Of the widow's countless death-duties there is really just one that matters: on the first anniversary of her husband's death the widow should think I kept myself alive.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
Paradox: how do we know what we have failed to see because we have no language to express it, thus we cannot know that we have failed to see it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote explores the limitations of language in our understanding and awareness of the world.
In her quote, Joyce Carol Oates highlights the paradoxical relationship between language and perception. It suggests that there are things we may be unaware of or unable to understand precisely because we lack the words to define or express them. This limitation in language can inhibit our awareness and comprehension, leading us to miss significant insights or truths that exist beyond our verbal expression.
Themes
LanguagePerceptionAwarenessUnderstandingFailure
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about cognitive science, one might use this quote to illustrate the connection between language and thought.
More from Joyce Carol Oates
All quotes βI never really knew I wanted to 'be' a writer, but I was always writing from a very young age. It became more conscious as an ideal when I was in my twenties.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
I'm drawn to write about upstate New York in the way in which a dreamer might have recurring dreams. My childhood and girlhood were spent in upstate New York, in the country north of Buffalo and West of Rochester. So this part of New York state is very familiar to me and, with its economic difficulties, has become emblematic of much of American life.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
My writing is often a way of 'bearing witness' for others who lack the education and the opportunity to tell their own stories, so I hope that my writing won't be affected too much by my personal life.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
The worst cynicism: a belief in luck.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
. . . there is a wish in the heart of mankind to be distracted and confused. Truth is but one attraction, and not always the most powerful.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
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