Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by J.M. Coetzee

Quote by J.M. Coetzee

Work

Summertime

Summertime is a narrative that delves into the complexities of human emotions and relationships, set against the backdrop of a summer season. The story follows characters as they navigate personal challenges and the evolving dynamics of their connections, reflecting on the fleeting nature of joy and the enduring impact of loss. more

Author

J.M. Coetzee

Browse famous quotes and profile details for J.M. Coetzee. more

You May Also Like

“The women in porn plead to be abused. They call themselves whores and sluts. They are beaten and penetrated by groups of men. Their faces are covered with semen from dozens of masturbating men, their anuses are penetrated repeatedly by lines of partners, and they are raped. The women portrayed in the films exist to fulfill the desire of men in the most degrading and painful way possible. Nearly all porn dialogue includes lines from women such as I am a cunt, I am a bitch. I am a whore. I am a slut.”

DignityCurseInsultPornographyDegradePorn
Book:Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle
Create image

“Every man — in the development of his own personality — has the right to form his own beliefs and opinions. Hence, suppression of belief, opinion and expression is an affront to the dignity of man, a negation of man’s essential nature." [Toward a General Theory of the First Amendment (1963)]”

LibertyPersonalityDignityHuman RightsCensorshipFree SpeechFreedom Of SpeechBeliefsOpinionsSuppression
Book:The System of Freedom of Expression
Create image

“The growth of the exploiters' revolution on this continent has been accompanied by the growth of the idea that work is beneath human dignity, particularly any form of hand work. We have made it our overriding ambition to escape work, and as a consequence have debased work until it is only fit to escape from.”

PhilosophyCultureWorkDignityDestruction
Book:The Unsettling of America: Culture & Agriculture
Create image

“Once upon a time, my government turned my city into a police state, kidnapped me, and tortured me. When I got free, I decided that the problem wasn’t the system, but who was running it. Bad guys had gotten into places of high office. We needed good apples. I worked my butt off to get people to vote for good apples. We had elections. We installed the kind of apples everyone agreed would be the kind of apples we could be proud of. They said good things. A few real dirtbags like Carrie Johnstone lost their jobs. And then, well, the good apples turned out to act pretty much exactly like the bad apples. Oh, they had reasons. There were emergencies. Circumstances. It was all really regrettable. But there were always emergencies, weren’t there?”

ChangeFreedomDignityPolice StateBad ApplesGood Apples
Book:Homeland
Create image

“Was she acting entirely consciously? No: women are always sincere, even in the midst of their most shocking duplicities, because it is always some natural emotion which dominates them. Perhaps, having given this young man such a hold on her, by having openly demonstrated her affection for him, Delphine was merely responding to a sense of personal dignity, which led her either to revoke any concessions she might have made or, at least, to enjoy suspending them. Even at the very moment when passion seizes her, it is perfectly natural for a Parisian woman to delay her final fall, as a way of testing the heart of the man into whose hands she is about to deliver herself and her future!”

LoveHeartPassionFutureDignitySincerityPretendTestDuplicities
Book:Père Goriot
Create image