East of eden Quotes by John Steinbeck

“A writer of stories is a liar.”

— John Steinbeck

There's more beauty in the truth even if it is dreadful beauty.

— John Steinbeck

“Wishing just brought earned disappointment.”

— John Steinbeck

Sometimes a kind of glory lights up the mind of a man.

— John Steinbeck

In uncertainty I am certain that underneath their topmost layers of frailty men want to be good and want to be loved.

— John Steinbeck

This I must fight against: any idea, religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual.

— John Steinbeck

... a man is a very important thing-maybe more important than a star.

— John Steinbeck

I think of my life as a kind of music, not always good music but still having form and melody.

— John Steinbeck

This I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected.

— John Steinbeck

To a monster the norm must seem monstrous, since everyone is normal to himself.

— John Steinbeck

There is one sure thing about the fall of gods: they do not fall a little; they crash and shatter.

— John Steinbeck

There's a capacity for appetite... that a whole heaven and earth of cake can't satisfy

— John Steinbeck

“I take a pleasure in inquiring into things. I’ve never been content to pass a stone without looking under it. And it…

— John Steinbeck

“And I here make a rule-a great and lasting story is about everyone or it will not last. The strange and foreign…

— John Steinbeck

A man, after he has brushed off the dust and chips of his life, will have left only the hard, clean question:…

— John Steinbeck

I believe there are monsters born in the world to human parents… The face and body may be perfect, but if a…

— John Steinbeck

“But some men are friends with the whole world in their hearts, and there are others that hate themselves and spread their…

— John Steinbeck

“In a bitter night, a mustard night that was last night, a good thought came and the dark was sweetened when the…

— John Steinbeck

“Aron's training in worldliness was gained from a young man of no experience, which gave him the ability for generalization only the…

— John Steinbeck

“I've heard two ways of looking at it. One says the silent man is the wise man & the other that a…

— John Steinbeck

“And I feel that I am a man. And I feel that a man is a very important thing - maybe more…

— John Steinbeck

I think the difference between a lie and a story is that a story utilizes the trappings and appearance of truth for…

— John Steinbeck

In uncertainty I am certain that underneath their topmost layers of frailty men want to be good and want to be loved.…

— John Steinbeck

A man may have lived all of his life in the gray, and the land and trees of him dark and somber.…

— John Steinbeck

I can understand why a system built on a pattern must try to destroy the free mind, for that is one thing…

— John Steinbeck

“Tom , the third son, was most like his father. He was born in fury and he lived in lightning.Tom came headlong…

— John Steinbeck

We have only one story. All novels, all poetry, are built on the neverending contest in ourselves of good and evil. And…

— John Steinbeck

There is more beauty in truth, even if it is a dreadful beauty. The storytellers at the city gate twist life so…

— John Steinbeck

“Tom felt his darkness. His father was beautiful and clever, his mother was short and mathematically sure. Each of his brothers and…

— John Steinbeck

“I believe that there is one story in the world, and only one, that has frightened and inspired us, so that we…

— John Steinbeck

“It's because I haven't courage,' said Samuel. 'I could never quite take the responsibility. When the Lord God did not call my…

— John Steinbeck

“First we find a buried star and now we go to dig up a mint-new human”

— John Steinbeck

“It is easy, out of laziness, out of weakness, to throw oneself into the lap of deity, saying, 'I couldn't help it;…

— John Steinbeck

“In uncertainty I am certain that underneath their topmost layer of frailty men want to be good and want be loved. Indeed…

— John Steinbeck

I don't think there is a single sentence in this whole book [East of Eden] that does not either develop character, carry…

— John Steinbeck