--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: bent under the April sun and into the…" description: "\"“bent under the April sun and into the bitter April wind, jackets flapping and eyes squinting, or else skirts pressed to the backs of legs and jacket h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68d/alice-mcdermott-1961_quote_bent-under-the-april-sun-and-into-the-bi_1918740.jpg" --- # bent under the April sun and into the bitter April wind… ![“bent under the April sun and into the bitter April wind, jackets flapping and eyes squinting, or else skirts pressed to the backs of legs and jacket hems pressed to bottoms. And trailing them, outrunning them, skittering along the gutter and the sidewalk and the low gray steps of the church…” quote by Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68d/alice-mcdermott-1961_quote_bent-under-the-april-sun-and-into-the-bi_1918740.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68d/alice-mcdermott-1961_quote_bent-under-the-april-sun-and-into-the-bi_1918740.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68d/alice-mcdermott-1961_quote_bent-under-the-april-sun-and-into-the-bi_1918740.jpg) > ““bent under the April sun and into the bitter April wind, jackets flapping and eyes squinting, or else skirts pressed to the backs of legs and jacket hems pressed to bottoms. And trailing them, outrunning them, skittering along the gutter and the sidewalk and the low gray steps of the church, banging into ankles and knees and one another, scraps of paper, newspapers, candy wrappers, what else?—office memos? shopping”” [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A vivid scene of people moving hurriedly through a city, their clothing and belongings fluttering, illustrating everyday chaos and the small details that fill urban life. **In simple terms:** City life is noisy and messy, full of moving people and scattered objects. Key Takeaway Notice the small, chaotic moments around you. Themes urban life movement detail chaos observation Mood busy observant reflective Type descriptive observational literary When to use this quote - commuting - shopping - walking in city - observing street scenes - navigating crowds Key Concepts modernism social observation sensory detail Questions to Reflect On - What everyday details often go unnoticed? - How does urban chaos affect your mood? A Different Perspective The description may romanticize mundane bustle, overlooking deeper social struggles. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [April](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/april/) [April Sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/april-sun-1052298/) [April Wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/april-wind-1243677/) [Bent April](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bent-april-2933812/) [Bitter April](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitter-april-2933813/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) ## Related quotes > [“It was either God’s reply or just April again, in the wind tunnel that was midtown”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/it-was-either-god-s-reply-or-just-april-again-in-the-wind-tunnel-that/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [Life's sunniest hours are not without The shadow of some lingering doubt-- Amid its brightest joys will steal Spectres of evil yet to feel--…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/life-s-sunniest-hours-are-not-without-the-shadow-of-some-lingering/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [When the April wind wakes the call for the soil, I hold the plough as my only hold upon the earth, and, as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-lore-sharp/when-the-april-wind-wakes-the-call-for-the-soil-i-hold-the-plough-as/) [Dallas Lore Sharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-lore-sharp/) > [There are no days in the whole round year more delicious than those which often come to us in the latter half of April...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wentworth-higginson/there-are-no-days-in-the-whole-round-year-more-delicious-than-those/) [Thomas Wentworth Higginson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wentworth-higginson/) > [There are no days in the whole round year more delicious than those which often come to us in the latter half of April...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wentworth-higginson/there-are-no-days-in-the-whole-round-year-more-delicious-than-those-2/) [Thomas Wentworth Higginson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wentworth-higginson/) > [“Winter Liar" by Liam Doyle the Incubus What come once here will never come again, no matter monument nor memory; all sunwarmed green succumbs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliet-dark/winter-liar-by-liam-doyle-the-incubus-what-come-once-here-will-never/) [Juliet Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juliet-dark/) > [Spring with its wavin' green grass and heaps of sweet-smellin' flowers on every hill and in every dale.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-bean/spring-with-its-wavin-green-grass-and-heaps-of-sweet-smellin-flowers/) [Roy Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-bean/) > [Ah, March! we know thou art Kind-hearted, spite of ugly looks and threats, And, out of sight, art nursing April's violets!