--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Possibly everyone now dead considered his…" description: "\"Possibly everyone now dead considered his own death as a freak accident, a mistake. Some bad luck caused it. Every enterprising man jack of them, and e..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71e/annie-dillard-509_accidents_possibly-everyone-now-dead-considered-hi_1784686.jpg" --- # Possibly everyone now dead considered his own death as a… ![“Possibly everyone now dead considered his own death as a freak accident, a mistake. Some bad luck caused it. Every enterprising man jack of them, and every sunlit vigorous woman and child, too, who had seemed so alive and pleased, was cold as a meat hook, and new chattering people trampled their…” quote by Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71e/annie-dillard-509_accidents_possibly-everyone-now-dead-considered-hi_1784686.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71e/annie-dillard-509_accidents_possibly-everyone-now-dead-considered-hi_1784686.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71e/annie-dillard-509_accidents_possibly-everyone-now-dead-considered-hi_1784686.jpg) > “Possibly everyone now dead considered his own death as a freak accident, a mistake. Some bad luck caused it. Every enterprising man jack of them, and every sunlit vigorous woman and child, too, who had seemed so alive and pleased, was cold as a meat hook, and new chattering people trampled their bones unregarding, and rubbed their hands together and got to work improving their prospects till their own feet slipped and they went under themselves ... Every place was a tilting edge.” [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She portrays death as an inevitable, chaotic event that flattens all lives, highlighting life's fragility. **In simple terms:** Death is random and equalizing. Key Takeaway Accept life's unpredictability. Themes mortality chaos humanity Mood somber philosophical Type literary reflective When to use this quote - risk assessment - health planning - philosophical reflection Key Concepts existentialism nihilism Questions to Reflect On - How does this view affect daily choices? - Can meaning be found despite randomness? A Different Perspective Focus on randomness may ignore agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accident/) [Accidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accidents/) [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Bad luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-luck/) [Bones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bones/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) [Considered Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/considered-death-1891635/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Edges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edges/) [Enterprising](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enterprising/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Feet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feet/) [Freak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freak/) [Freak Accident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freak-accident-427092/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Hands together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands-together/) [Hook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hook/) [Improving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/improving/) [Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luck/) [Luck Caused](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luck-caused-1891636/) [Meat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meat/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Possibly Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibly-dead-1492645/) [Prospects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prospects/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Vigorous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vigorous/) ## Related quotes > [Errors have nothing to do with luck; they are caused by time pressure, discomfort or unfamiliarilty with a position, distractions, feelings of intimidation, nervous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pal-benko/errors-have-nothing-to-do-with-luck-they-are-caused-by-time-pressure/) [Pal Benko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pal-benko/) > [“With the last months spent preparing to face this darkness, it was improbable that the end of her story would be a happy one.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-bowen/with-the-last-months-spent-preparing-to-face-this-darkness-it-was/) [Jess Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-bowen/) > [“Gautier was possibly dead, probably dead. I ran as I shouted, “Take”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/gautier-was-possibly-dead-probably-dead-i-ran-as-i-shouted-take/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [She cannot possibly be dead, people do not just die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/she-cannot-possibly-be-dead-people-do-not-just-die/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [He always considered death an unavoidable professional hazard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/he-always-considered-death-an-unavoidable-professional-hazard/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“Giles' shameful death was, of course, the sign of a crazy old man's inability to adapt to a new world. But his belief, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-gregory/giles-shameful-death-was-of-course-the-sign-of-a-crazy-old-man-s/) [Philippa Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-gregory/) > [“I cannot stop thinking that she is dead, and I cannot stop thinking that she cannot possibly be dead. People do not just die.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-cannot-stop-thinking-that-she-is-dead-and-i-cannot-stop-thinking/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“figure that even though I’m not sleeping with Tom this evening, there still might be a freak accident in which all my clothes fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-bolouri/figure-that-even-though-i-m-not-sleeping-with-tom-this-evening-there/) [Joanna Bolouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-bolouri/) > [“I could be the faultless victim of a freak accident and be knocked from the game while still on the ascendant. Becoming the object…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-could-be-the-faultless-victim-of-a-freak-accident-and-be-knocked/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [In 2009, I fractured my skull in a freak accident at an L.A. restaurant. I suffered a seizure and was rushed into hospital. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliot-sumner/in-2009-i-fractured-my-skull-in-a-freak-accident-at-an-l-a-restaurant/) [Eliot Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliot-sumner/) > [“Will God allow me to be killed in a freak accident if I keep lying to my parents about music and movies?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-hartzler/will-god-allow-me-to-be-killed-in-a-freak-accident-if-i-keep-lying-to/) [Aaron Hartzler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-hartzler/) > [An enterprising person is one who comes across a pile of scrap metal and sees the making of a wonderful sculpture. An enterprising person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/an-enterprising-person-is-one-who-comes-across-a-pile-of-scrap-metal/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [An enterprising person is one who sees opportunity in all areas of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/an-enterprising-person-is-one-who-sees-opportunity-in-all-areas-of/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [FICKLENESS, n. The iterated satiety of an enterprising affection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/fickleness-n-the-iterated-satiety-of-an-enterprising-affection/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [If we would have anything of benefit, we must earn it, and earning it become shrewd, inventive, ingenious, active, enterprising.