The past is what makes the present coherent, and the past will remain horrible for exactly as long as we refuse to assess it honestly.

There are people in the world for whom "coming along" is a perpetual process, people who are destined never to arrive.

A real writer is always shifting and changing and searching.

The future is like heaven-everyone exalts it but no one wants to go there now.

You're getting to be a big boy,' I said desperately, 'it's time you started thinking about your future.' 'I'm thinking about my future,' said Sonny, grimly. 'I think about it all the time.

What passes for identity in America is a series of myths about one's heroic ancestors. It's astounding to me, for example, that so many people really seem to believe that the country was founded by a band of heroes who wanted to be free.

The male cannot bear very much humiliation; and he really cannot bear it, it obliterates him.