Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.
John SteinbeckRead
Yes, you should talk," he said. "Sometimes a sad man can talk the sadness right out through his mouth. Sometimes a killin' man can talk the murder right out of his mouth.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Talking about one's feelings can be a form of release and healing.
In this quote, John Steinbeck reflects on the power of communication as a means of emotional catharsis. He suggests that expressing sadness or darker impulses verbally can help alleviate those burdens, highlighting the importance of dialogue in processing complex emotions and experiences.
Themes
CommunicationSadnessHealingTalkingEmotions
In practice
Example use cases
During a mental health awareness event to emphasize the importance of discussing feelings.
More from John Steinbeck
All quotes →At one point, as Samuel urges Adam to raise his boys well regardless of the blood that might be in them, Adam tells him, "You can't make a race horse of a pig." Samuel replies, "No, but you can make a very fast pig.
John SteinbeckRead
And when that crop grew, and was harvested, no man had crumbled a hot clod in his fingers and let the earth sift past his fingertips. No man had touched the seed, or lusted for the growth. Men ate what they had not raised, had no connection with the bread. The land bore under iron, and under iron gradually died; for it was not loved or hated, it had no prayers or curses.
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The comfortable people in tight houses felt pity at first, and then distaste, and finally hatred for the migrant people.
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People do not want advice - they want corroboration.
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It is one of the triumphs of the human that he can know a thing and still not believe it.
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