“Society is like this card game here, cousin. We got dealt our hand before we were even born, and as we grow we have to play as best as we can.”
Explore This Quote Further
Quote Analysis
In this quote by Louise Erdrich, she compares society to a card game, suggesting that individuals are given a set of circumstances at birth that they must navigate throughout their lives. This metaphor implies that we all have a predetermined fate to some extent, but it is up to us to make the most of our situation and play our hand to the best of our abilities. The quote reflects the idea of agency and personal responsibility amidst the constraints and difficulties imposed by society. It serves as a reminder that although we may not always have control over the circumstances we are born into, we can still make choices and strive to make the most of our lives.
The Card Game of Society
In Louise Erdrich's quote, she draws a parallel between society and a card game, suggesting that individuals are dealt a set of circumstances from birth that they must navigate and make the best of. This concept is relevant in modern times as individuals must constantly adapt to changing societal norms and challenges, playing the hand they are given to the best of their abilities. Just as in a card game, success and growth in society require strategic decision-making and adaptability.
Analyzing a powerful quote by Louise Erdrich
"“Society is like this card game here, cousin. We got dealt our hand before we were even born, and as we grow we have to play as best as we can.” - Louise Erdrich"
This quote by Louise Erdrich compares society to a card game, where individuals are dealt a certain hand of cards before they are even born. Here are a few examples of how this quote can be applied in real-life situations:
Inequality: Just like in a card game, some individuals are dealt a better hand in society due to factors like wealth, race, or social status. Those who are dealt a lesser hand must try to navigate society and overcome obstacles.
Challenges: Life presents us with different challenges and obstacles, much like the cards we are dealt in a game. How we choose to play our hand and navigate these challenges can determine our success in society.
Adversity: Sometimes, individuals face adversity or setbacks that make their hand in society seem weaker. However, like in a card game, it's important to keep playing and making the best out of the hand you've been dealt.
Louise Erdrich's quote reminds us that we all have a role to play in society and must do our best with the cards we've been given.
Reflection Questions:
This quote by Louise Erdrich suggests that society is structured in a way that determines our lives before we even have a choice in the matter. Reflecting on this idea, consider the following questions:
- How much control do you feel you have over the hand you were dealt in society?
- Are there aspects of your life that you feel were predetermined by societal norms or expectations?
- In what ways have you been able to navigate or challenge the hand you were dealt in society?
- Do you believe that everyone has an equal opportunity to play their hand well in society? Why or why not?
- How can understanding the concept of society as a card game influence the way you approach obstacles and opportunities in your own life?
Similar quotes
“We started dying before the snow, and like the snow, we continued to fall.”
“ We have these earthly bodies. We don't know what they want. Half the time, we pretend they are under our mental thumb, but that is the illusion of the healthy and the protected. Of sedate lovers. For the body has emotions it conceives and carries through without concern for anyone or anything else. Love is one of those, I guess. Going back to something very old knit into the brain as we were growing. Hopeless. Scorching. Ordinary. ”
“The music was more than music- at least what we are used to hearing. The music was feeling itself. The sound connected instantly with something deep and joyous. Those powerful moments of true knowledge that we have to paper over with daily life. The music tapped the back of our terrors, too. Things we'd lived through and didn't want to ever repeat. Shredded imaginings, unadmitted longings, fear and also surprisingly pleasures. No, we can't live at that pitch. But every so often something shatters like ice and we are in the river of our existence. We are aware. And this realization was in the music, somehow, or in the way Shamengwa played it.”
“When the first of us failed at growing or herding or plowing the fields, we were told that we could sign a piece of paper and get money for the land, without anyone taking it. Mortgage, this was called, a piece of banker’s cleverness that sounded good to many. I spoke against this trick, but who listened to Nanapush? People signed the paper, got money, came home night after night full of whiskey and food. Suddenly the foreclosure notices were handed out and the land was barred. It belonged to someone else.”
“We passed over in a sweep of sorrow that would persist into our small forever. We just keep going.”
“To sew is to pray. Men don't understand this. They see the whole but they don't see the stitches. They don't see the speech of the creator in the work of the needle. We mend. We women turn things inside out and set things right. We salvage what we can of human garments and piece the rest into blankets. Sometimes our stitches stutter and slow. Only a woman's eyes can tell. Other times, the tension in the stitches might be too tight because of tears, but only we know what emotion went into the making. Only women can hear the prayer.”