--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Yet in truth the big question Camus asked…" description: "\"Yet in truth the big question Camus asked was never the Anglo-American liberal one: How can we make the world a little bit better tomorrow? It was the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfb/adam-gopnik-6789_answers_yet-in-truth-the-big-question-camus-aske_3129753.jpg" --- # Yet in truth the big question Camus asked was never the… ![“Yet in truth the big question Camus asked was never the Anglo-American liberal one: How can we make the world a little bit better tomorrow? It was the grander French one: Why not kill yourself tonight? That the answers come to much the same thing in the end-easy does it; tomorrow may be a bit…” quote by Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfb/adam-gopnik-6789_answers_yet-in-truth-the-big-question-camus-aske_3129753.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfb/adam-gopnik-6789_answers_yet-in-truth-the-big-question-camus-aske_3129753.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfb/adam-gopnik-6789_answers_yet-in-truth-the-big-question-camus-aske_3129753.jpg) > “Yet in truth the big question Camus asked was never the Anglo-American liberal one: How can we make the world a little bit better tomorrow? It was the grander French one: Why not kill yourself tonight? That the answers come to much the same thing in the end-easy does it; tomorrow may be a bit better than today; and, after all, you have to have a little faith in people-doesn't diminish the glamour that clings to the man who turned the question over and look at it, elegantly, upside down.” [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Camus confronts existential despair, suggesting that both improving the world and contemplating suicide stem from the same search for meaning. **In simple terms:** Life’s big questions often circle back to meaning and hope. Key Takeaway Find purpose despite absurdity. Themes existentialism hope absurdity Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical literary existential When to use this quote - personal crisis - social activism - philosophical debate - mental health - literary analysis Key Concepts meaning human condition Questions to Reflect On - What gives your life meaning today? - How can you act to improve the world? A Different Perspective The quote may oversimplify Camus’ nuanced philosophy, ignoring his emphasis on rebellion over suicide. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Better tomorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-tomorrow/) [Big questions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-questions/) [Glamour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glamour/) [Have a little faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/have-a-little-faith/) [Killing yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/killing-yourself/) [Little faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-faith/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Tomorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tomorrow/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Why not](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/why-not/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [The big question is, are we letting ourselves become what we wish to become?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/the-big-question-is-are-we-letting-ourselves-become-what-we-wish-to/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [I think it's really important to give yourself a very big question that you're working on that you can come home to](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/i-think-it-s-really-important-to-give-yourself-a-very-big-question/) [Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/) > [Now comes the big question: What are you going to write about? And the equally big answer: Anything you damn well want. Anything at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/now-comes-the-big-question-what-are-you-going-to-write-about-and-the/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [I thought, you know, I would probably not have seen that. On the other hand, he's obviously completely telling the truth. So, then what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-thought-you-know-i-would-probably-not-have-seen-that-on-the-other/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Answer the big question of eternity, and the little questions of life fall into perspective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/answer-the-big-question-of-eternity-and-the-little-questions-of-life/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [Can I give them what they think they're going to get from me? That's always the big question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-andrews/can-i-give-them-what-they-think-they-re-going-to-get-from-me-that-s/) [Julie Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-andrews/) > [Who are we? That is the big question. And essentially we are just an upright, walking, big brained, super intelligent ape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-leakey/who-are-we-that-is-the-big-question-and-essentially-we-are-just-an/) [Louise Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-leakey/) > [For every mountain there is another one. The big question is if you reach the top of the mountain, what then? What do you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lowy/for-every-mountain-there-is-another-one-the-big-question-is-if-you/) [Frank Lowy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lowy/) > [Technological civilization has now dominated the earth to the point where there is a big question what is going to happen next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-rheingold/technological-civilization-has-now-dominated-the-earth-to-the-point/) [Howard Rheingold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-rheingold/) > [Life is one big question when your starin at the clock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-one-big-question-when-your-starin-at-the-clock/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God is bigger than time, dates, and appointments. He wants you to move through this day with a quiet heart, an inward assurance that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lessin/god-is-bigger-than-time-dates-and-appointments-he-wants-you-to-move/) [Roy Lessin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lessin/) > [Have a little faith, kick a little dirt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ladd/have-a-little-faith-kick-a-little-dirt/) [Diane Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ladd/) > [Have a little faith. Don't give up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fantasia-barrino/have-a-little-faith-don-t-give-up/) [Fantasia Barrino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fantasia-barrino/) > [For what is faith unless it is to believe what you do not see?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/for-what-is-faith-unless-it-is-to-believe-what-you-do-not-see/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Rita folded her arms around herself and peered up at me. “If you’d asked me three months ago I’d have said you were hitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-e-murphy/rita-folded-her-arms-around-herself-and-peered-up-at-me-if-you-d/) [C.E. Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-e-murphy/) ## More by Adam Gopnik > [ Often the block \[in writing\] comes from the wall of words that keep out the simplicity of sense. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/often-the-block-in-writing-comes-from-the-wall-of-words-that-keep-out/) [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) > [Drawing is one of those things which sit on the uneasy bending line between instinct and instruction, where seeming perversity eventually trumps pleasure as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/drawing-is-one-of-those-things-which-sit-on-the-uneasy-bending-line/) [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) > [Of all the unexpected things in contemporary literature, this is among the oddest: that kids have an inordinate appetite for very long, very tricky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/of-all-the-unexpected-things-in-contemporary-literature-this-is-among/) [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) > [“...we see life as deeply in our pleasures as in our pains.