“Childhood is cannibals and psychotics vomiting in your mouth!”
Explore This Quote Further
Analysis
In this bold and provocative quote by Maurice Sendak, the author captures the raw and often unsettling nature of childhood experiences. By describing childhood as "cannibals and psychotics vomiting in your mouth," Sendak paints a vivid and disturbing picture of the chaos and intensity of growing up. Through this stark imagery, Sendak challenges the romanticized notion of childhood as a period of innocence and bliss, instead highlighting its darker and more primal aspects. This quote serves as a reminder of the complexities and challenges that come with navigating the journey through childhood.
The Dark Side of Childhood
In his quote, Maurice Sendak captures the raw and often disturbing aspects of childhood that are often overlooked. The image of cannibals and psychotics vomiting in your mouth symbolizes the chaos and uncertainty that children can face as they navigate the complexities of growing up in today's world. This quote serves as a reminder that childhood is not always a carefree and innocent time, but can also be filled with challenges and struggles that shape a person's identity.
Maurice Sendak on Childhood
"Childhood is cannibals and psychotics vomiting in your mouth!” - Maurice Sendak"
Reflection Questions:
As Maurice Sendak so vividly describes childhood, it can be a tumultuous and chaotic time. Consider the following questions to reflect on this statement and its implications:
- How do you interpret Sendak's analogy of childhood being like cannibals and psychotics vomiting in your mouth?
- In what ways do you see childhood as a time of intense emotions and experiences?
- How does Sendak's quote challenge traditional notions of childhood as a carefree and innocent time?
- Can you recall any personal experiences from your own childhood that align with Sendak's description? How did they shape your understanding of childhood?
- How might Sendak's perspective influence your future interactions with children or your own approach to parenting?
Similar quotes
“I think it is unnatural to think that there is such a thing as a blue-sky, white-clouded happy childhood for anybody. Childhood is a very, very tricky business of surviving it. Because if one thing goes wrong or anything goes wrong, and usually something goes wrong, then you are compromised as a human being. You're going to trip over that for a good part of your life.”
“I said anything I wanted because I don't believe in children I don't believe in childhood. I don't believe that there's a demarcation. 'Oh you mustn't tell them that. You mustn't tell them that.' You tell them anything you want. Just tell them if it's true. If it's true you tell them.”
“The qualities that make for excellence in children's literature can be summed up in a single word: imagination. And imagination as it relates to the child is, to my mind, synonymous with fantasy. Contrary to most of the propaganda in books for the young, childhood is only partly a time of innocence. It is, in my opinion, a time of seriousness, bewilderment, and a good deal of suffering. It's also possibly the best of all times. Imagination for the child is the miraculous, freewheeling device he uses to course his way through the problems of every day....It's through fantasy that children achieve catharsis.”
“Once a little boy sent me a charming card with a little drawing on it. I loved it. I answer all my children’s letters — sometimes very hastily — but this one I lingered over. I sent him a card and I drew a picture of a Wild Thing on it. I wrote, “Dear Jim: I loved your card.” Then I got a letter back from his mother and she said, “Jim loved your card so much he ate it.” That to me was one of the highest compliments I’ve ever received. He didn’t care that it was an original Maurice Sendak drawing or anything. He saw it, he loved it, he ate it.”
“A book is really like a lover. It arranges itself in your life in a way that is beautiful. Even as a kid, my sister, who was the eldest, brought books home for me, and I think I spent more time sniffing and touching them than reading. I just remember the joy of the book, the beauty of the binding. The smelling of the interior. Happy."[Interview with Emma Brockes, The Believer, November/December, 2012]”
“Let the wild rumpus start!”