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John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck Quotes

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Famous John Steinbeck Quotes

“Some days are born ugly. From the very first light they are no damn good what ever the weather, and everbody knows it. No one knows what causes this, but on such a day people resist getting out of bed and set their heels against the day. When they are finally forced out by hunger or job they find that the day is just as lousy as they knew it would be.”

PeopleKnowsFirstsLightWould BeJobsCausesBornBedHungerUglyWeatherDamnHeelsDamn Good
Book:Sweet Thursday
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“We may be thankful that frightened civil authorities ... have not managed to eradicate from the country the tradition of the possession and use of firearms, that profound and almost instinctive tradition of Americans. Luckily for us, our tradition of bearing arms has not gone from the country, the tradition is so deep and so dear to us that it is one of the most treasured parts of the Bill of Rights - the right of all Americans to bear arms, with the implication that they will know how to use them.”

KnowsMayCountryUseAmericaKnow HowGoneRightsArmsBearsAuthorityTraditionBillsProfoundDearPossessionFrightenedBeing ThankfulImplicationsFirearmsBill Of RightsBearing ArmsTreasured
Book:Bombs Away: The Story of a Bomber Team
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“'I know,' said Winter, 'but they don't know.' And he went on with a thought he had been having. 'A time-minded people,' he said, 'and the time is nearly up. They think that just because they have only one leader and one head, we are all like that. They know that ten heads lopped off will destroy them, but we are a free people; we have as many heads as we have people, and in a time of need leaders pop up among us like mushrooms.'”

PeopleThinkingKnowsNeedsSaidLeaderTenWinterPopsMushroomsTime Of Need
Book:The Short Novels of John Steinbeck: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
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“A woman journalist in England asked me why Americans usually wrote about their childhood and a past that happened only in imagination, why they never wrote about the present. This bothered me until I realized why - that a novelist wants to know how it comes out, that he can't be omnipotent writing a book about the present, particularly this one.”

KnowsWantWritingBookPastImaginationKnow HowHappenedChildhoodEnglandI RealizedJournalistNovelistsBotheredWriting A BookOmnipotent
Book:Conversations with John Steinbeck
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“I start out to write five days a week, and then it runs to six days and finally seven. Then, eventually, that wave of weariness overwhelms me and I don't know what's the matter. That is, I know but I won't admit it. I'm just tired from writing. As you get older, writing becomes harder. By that I mean you see so many more potentialities. Things like transition used to trouble me. But not any more. When I say it's harder, I'm not talking about facility. You learn all the so-called tricks, but then you don't want to use them.”

KnowsWantWritingMeanMatterUseRunningUsedTalkingFiveTroubleWeekSixHarderTiredSevenWaveTricksTransitionFacilityNot TalkingWeariness
Author:John Steinbeck
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