Art Is a Way Out. Do not let life overwhelm you. When the old paths are choked with the débris of failure, look for newer and fresher paths. Art is just such a path. Art is distilled from suffering.
Nathanael WestRead
Prayers for the condemned man will be offered on an adding machine. Numbers constitute the only universal language.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the idea that numerical values are a universal form of communication, even in dire circumstances like being condemned.
Nathanael West's quote suggests that in the face of significant human experiences, such as death, the abstract representation of life through numbers becomes paramount. The reference to 'prayers for the condemned man' implies a bleak acceptance of fate, where numerical figures, signified by an 'adding machine,' overpower the emotional and spiritual aspects of human existence, highlighting a disconnection from what truly matters in life.
Themes
NumbersLanguageCommunicationLifeFate
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about the impact of technology on human interaction.
More from Nathanael West
All quotes →He smoked a cigarette, standing in the dark and listening to her undress. She made sea sounds; something flapped like a sail; there was the creak of ropes; then he heard the wave-against-a-wharf smack of rubber on flesh. Her call for him to hurry was a sea-moan, and when he lay beside her, she heaved, tidal, moon-driven.
Nathanael WestRead
He felt as though his heart were a bomb, a complicated bomb that would result in a simple explosion, wrecking the world without rocking it.
Nathanael WestRead
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