Tragedy Quotes - Page 25

• One day you and I will have to have a little talk about this business called love. I still don't understand what it's all about. My guess is that it's just a gigantic hoax, invented to keep people quiet and diverted. Everyone talks about love: the priests, the advertising posters, the literati, and the politicians, those of them who make love. And in speaking of love and offering it as a panacea for every tragedy, they would and betray and kill both body and soul.

  Oriana Fallaci

  Offering, People, Making Love

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• I have found out that though the ways in which I can make myself useful are few, yet the work open to me is endless.

  Helen Keller

  Apathy, Way, Found

  Helen Keller (2012). “The World I Live In and Optimism: A Collection of Essays”, p.90, Courier Corporation

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• We know but a few men, a great many coats and breeches.

  Henry David Thoreau

  Character, Men, Coats

  Henry David Thoreau (2002). “Walden: Or, Life in the Woods”, p.26, Courier Corporation

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• These are a few of my favorite things.

  Oscar Hammerstein II

  Favorites Things, Annoying, My Favorite

  "My Favorite Things" (song) (1959)

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• It is curious to observe what different ideals of happiness people cherish, and in what singular places they look for this well-spring of their life. Many look for it in the hoarding of riches, some in the pride of power, and others in the achievements of art and literature; a few seek it in the exploration of their own minds, or in search for knowledge.

  Helen Keller

  Art, Spring, Pride

  Helen Keller (2012). “Optimism”, p.3, Simon and Schuster

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• Vegas means comedy, tragedy, happiness and sadness all at the same time.

  Artie Lange

  Sad, Mean, Vegas

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• It's such a tragedy that man endures in killing his brother and his own kind, putting him in jail and insane asylums, letting him lay out in the street.

  Sun Ra

  Brother, Men, Jail

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• It helps to regard soul as an active intelligence, forming and plotting each person's fate. Translators use "plot" to render the ancient Greek word mythos in English. The plots that entangle our souls and draw forth our characters are the great myths. That is why we need a sense of myth and knowledge of different myths to gain insight into our epic struggles, our misalliances, and our tragedies. Myths show the imaginative structures inside our messes, and our human characters can locate themselves against the background of the characters of myth.

  James Hillman

  Struggle, Character, Fate

  James Hillman (2012). “The Force of Character: And the Lasting Life”, p.11, Ballantine Books

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• When you close your eyes to tragedy, you close your eyes to greatness.

  Stephen Vizinczey

  Eye, Greatness

  Stephen Vizinczey (1988). “Truth and Lies in Literature: Essays and Reviews”, p.189, University of Chicago Press

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• The little word is has its tragedies: it marries and identifies different things with the greatest innocence; and yet no two are ever identical, and if therein lies the charm of wedding them and calling them one, therein too lies the danger.

  George Santayana

  Lying, Two, Different

  George Santayana, Martin A. Coleman (2009). “The Essential Santayana: Selected Writings”, p.78, Indiana University Press

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• A nation that has no music and no fairytales is a tragedy.

  Ai Weiwei

  Fairytale, Nations

  "Olympic opening ceremony: Ai Weiwei's review" by Ai Weiwei, www.theguardian.com. July 28, 2012.

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• Classical tragedy was the war between good and evil. We wanted evil to be defeated and good to be victorious. But the battle in modern tragedy is between good and good. And no matter which side wins, we'll still be heartbroken.

  Asghar Farhadi

  Heartbroken, War, Winning

  "Farhadi Talks Oscar Front-Runner A Separation; Divorce Drama Questions Iran’s Future". Interview with Anne Thompson, www.indiewire.com. December 30, 2011.

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• I'm sure there are people who survive tragedy without humor, but I've never met any of them. Nor would I be particularly interested in writing about them if I did meet them.

  Ayelet Waldman

  Writing, People, Mets

  "‘Impossible Pursuits’ on film: A Q&A with Ayelet Waldman". Interview with Katie Hafner, www.huffingtonpost.com. January 4, 2011.

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• Everybody has a tragedy or two in their lives.

  Dave Pelzer

  Two

  "'Help Yourself' author Dave Pelzer". Live chat, www.cnn.com. September 6, 2001.

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• I believe every abortion is a tragedy.

  Diane Abbott

  Believe, Abortion, I Believe

  "Why I'm marching at a pro-choice rally" by Diane Abbott, www.theguardian.com. July 8, 2011.

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• I think in life we get very caught up in the minutia and, unfortunately, it generally takes some sort of tragedy in your life to put things in perspective.

  Eli Roth

  Thinking, Perspective, Caught

  "The GQ+A: Eli Roth on New Disaster Horror Flick Aftershock". Interview with Jen Ortiz, www.gq.com. May 9, 2013.

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• The film, 'Aftershock,' for me is really about how the minor problems in life that we think are so major ultimately mean nothing when a tragedy happens, when a real problem happens.

  Eli Roth

  Real, Mean, Thinking

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• Somebody said that I am the last American living the tragedy of Europe.

  Ezra Pound

  Europe, Literature, Lasts

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• Roman Polanski is a man who cares deeply about his art and its place in this world. What happened to him on his incredible path is filled with tragedy, and most men would have collapsed. Instead, he became a great artist and continues to make great films.

  Harvey Weinstein

  Art, Men, Who Cares

  "Polanski has served his time and must be freed" by Harvey Weinstein, www.independent.co.uk. September 28, 2009.

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• Comedy and tragedy are two sides of the same coin. A talent in one area might also lead to a predisposition in the other.

  Jack Dee

  Two Sides, Coins, Might

  "Question time: Jack Dee". Interview with Hannah Pool, www.theguardian.com. October 21, 2009.

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• Not every novel that wants to be a tragedy gets to be one.

  Jane Smiley

  Want, Novel

  Jane Smiley (2008). “13 Ways of Looking at the Novel”, p.487, Anchor

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• It is in times of great tragedy when the true spirit of our wonderful country unites as one.

  Jim Gerlach

  Country, Spirit, Wonderful

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• In some ways, my gift for music and writing was born out of tragedy, really, and loss.

  Joni Mitchell

  Writing, Loss, Way

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• Abraham Lincoln comes from nothing, has no education, no money, lives in the middle of nowhere on the frontier. And despite the fact that he suffers one tragedy and one setback after another, through sheer force of will, he becomes something extraordinary: not only the president but the person who almost single-handedly united the country.

  Seth Grahame-Smith

  Country, Suffering, President

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• I'm a huge fan of Jack Lemmon, he was someone who managed to tread that line between comedy and tragedy and sometimes give very big performances, but they were never over-demonstrative and they were never not based on a kind of real truthful human being.

  Steve Coogan

  Real, Giving, Fans

  "Exclusive Interview: Steve Coogan". Interview with Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub, collider.com. February 19, 2009.

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