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hunt-jackson/ah-march-we-know-thou-art-kind-hearted-spite-of-ugly-looks-and/) [Helen Hunt Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hunt-jackson/) > [Here cometh April again, and as far as I can see the world hath more fools in it than ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/here-cometh-april-again-and-as-far-as-i-can-see-the-world-hath-more/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [Our opponents see an America in which every day is April 15, tax day. Well, we see an America in which every day is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/our-opponents-see-an-america-in-which-every-day-is-april-15-tax-day/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The air soft as that of Seville in April, and so fragrant that it was delicious to breathe it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-columbus/the-air-soft-as-that-of-seville-in-april-and-so-fragrant-that-it-was/) [Christopher Columbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-columbus/) > [Why should I deem myself to be a chisel, when I could be the artist?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/why-should-i-deem-myself-to-be-a-chisel-when-i-could-be-the-artist/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [Two things you need to know about taxes. They've extended the deadline to April 18, and when you write your check, just make it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/two-things-you-need-to-know-about-taxes-they-ve-extended-the-deadline/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [It might interest you that just as the U.S. was ramping up its involvement in Vietnam, LBJ launched an illegal invasion of the Dominican…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/it-might-interest-you-that-just-as-the-u-s-was-ramping-up-its/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“I had a chat with May and I had a sweet talk with April but the lovely conversation that left me to ponder was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/i-had-a-chat-with-may-and-i-had-a-sweet-talk-with-april-but-the/) [Ernest Agyemang Yeboah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/) ## More by Alice McDermott > [“Some vestige of his race or of his sex made him think, whenever he looked out across the ocean: As it was before me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/some-vestige-of-his-race-or-of-his-sex-made-him-think-whenever-he/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“If you want to see how far we have not come from the cave and the woods, from the lonely and dangerous days of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/if-you-want-to-see-how-far-we-have-not-come-from-the-cave-and-the/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“John Keane pressed his chest to the steering wheel as he put the key in the ignition, taking a deep breath as he did,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/john-keane-pressed-his-chest-to-the-steering-wheel-as-he-put-the-key/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“The fourth contraction seized her and suddenly she was perspiring. She heard herself cry out and then she heard the children’s voices like sparks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/the-fourth-contraction-seized-her-and-suddenly-she-was-perspiring-she/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“THE TINY SPIDERS that lived in the higher branches of the downed tree (which now meant the branches that lay on the other side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/the-tiny-spiders-that-lived-in-the-higher-branches-of-the-downed-tree/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [What makes a sentence, a phrase, a moment, or a scene delightful? Something about recognizing the truth in it, hearing the music in it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/what-makes-a-sentence-a-phrase-a-moment-or-a-scene-delightful/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“Michael had slipped beyond the crest of the dune. Jacob was lying flat out now, on his stomach, his little men all before him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/michael-had-slipped-beyond-the-crest-of-the-dune-jacob-was-lying-flat/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“The wind,” Mary said again. “It was making everyone tear up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/the-wind-mary-said-again-it-was-making-everyone-tear-up/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“Not a soul,” Mary Keane said to her husband, the wind lifting her words, tossing them gently back over her shoulder, the way it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/not-a-soul-mary-keane-said-to-her-husband-the-wind-lifting-her-words/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“There wasn’t a tear to be seen on the faces of the men and women in the street as the two of them walked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/there-wasn-t-a-tear-to-be-seen-on-the-faces-of-the-men-and-women-in/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“His love for his children bore down on his heart with the weight of three heavy stones. There were all his unnamed fears for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/his-love-for-his-children-bore-down-on-his-heart-with-the-weight-of/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“Mr. Persichetti knew that six weeks before its time and with a good thirty-minute ride to the hospital once the ambulance came (would it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/mr-persichetti-knew-that-six-weeks-before-its-time-and-with-a-good/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“Mike Shea became a medic during the war and was now married, working for Pfizer. To this day he can’t look at her straight.