Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by John Howard Griffin

Quote by John Howard Griffin

“The completeness of this transformation appalled me. It was unlike anything I had imagined. I became two men, the serving one, and the one who panicked, who felt Negroid even to the depths of my entrails. I felt the beginings of great loneliness, not because I was a Negro, but because the man I had been, the self I knew, was hidden in the flesh of another.”

Quote by John Howard Griffin

Create image

Author

John Howard Griffin
John Howard Griffin

John Howard Griffin was an influential American journalist and writer, best known for his 1961 work 'Black Like Me', which documented his experience of passing as a black man to expose the harsh realities of racial segregation. His work had a profound impact on racial equality and social justice. more

You May Also Like

“The Negro. The South. These are the details. The real story is the universal one of men who destroy the souls of other men (and in the process destroy themselves) for reasons neither really understands. It is the story of the persecuted, the defrauded, the feared, and detested. I could have been a Jew in Germany, a Mexican in a number of states, or a member of any 'inferior' group. Only the details would have differed. The story would be the same.”

MenHas BeensRealSoulStatesReasonStoriesWould BeProcessNumbersGroupsMembersUniversalSouthJewDetailsGermanyInferiorsCould Have BeenMexicanPersecutedReal Story
Author:John Howard Griffin
Create image

“Once upon a time, I dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was myself. Soon I awaked, and there I was, veritably myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man.”

KnowsMenDreamPurposeConsciousTaoismButterflyOnce Upon A TimeFluttering
Author:Zhuangzi
Create image

“I cannot tell if what the world considers ‘happiness’ is happiness or not. All I know is that when I consider the way they go about attaining it, I see them carried away headlong, grim and obsessed, in the general onrush of the human herd, unable to stop themselves or to change their direction. All the while they claim to be just on the point of attaining happiness.”

IfsKnowsWorldWayHumansClaimsObsessedHerdsGrimCarried AwayAttaining Happiness
Author:Zhuangzi
Create image

“The purpose of a fish trap is to catch fish, and when the fish are caught the trap is forgotten. The purpose of a rabbit snare is to catch rabbits. When the rabbits are caught, the snare is forgotten. The purpose of the word is to convey ideas. When the ideas are grasped, the words are forgotten. Where can I find a man who has forgotten words? He is the one I would like to talk to.”

MenIdeasPurposeForgottenCaughtFishesTrapsRabbitsSnaresZen Like
Author:Zhuangzi
Create image