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/we-see-life-as-deeply-in-our-pleasures-as-in-our-pains/) [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) > [ Leafing through Forbes or Fortune \[magazine\]s is like reading the operating manual of a strangely sanctimonious pirate ship ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/leafing-through-forbes-or-fortune-magazine-s-is-like-reading-the/) [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) > [Writing well isn't just a question of winsome expression, but of having found something big and true to say and having found the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/writing-well-isn-t-just-a-question-of-winsome-expression-but-of/) [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) > [“There is, I believe now, a force in stories, words in motion, that either drives them forward past things into feelings or doesn't. Sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/there-is-i-believe-now-a-force-in-stories-words-in-motion-that-either/) [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) > [Cooking is the showy side of domesticity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/cooking-is-the-showy-side-of-domesticity/) [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) > [Writing doesn't come easily to anyone, I think, certainly not to me. But pressure and practice does lend a certain fluency, I think -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/writing-doesn-t-come-easily-to-anyone-i-think-certainly-not-to-me-but/) [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) > [Art without accomplishment becomes a form of faith, sustained more by the intensity of its common practice than by the pleasure it gives to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/art-without-accomplishment-becomes-a-form-of-faith-sustained-more-by/) [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) > [ “\[A\]s military history reveals, a bad plan is often better than no plan, especially if the people on the other side think it’s a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/a-s-military-history-reveals-a-bad-plan-is-often-better-than-no-plan/) [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) > [I don't think there's any question journalists have become targets, but then I think that - that anyone who tries to practice liberty becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/i-don-t-think-there-s-any-question-journalists-have-become-targets/) [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) > [After all, spinning is its own reward. There wouldn't be carousels if it weren't so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/after-all-spinning-is-its-own-reward-there-wouldn-t-be-carousels-if/) [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) > [“This is surely the most significant of the elements that Tolkien brought to fantasy… his arranged marriage between the Elder Edda and "The Wind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/this-is-surely-the-most-significant-of-the-elements-that-tolkien/) [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) > [The future will be like the past, in the sense that, no matter how amazing or technologically advanced a society becomes, the basic human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/the-future-will-be-like-the-past-in-the-sense-that-no-matter-how/) [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) [Explore all 97 Adam Gopnik quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) ## More Answers quotes > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/sometimes-a-question-can-hurt-more-than-an-answer/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I have long felt that the way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things. Lecturing to children is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/i-have-long-felt-that-the-way-to-keep-children-out-of-trouble-is-to/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [“As long as you keep searching,the answers will come.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-kynock/as-long-as-you-keep-searching-the-answers-will-come/) [Mitch Kynock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-kynock/) > [The answer to deep anxiety is the deep adoration of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/the-answer-to-deep-anxiety-is-the-deep-adoration-of-god/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [There is a comfort in rituals, and rituals provide a framework for stability when you are trying to find answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-norville/there-is-a-comfort-in-rituals-and-rituals-provide-a-framework-for/) [Deborah Norville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-norville/) > [A religious person answers to God, not to the elected or non-elected official.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/a-religious-person-answers-to-god-not-to-the-elected-or-non-elected/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [Instead of asking a girl how she feels, try looking through her recently listened to songs. The lyrics are the answer to all your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-asking-a-girl-how-she-feels-try-looking-through-her/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For someone to ask 'Who did you play for' and to be able to answer a single name 'Liverpool' that would be brilliant...I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-carragher/for-someone-to-ask-who-did-you-play-for-and-to-be-able-to-answer-a/) [Jamie Carragher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-carragher/) > [When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked "What is a hero?" ...My answer was that a hero is someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/when-the-first-superman-movie-came-out-i-was-frequently-asked-what-is/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) > [Enjoying life isn't about finding the answers, but living the questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-margolis/enjoying-life-isn-t-about-finding-the-answers-but-living-the-questions/) [Sue Margolis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-margolis/) Browse all 7,843 Answers quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Yet in truth the big question Camus asked was never the Anglo-American liberal one: How can we make the world a little bit better tomorrow? It was the grander French one: Why not kill yourself tonight? That the answers come to much the same thing in the end-easy does it; tomorrow may be a bit better than today; and, after all, you have to have a little faith in people-doesn't diminish the glamour that clings to the man who turned the question over and look at it, elegantly, upside down.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Adam Gopnik" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/yet-in-truth-the-big-question-camus-asked-was-never-the-anglo/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Answers" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/yet-in-truth-the-big-question-camus-asked-was-never-the-anglo/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfb/adam-gopnik-6789_answers_yet-in-truth-the-big-question-camus-aske_3129753.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfb/adam-gopnik-6789_answers_yet-in-truth-the-big-question-camus-aske_3129753.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfb/adam-gopnik-6789_answers_yet-in-truth-the-big-question-camus-aske_3129753.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Yet in truth the big question Camus asked was never the Anglo-American liberal one: How can we make the…” — Adam Gopnik", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Adam Gopnik", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Yet in truth the big question...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/yet-in-truth-the-big-question-camus-asked-was-never-the-anglo/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/yet-in-truth-the-big-question-camus-asked-was-never-the-anglo/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```