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Quote by William Golding

Work

Lord of the Flies

William Golding's classic novel depicts the descent into savagery of a group of British schoolboys stranded on an uninhabited island, examining the nature of human behavior and the influence of societal structures. more

Author

William Golding
William Golding

William Golding was an English novelist, best known for his novel 'Lord of the Flies'. His works often explore themes of human nature, morality, and civilization. more

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“p. 362 "There are nights I lie awake wondering what the moment was we lost the Germany I knew. Some might point to the invasion of Poland ... There are a million such moments. Kristallnacht, the Night of the long Knives, the Jewish boycotts, the race laws ... But sometimes I think it was the moment right before the gasoline was poured on the books. The moment the most educated country in the world willingly, joyously, wholeheartedly turned away from knowledge.”

“Bibliotheken sind die wahren Friedhöfe der Ideen.. Diese Bibliothekare, im Mimikrygrau des Bücherstaubes, haben – wie sie da Folianten ans Zwielicht zerren und wieder einsargen – in Griff und Blick die geschäftige Pietätlosigkeit von Beerdigungsfachleuten… Und diese Schmökerer, deren Lippen wie im Wahn des Zwiegespräches mit sich selbst vibrieren und deren Blicke ins Ziellose abgleiten, gleichen Leidtragenden an der Gruft eines teuren Angehörigen… Es ist die gleiche Gier, die gleiche Furcht, irgendein Zeichen jenseitiger Schrecken zu erwischen; denn die hierher kommen, um im Vergangenem zu stöbern wissen, dass an solchem Ort auch dereinst ihr eigenes Mühen, Denken, Spintisieren die letzte, Ewige Ruhe finden wird…”

“Trauma destroys the fabric of time. In normal time you move from one moment to the next, sunrise to sunset, birth to death. After trauma, you may move in circles, find yourself being sucked backwards into an eddy or bouncing like a rubber ball from now to then to back again. ... In the traumatic universe the basic laws of matter are suspended: ceiling fans can be helicopters, car exhaust can be mustard gas.”