“She was afraid to suggest to him that to most people, nothing "happens." That most people merely live from day to day until they die. That, after he had been dead a year, doubtless fewer than five people would think of him oftener than once a year. That there might even come a year when no one on earth would think of him at all.”
In this quote from Gwendolyn Brooks, there is a profound observation about the fleeting nature of life and the impact individuals have on the world around them. The speaker expresses fear of suggesting to someone that most people simply live day to day until they pass away, and that eventually, they may be forgotten entirely. This reflective statement serves as a reminder of the transient nature of existence and prompts readers to consider the legacy they leave behind. Brooks' words encourage introspection on the significance of one's actions and relationships in the broader scope of life.
In this poignant quote from Gwendolyn Brooks, the speaker reflects on the ephemeral nature of human existence and the fear of being forgotten. This sentiment still holds relevance in the modern world, where in the age of social media and constant connectivity, individuals strive to leave a lasting impact and be remembered long after they are gone. However, the reality remains that for most people, their presence in the world fades with time, highlighting the importance of making the most of the time we have and cherishing meaningful connections.
“She was afraid to suggest to him that to most people, nothing happens. That most people merely live from day to day until they die. That, after he had been dead a year, doubtless fewer than five people would think of him oftener than once a year. That there might even come a year when no one on earth would think of him at all.” - Gwendolyn Brooks
As we ponder the powerful words of Gwendolyn Brooks, we are confronted with the harsh reality of mortality and the fleeting nature of memory. Reflect on the following questions to deepen your understanding of this quote:
“The dawn that Anna feared might never come would appear on schedule, just as it always had - and after it another, and another. And yesterday would become Last Month, then Last Winter, then Last Year, then Two and Five and Ten Years Ago, and one day the people would have to stop and think before they could say how long ago it was ...”
“Nothing, nothing mattered, and I knew why. So did he. Throughout the whole absurd life I'd lived, a dark wind had been rising toward me from somewhere deep in my future, across years that were still to come, and as it passed, this wind leveled whatever was offered to me at the time, in years no more real than the ones I was living. What did other people's deaths or a mother's love matter to me; what did his God or the lives people choose or the fate they think they elect matter to me when we're all elected by the same fate, me and billions of privileged people like him who also called themselves my brothers? Couldn't he see, couldn't he see that? Everybody was privileged. There were only privileged people. The others would all be condemned one day. And he would be condemned, too.”
“If there were a map of the solar system, but instead of stars it showed people and their degrees of separation, my star would be the one you had to travel the most light-years from to get to his. You would die getting to him.”
“Everybody's gotta die sometime. But until then we've still got fifty-some odd years to go, and a lot to think about while we're living those fifty years, and I'll just come right out and say it: that's even more tiring than living five thousand years thinking about nothing. Don't you think?”
“Sometimes she'd go a whole day without thinking of him or missing him. Why not? She had quite a full life, and really, he'd often been hard to deal with and hard to live with. A project, the Yankee oldtimers like her very own Dad might have said. And then sometimes a day would come, a gray one (or a sunny one) when she missed him so fiercely she felt empty, not a woman at all anymore but just a dead tree filled with cold November blow. She felt like that now, felt like hollering his name and hollering him home, and her heart turned sick with the thought of the years ahead and she wondered what good love was if it came to this, to even ten seconds of feeling like this.”