Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by James Agee

Quote by James Agee

Work

Let Us Now Praise Famous Men

Browse quotes and source details for this work. more

Author

James Agee
James Agee

James Agee (November 27, 1909 - May 16, 1955) was an American author, playwright, and film critic. Known for his profound social criticism and literary talent, Agee is best remembered for his novel 'A Death in the Family' and the screenplay for the film 'The African Queen'. more

You May Also Like

“There are two things that may happen to a person: the first is that you become so soft that no one and nothing can break you, and the second is that you become so hard that nothing and no one can break you. Either way you go, the path will be very painful. But herein is the great sadness of it all: that anyone must try to become something that cannot be broken (whether the soft or the hard). Why must we be born into a world where we must spend our lives struggling to become unbreakable?”

“The story of my birth that my mother told me went like this: "When you were coming out I wasn't ready yet and neither was the nurse. The nurse tried to push you back in, but I shit on the table and when you came out, you landed in my shit." If there ever was a way to sum things up, the story of my birth was it.”

“That sassy low classy, but dress real cheap-fly-n-fancy, with a chip on her shoulder -- she's just a bitterly wounded dove, wanting to be sieged by love.”