...I would like to live a little bit longer in this beautiful concentration camp.
Imre KertszRead
You just sit there and tolerate it, the same way everything in this country is tolerated. Every deception, every lie, every bullet in the brains. Just as you are already tolerating bullets in the brains that will be implemented only after the bullet is put in your brains.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the passive acceptance of societal injustices and the pervasive nature of suffering and deception.
Imre Kertsz's quote critiques the tendency of individuals to resign themselves to the harsh realities of society. He illustrates that tolerating lies and violence leads to a desensitized acceptance of wrongdoing, suggesting that apathy can result in a cycle of suffering that ultimately impacts everyone. The use of violent imagery serves to emphasize how pervasive and fatalistic these attitudes can become, urging readers to acknowledge and confront the uncomfortable truths of their environment rather than merely tolerate them.
Themes
ToleranceDeceptionPassivityViolenceSocietal IssuesApathy
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote in a speech about social justice to highlight the need for action.
More from Imre Kertsz
All quotes →Similar quotes
Such is my veneration for every religion that reveals the attributes of the Deity, or a future state of rewards and punishments, that I had rather see the opinions of Confucius or Mahomed inculcated upon our youth than see them grow up wholly devoid of a system of religious principles.
Benjamin RushRead
Tea...is a religion of the art of life.
Okakura KakuzoRead
Things happen, people change,' is what Amanda said. For her that covered it. You wanted an explanation, and ending that would assign blame and dish up justice. You considered violence and you considered reconciliation . But what you are left with is a premonition of the way your life will fade behind you, like a book you have read too quickly, leaving a dwindling trail of images and emotions, until all you can remember is a name.
Jay McinerneyRead
Whether man is disposed to yield to nature or to oppose her, he cannot do without a correct understanding of her language
Jean RostandRead
I had a mind inquiring enough to question world events, as well as the passion fostered by my background to care, but I lacked the emotional maturity to process these things. That made me ripe for Islamist recruitment. Into this ferment came my recruiter, himself straight out of a London medical college.
Maajid NawazRead
To people like me, educated in post-war Britain, free speech has been a firm premise of the British way of life.
Roger ScrutonRead