we the living quotes

Don't you know that there is something in us which must not be touched by any state, by any collective, by any number of the millions?”. Desperate, she seeks help from Andrei Taganov, an ardent young communist whose love for Kira helps awaken him to the meaning of genuine personal values, not to be surrendered for others’ sake. “Living in the moment means letting go of the past and not waiting for the future. Together. The Question and Answer section for We the Living is a great And because she felt a profound rebellion against the weighty, the tragic, the solemn, Kira had a solemn reverence for those songs of defiant gaiety.”, “But if I were given a choice - of all centuries - I'd select last the curse of being born in this one. When Kira's family returns to Petrograd, how many years of revolution had the city already seen? The millions. And you, Kira, are my highest reverence...”, “That's a cute sentence: the years to come. To be alive is to be passionately devoted to one’s own life and happiness. "Behind her was a car overloaded with a freight of humans and bundles. I loathe [Andrei] your ideals because I know no worse injustice than the giving of the undeserved. What?”. This Study Guide consists of approximately 50 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - "Open your eyes, look within. Syerov, by contrast, mouths the communist line not because he believes it but because it smoothes his way to power. Although they each passionately want to live, Kira and Leo cannot live a human life because they are trapped in a society that refuses to recognize or respect that right by leaving them free. I was born and I knew I was alive and I knew what I wanted. Anything on this God-damn earth! But it did not matter any longer. And when you know what you want - you go toward it. Although secret police, political executions and forced labor camps figure into her plot, Rand’s detailed focus is on the daily methods by which collectivism crushes the soul. 3 … The humans were bundled in ragged overcoats and shawls. The bundles had served as beds and had lost all shape. Only by abandoning her can he finally deaden his soul and stop feeling pain. I was born and I knew I was alive and I knew what I wanted. Not affiliated with Harvard College. Statism, by contrast, is the idea that man has no right to exist for himself, that he is the property of society, to be disposed of as the state dictates. And if they say they do -- then, I know they don't believe in life. I want a woman like you. You can help us out by revising, improving and updating It can mean so much that it really means nothing. To imagine a heaven and then not to dream of it, but to demand it.”, “I loathe your ideals because I know no worse injustice than the giving of the undeserved.”, “To a life; which is reason unto itself.”, “Kira, the highest thing in man is not his god. Part One, Chap. You came and you forbade life to the living. Pavel Syerov can afford anything now! Published in 1936, the story is set in Soviet Russia, from which Rand had fled to America ten years earlier. Life, undefeated, existed and could exist. Objectivist Conferences (OCON) and the Ayn Rand Institute eStore are operated by ARI. And who — in this damned universe — who can tell me why I should live for anything but for that which I want? Are you satisfied with the life you're living?" 3 quotes have been tagged as we-the-living: Ayn Rand: ‘Every honest man lives for himself. We the Living stands for the supreme value of an individual life, against the evil of a state that would destroy it. As a child, Syerov is not a good person; his method of filling that void is to see himself as better than other people. However, even the strongest ones could be broken. Unlike Andrei, she doesn’t see anything special in the masses. Note: This page used to house 500+ quotes about all topics of life. Unfortunately for her, Kira couldn’t stand the masses, so when comrade Sonia started praising her choice – according to her, Kira’s profession would allow her to serve the Soviet people – Kira hurried to explain that she was there “for the very unusual, unnatural reason of wanting to learn a work” that she liked. Pavel Syerov is best understood in contrast to Andrei. Copyright © 1985 – 2020 The Ayn Rand® Institute (ARI). As a soldier in the Red Army, and later as a Communist Party stalwart, Andrei fights bravely for the revolution, believing sincerely that communism will raise everyone up to his level. This is the power the Soviet state claims over the lives of Kira and Leo. She smiled, her last smile, to so much that had been possible.”, “Because, you see, God—whatever anyone chooses to call God—is one's highest conception of the highest possible. To imagine a heaven and then not to dream of it, but to demand it.”, “Now look at me! All rights reserved. Reproduction of content and images in whole or in part is prohibited. Welcome back. She was “against a hundred and fifty million people” and that was a case when the number really mattered. . Her career, her music, the men she loves — to form and strive for such personal values is what it means to be alive. And when you know what you want--you go toward it. . The world can be a tough place, but it does not have to be. You begin it, feeling that it’s something so precious and rare, so beautiful that it’s like a sacred treasure. this section. Of the three “living” young people in We the Living, Kira is the most alive. Reply. Leo contracts tuberculosis but can’t get admitted to a state sanitarium, despite Kira’s best efforts. Kira can’t understand Andrei’s philosophy. “There were sharp little blows in the music, and waves of quick, fine notes that burst and rolled like the thin, clear ringing of broken glass. This section contains 1,009 words (approx. The first printing (3,000 copies) sold out, but the book went out of print due to a publisher’s error. I've forgotten the difference long ago, because it really doesn't matter, so long as you move.”, “She smiled. Kira was a brave woman. . It's that in him which knows the reverence due a god. I lost. In this sense, she’s similar to Kira, who understands that to live means to have personal values and pursue them passionately. Welcome back. . Things are really very simple.”, Syerov giggled triumphantly: “So I can’t afford it, can I? Pavel Syerov will say and do anything to achieve power over others. We the Living is Ayn Rand’s first novel. Now it’s over, and it doesn’t make any difference to anyone . I don't understand it myself, but there's something that should be understood by all of us. . These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. . Even Galina, Kira’s mother, though not an evil character, gains petty advantages by mouthing propaganda and performing state service. An edition revised by Rand was published in 1959, following the success of Atlas Shrugged (1957). Or because I know what I want, and that something which knows how to want—isn't that life itself? It is the most important time because it is the only time when we have any power.” All you have to do is look straight and see the road, and when you see it, don’t sit looking at it — walk. He has no convictions of his own. Irina falls in love with Sasha Chernov, a rebel who is determined to fight against the Soviet state. “Now look at me! We can stand it. Unlike Andrei’s communist ideal, Kira’s holy cause does not require sacrifice for something outside herself. In contrast to Andrei, Syerov doesn’t mind that the promised prosperity never materializes, because it is easier to lord over starving people. An honest idealist, Andrei cannot close his eyes to the evidence that communism isn’t raising people up — it’s holding them down and crushing their lives, bringing only suffering to the woman he loves. Deny the best its right to the top--and you have no best left. Selfishness was despised, frowned upon, bashed. “Sanctity” is one of those terms (like “sacred,” “devotion” and “reverence”) that people think of as exclusively religious. Take a good look! A moment or an eternity- did it matter? Why does she try so desperately to save Leo from tuberculosis, alcoholism, spiritual decay? These inspirational quotes tell the people of the world what they need to hear. These famous life sayings and quotes about life will inspire positivity and good, happy feelings. “Well, I always know what I want. — Irina Dunaeva, We the Living by Ayn Rand. will review the submission and either publish your submission or provide feedback. Take a good look! Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Plot Summary of “We The Living” by Ayn Rand. . She had known something which no human words could ever tell and she knew it now. So I ask them if they believe in God. Life had been, if only because she had known it could be, and she felt it now as a hymn without sound, deep under the little whole that dripped red drops into the snow, deeper than that from which the red drops came. And when you know what you want--you go toward it. Leo is best understood in contrast to Kira. . . But some claim that such evils are perversions of a noble ideal that would be practical if only such “excesses” could be avoided.

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