With all the talk about story and it’s importance and power, I thought I’d give a few quotes from fiction that have influenced me, whether in my approach to literature, to life, or both. Now just to be clear, I’m not ranking these; that’s not the point of this list, and I am only dealing with fiction because to include non-fiction would make the list way too long. To be more specific, I’m only dealing with primarily printed fiction, so no movies (unless the quote in a movie is also in the book). Finally, I will be confining one quote per author, again to keep this list a touch more concise. So with those parameters, let’s get going.
(1)
The part of philanthropist is indeed a dangerous one; and the man who would do his neighbor good must first study how not to do him evil, and must begin by pulling the beam out of his own eye.
-Lilith by George MacDonald (p. 67)
The influence of this quote is much more confined than the others as it was this quote that changed my mind and my reading of MacDonald. Before, I’d read some of his work and found great teaching in his work, but the full force of his skill came in his seamless inclusion of Scripture in this quote above. Never before had I found such a well-done insert, one so smooth, and it made me reconsider my opinions of George MacDonald and begin a more ernest investigation into MacDonald. Since reading this quote, he has since increasingly earned my admiration.
(2)
Abbot Bernard folded his paws deep into the wide sleeves of his garb.
From a viewpoint on the threshold of Redwall Abbey’s west ramparts he watched the hot midsummer day drawing to a glorious close.
-Mariel of Redwall by Brian Jacques (p.3)
The influence of this quote is not so much in the quote itself as that it is the first lines of the first Redwall book I ever read. Yes, I had watched the tv show before and got into the series through the show, but in reading Jacques writing in Mariel and then Martin the Warrior, I entered the world of 300+ page books. From then on, I gobbled up every Brian Jacques book I could find, which impacted my writing style and raised the bar of what my 9-year-old self sought in her reading. The full list of impacts Jacques books made on me I don’t even know, but whatever they are, they began with these two sentences.
(3)
Mine had been a life of shame.
I’m like the one black sheep born into a pure white flock. Unable to enjoy the things my peers enjoyed, unable to grieve the things they grieved, unable to eat the things they ate-- being born an ignoble black sheep, I didn’t understand the things my friends found pleasent, such as love, kindness, and sympathy. I simply dusted my dark wool in white powder and pretended I was a white sheep, too.
I’m still wearing my mask, still acting in this farce.
-Book Girl and the Suicidal Mime by Mizuki Nomura (p. 1)
Wow. Yeah. Sorry for the long quote, but I really needed to include it all. This quote, first read when I was 14 and two years into a deep depression, complete with daily thoughts of suicide, stands as the first time I truly felt a book speak to me. I had never felt so connected to words on a page as when I read those. Not exactly a healthy first connection, but, ironically, it helped me. It put to words something I felt but could not express. I know that everyone says “I’m different; you just don’t understand” and all that, but no one truly does understand the feelings and impressions of someone encaged by depression. Added onto that this quote still is a bit accurate of a description of me. I am totally different from all my siblings: the straight-man born into a family of comedians, the first black sheep (rebellious) child, someone who literally couldn’t understand why my siblings would laugh or cry at certain things. I have/had difficulty sympathizing with others, and was not very kind (I’m much better now). Even with my friends, by middle school all my male friends had moved away and I hated, to a stubborn degree, discussing fashion and boys and those girly small-talk topics that always seemed to pop up among my female compadres. In the end, I became an outsider. For two years (14 in my family), I had lived in a state of disconnect, and finally I found a connection, something to which I could relate. It was something I needed so desperately, and here it was in this book. From this quote onward, I began to connect more with literature, learned better how to immerse myself into the story, to relate with the characters. This quote, though depressing, I think helped open my door to sympathy. And, yes, I’ve since grown beyond the quote, but it’s impact I cannot deny.
(4)
There is no such thing as coincidence in this world; there is only hitsuzen.
-Tsubasa Resevoir Chronicles/xxxHolic by CLAMP (p. 104[TSR]/19[Holic])
Okay, so this if from manga (Japanese comics). I never said I was limiting myself to prose, only to print. Oh man has this quote stuck with me. With this quote, my entire though process on fate, destiny, determinism, coincidence, etc. shifted, which of course impacts how you view the rest of the world. Till reading this quote, I hadn’t thought much about fate, but now I had to. My philosophically-oriented mind demanded it! I’m no sure I entirely agree with it, but it still gets me thinking even to this day. By the way, if you don’t know what hitsuzen is, here’s a link that gives a good explanation. Definitely worth checking out.
(5)
In other words, the basics of alchemy is the "equivalent exchange"! That means that to obtain something, something of equal value much be lost.
-Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa (p. 26)
Again, another manga. FMA. Man. You have done so many numbers on me! I shouldn’t have read you so early into my manga journey. You set the bar too high. Anyway, this is another quote that really got me thinking about my view of the world. It made me consider the concept quoted above (equivalent exchange) into life to test it. Again, I don’t entirely agree with it, but it really got me thinking about how the world works and my own place in everything, and encouraging thought, self-examination, and investigation into the foundations of how the world operates is more than many stories could ever claim.
(6)
“So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”
-The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien (p. 82)
Yeah, you probably knew this would be here. But it truly is one of the most powerful truths ever stated. I first encountered this quote (or rather its slight variation) in the Peter Jackson movie; unfortunately, my young mind missed it in the excitement of my first exposure to Middle Earth. It was only when my church’s pastor used the quote in one of his sermons that I really heard it, and it blew my mind. The simple truth of it, the obvious yet moving reality, indeed the freedom in living with this as your mindset, I can’t properly describe it. I can’t tell you how much I love this quote and how much it’s already influenced my thoughts and the encouragement it gives me in my daily life. And it’s only one of Tolkien’s amazing truths. I just wish I had the space to list them all.
(7)
All of Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis
Okay. I’m kind of cheating, but really I don’t know of any specific quote to summarize my experience. The truth of the matter is the whole book changed my life, specifically how I relate to others. To give details would require a post all its own, and I’m sure no one cares about that story. Seriously, though, I just can’t say enough about this wonderful novel.
So there are a few quotes that have influenced me through my life. Hope it’s been fun, and see you next week for another review.
Edit: Added a link I'd forgot to put in. Oops.
Edit: Added a link I'd forgot to put in. Oops.
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