation can perpetuate a cycle of social rejection and self-isolation.
In this quote, Aldous Huxley delves into the psychological effects of mockery and social exclusion on an individual. The narrator explains how being ridiculed for physical defects leads to feelings of alienation and self-consciousness, creating a vicious cycle where the individual's fear of rejection drives them further away from social interactions, ultimately intensifying their sense of loneliness and otherness.
Themes
AlienationMockeryRejectionIsolationPrejudiceSelf-Consciousness
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a discussion about bullying in schools.
More from Aldous Huxley
All quotes →Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.
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In the course of history many more people have died for their drink and their dope than have died for their religion or their country.
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On no account brood over your wrongdoing. Rolling in the muck is not the best way of getting clean.
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No man ever dared to manifest his boredom so insolently as does a Siamese tomcat when he yawns in the face of his amorously importunate wife.
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The leech's kiss, the squid's embrace, The prurient ape's defiling touch: And do you like the human race? No, not much.
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