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/if-we-would-have-anything-of-benefit-we-must-earn-it-and-earning-it/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) ## More by Annie Dillard > [Like everyone in his right mind, I feared Santa Claus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/like-everyone-in-his-right-mind-i-feared-santa-claus/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“This is a spendthrift economy; though nothing is lost, all is spent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/this-is-a-spendthrift-economy-though-nothing-is-lost-all-is-spent/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [The creatures I seek do not want to be seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-creatures-i-seek-do-not-want-to-be-seen/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [Nothing moves a woman so deeply as the boyhood of the man she loves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/nothing-moves-a-woman-so-deeply-as-the-boyhood-of-the-man-she-loves/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [We live in all we seek. The hidden shows up in too-plain sight. It lives captive on the face of the obvious - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/we-live-in-all-we-seek-the-hidden-shows-up-in-too-plain-sight-it/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“...The mockingbird took a single step into the air and dropped. His wings were still folded against his sides as though he were singing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-mockingbird-took-a-single-step-into-the-air-and-dropped-his-wings/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“Father had stretched out his long legs and was tilting back in his chair. Mother sat with her knees crossed, in blue slacks, smoking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/father-had-stretched-out-his-long-legs-and-was-tilting-back-in-his/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I am a frayed and nibbled survivor in a fallen world, and I am getting along. I am aging and eaten and have done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-am-a-frayed-and-nibbled-survivor-in-a-fallen-world-and-i-am-getting/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [It should surprise no one that the life of the writer - such as it is - is colorless to the point of sensory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-should-surprise-no-one-that-the-life-of-the-writer-such-as-it-is/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [It is madness to wear ladies' straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-is-madness-to-wear-ladies-straw-hats-and-velvet-hats-to-church-we/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [The sense impressions of one-celled animals are not edited for the brain. This is philosophically interesting in a rather mournful way, since it means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-sense-impressions-of-one-celled-animals-are-not-edited-for-the/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“What can we make of the inexpressible joy of children? It is a kind of gratitude, I think—the gratitude of the ten-year-old who wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/what-can-we-make-of-the-inexpressible-joy-of-children-it-is-a-kind-of/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“If we were to judge nature by its common sense or likelihood, we wouldn't believe the world existed. In nature, improbabilities are the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/if-we-were-to-judge-nature-by-its-common-sense-or-likelihood-we/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [For writing a first draft requires from the writer a peculiar internal state which ordinary life does not induce. ... how to set yourself spinning?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/for-writing-a-first-draft-requires-from-the-writer-a-peculiar/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I am a fugitive and a vagabond, a sojourner seeking signs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-am-a-fugitive-and-a-vagabond-a-sojourner-seeking-signs/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Explore all 509 Annie Dillard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) ## More Accident quotes > [Fame, we may understand, is no sure test of merit, but only a probability of such: it is an accident, not a property, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/fame-we-may-understand-is-no-sure-test-of-merit-but-only-a/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [I went to school at night in L.A. to brush up on my engineering while I applied to the astronaut program. I really did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-jemison/i-went-to-school-at-night-in-l-a-to-brush-up-on-my-engineering-while/) [Mae Jemison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-jemison/) > [“The accident in your rearview mirror already happened. The one in front of you is still preventable. Pay attention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nakia-r-laushaul/the-accident-in-your-rearview-mirror-already-happened-the-one-in/) [Nakia R. Laushaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nakia-r-laushaul/) > [People dont get married by accident and they dont get divorced by accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-hayes/people-dont-get-married-by-accident-and-they-dont-get-divorced-by/) [Darren Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-hayes/) > [My father had Parkinson's, though he actually died following a bicycle accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kt-tunstall/my-father-had-parkinson-s-though-he-actually-died-following-a-bicycle/) [KT Tunstall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kt-tunstall/) > [A tragic car accident put me in a wheelchair and dashed my hopes and dreams for the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-cawthorn/a-tragic-car-accident-put-me-in-a-wheelchair-and-dashed-my-hopes-and/) [Madison Cawthorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-cawthorn/) > [My musical career was an accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sade-adu/my-musical-career-was-an-accident/) [Sade Adu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sade-adu/) > [The spirit in the body is like wine in a glass; when it spills, it seeps into air and earth and light….It’s a mistake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-michaels/the-spirit-in-the-body-is-like-wine-in-a-glass-when-it-spills-it/) [Anne Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-michaels/) > [accident ruled every corner of the universe except the chambers of the human heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/accident-ruled-every-corner-of-the-universe-except-the-chambers-of/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [There is a French expression that says: to be exposed to an accident, to cross a street without looking at the cars means exposing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/there-is-a-french-expression-that-says-to-be-exposed-to-an-accident/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [It's no accident that most self-help groups use 'anonymous' in their names; to Americans, the first step toward redemption is a ritual wiping out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/it-s-no-accident-that-most-self-help-groups-use-anonymous-in-their/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [High birth is an accident, not a virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pietro-metastasio/high-birth-is-an-accident-not-a-virtue/) [Pietro Metastasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pietro-metastasio/) > [“I just got out of the hospital. I was in a speed reading accident. I hit a book mark and flew across the room.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/i-just-got-out-of-the-hospital-i-was-in-a-speed-reading-accident-i/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [However, I met with a horrible accident while riding my bike in Sangla Valley. The accident was a wakeup call for me stop getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhinav-shukla/however-i-met-with-a-horrible-accident-while-riding-my-bike-in-sangla/) [Abhinav Shukla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhinav-shukla/) > [“Because the core of my personal philosophy is that everything that happens to us benefits us, I was also spared the futility of cursing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/because-the-core-of-my-personal-philosophy-is-that-everything-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 922 Accident quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accident/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Possibly everyone now dead considered his own death as a freak accident, a mistake. Some bad luck caused it. 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