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/mike-shea-became-a-medic-during-the-war-and-was-now-married-working/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [As a writer, I'm too busy and worried to experience the delight while composing my own work, although, of course, I hope a reader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/as-a-writer-i-m-too-busy-and-worried-to-experience-the-delight-while/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“Why not?” but without conviction, confirming for them both that this was a sudden impulse that most likely would not last out the afternoon.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/why-not-but-without-conviction-confirming-for-them-both-that-this-was/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) [Explore all 194 Alice McDermott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) ## More April quotes > [“I had a chat with May and I had a sweet talk with April but the lovely conversation that left me to ponder was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/i-had-a-chat-with-may-and-i-had-a-sweet-talk-with-april-but-the/) [Ernest Agyemang Yeboah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/) > [It might interest you that just as the U.S. was ramping up its involvement in Vietnam, LBJ launched an illegal invasion of the Dominican…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/it-might-interest-you-that-just-as-the-u-s-was-ramping-up-its/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [Two things you need to know about taxes. They've extended the deadline to April 18, and when you write your check, just make it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/two-things-you-need-to-know-about-taxes-they-ve-extended-the-deadline/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [Why should I deem myself to be a chisel, when I could be the artist?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/why-should-i-deem-myself-to-be-a-chisel-when-i-could-be-the-artist/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [The air soft as that of Seville in April, and so fragrant that it was delicious to breathe it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-columbus/the-air-soft-as-that-of-seville-in-april-and-so-fragrant-that-it-was/) [Christopher Columbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-columbus/) > [Our opponents see an America in which every day is April 15, tax day. Well, we see an America in which every day is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/our-opponents-see-an-america-in-which-every-day-is-april-15-tax-day/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Here cometh April again, and as far as I can see the world hath more fools in it than ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/here-cometh-april-again-and-as-far-as-i-can-see-the-world-hath-more/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [It felt like 10 years, but I was actually in treatment for three-and-a-half years. I finally finished in April. Two years ago, I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suleika-jaouad/it-felt-like-10-years-but-i-was-actually-in-treatment-for-three-and-a/) [Suleika Jaouad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suleika-jaouad/) > [The air is like a butterfly With frail blue wings. The happy earth looks at the sky And sings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-kilmer/the-air-is-like-a-butterfly-with-frail-blue-wings-the-happy-earth/) [Joyce Kilmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-kilmer/) > [At 1.24 am on 26 April 1986 Chernobyl’s Unit 4 reactor exploded after staff disabled safety systems and performed an ill-advised experiment to check…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lynas/at-1-24-am-on-26-april-1986-chernobyl-s-unit-4-reactor-exploded-after/) [Mark Lynas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lynas/) > [People born in April are very loving and caring people. They are the ones who have the best memories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-born-in-april-are-very-loving-and-caring-people-they-are-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ah, March! we know thou art Kind-hearted, spite of ugly looks and threats, And, out of sight, art nursing April's violets!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hunt-jackson/ah-march-we-know-thou-art-kind-hearted-spite-of-ugly-looks-and/) [Helen Hunt Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hunt-jackson/) > [I know April, May and June are a few unbearable months, and working out in a gym and sweating in such dirty hot, sticky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashish-sharma/i-know-april-may-and-june-are-a-few-unbearable-months-and-working-out/) [Ashish Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashish-sharma/) > [Men are April when they woo, December when they wed...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/men-are-april-when-they-woo-december-when-they-wed/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Oh, to be in England Now that April's there, And whoever wakes in England Sees, some morning, unaware.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/oh-to-be-in-england-now-that-april-s-there-and-whoever-wakes-in/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) [Browse all 567 April quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/april/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“bent under the April sun and into the bitter April wind, jackets flapping and eyes squinting, or else skirts pressed to the backs of legs and jacket hems pressed to bottoms. 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