Possibility, infinity, beauty -- none of those words were right. [...] What he really wanted to say was: have you felt this? this phantom life streaking like a phosphorescent hound at the edges of your ruin?
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the struggle to articulate profound emotions and experiences in life.
Haven Kimmel's quote delves into the complexity of human experiences that often elude precise expression. It highlights the challenge of conveying deep feelings like beauty, possibility, and the fleeting nature of life, using vivid imagery to convey a sense of urgency and existential reflection.
In practice
In a discussion on existentialism, this quote can illustrate the inadequacy of language in conveying complex feelings.
I started off believing all men were equal. I now know that's the most unlikely thing ever to have been, because millions of years have passed over evolution, people have scattered across the face of this earth, been isolated from each other, developed independently, had different intermixtures between races, peoples, climates, soils... I didn't start off with that knowledge. But by observation, reading, watching, arguing, asking, that is the conclusion I've come to.
Cities are never random. No matter how chaotic they might seem, everything about them grows out of a need to solve a problem. In fact, a city is nothing more than a solution to a problem, that in turn creates more problems that need more solutions, until towers rise, roads widen, bridges are built, and millions of people are caught up in a mad race to feed the problem-solving, problem-creating frenzy.
The right to life is the first human right. Abortion is killing someone that cannot defend himself.
Flashbacks rarely involve language. Mine certainly didn't. They were visual, motor, and sensory, and they took place in a relentless, horrifying present.
O man! Prepare yourself for the Hereafter, obey Allah to the extent of your need for Him and anger Him to the extent of your patience in Hell.
If a man is not rising upward to be an angel, depend on it, he is sinking downward to be a devil.
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