--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Quoyle remembered purple-brown seckle…" description: "\"“Quoyle remembered purple-brown seckle pears the size and shape of figs, his father taking the meat off with pecking bites, the smell of fruit in their..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f71/annie-proulx-6713_figs_quoyle-remembered-purple-brown-seckle-pe_2805086.jpg" --- # Quoyle remembered purple-brown seckle pears the size and… ![“Quoyle remembered purple-brown seckle pears the size and shape of figs, his father taking the meat off with pecking bites, the smell of fruit in their house, litter of cores and peels in the ashtrays, the grape cluster skeletons, peach stones like hens' brains on the windowsill, the glove of…” quote by Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f71/annie-proulx-6713_figs_quoyle-remembered-purple-brown-seckle-pe_2805086.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f71/annie-proulx-6713_figs_quoyle-remembered-purple-brown-seckle-pe_2805086.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f71/annie-proulx-6713_figs_quoyle-remembered-purple-brown-seckle-pe_2805086.jpg) > ““Quoyle remembered purple-brown seckle pears the size and shape of figs, his father taking the meat off with pecking bites, the smell of fruit in their house, litter of cores and peels in the ashtrays, the grape cluster skeletons, peach stones like hens' brains on the windowsill, the glove of banana peel on the car dashboard. In the sawdust on the basement workbench galaxies of seeds and pits, cherry stones, long white date pits like spaceships. . . . The hollowed grapefruit skullcaps, cracked globes of tangerine peel.”” [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Vivid sensory details evoke memory, decay, and the richness of everyday objects. **In simple terms:** Rich descriptions of ordinary things. Key Takeaway Notice beauty in the mundane. Themes sensory detail memory nostalgia Mood evocative poetic Type literary descriptive When to use this quote - kitchen - family home - car interior - basement workshop - garden Key Concepts imagery symbolism Questions to Reflect On - Which objects trigger your strongest memories? - How does sensory language affect your mood? A Different Perspective Overly ornate language may distract from narrative flow. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Figs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/figs/) [Figs Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/figs-father-3477509/) [Quoyle Remembered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quoyle-remembered-3477510/) [Seckle Pears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seckle-pears-3477512/) [Smell Fruit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell-fruit-3477511/) ## Related quotes > [When you get honest with God, you can exchange the fig leaves you used to cover your sin with the righteousness of Jesus Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-hunt/when-you-get-honest-with-god-you-can-exchange-the-fig-leaves-you-used/) [Johnny Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-hunt/) > [The fallen hazel-nuts, Stripped late of their green sheaths, The grapes, red-purple, Their berries Dripping with wine, Pomegranates already broken, And shrunken fig, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilda-doolittle/the-fallen-hazel-nuts-stripped-late-of-their-green-sheaths-the-grapes/) [Hilda Doolittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilda-doolittle/) > [Your constitution guarantees to every citizen, even the humblest, the enjoyment of life, liberty, and property. It promises to all, religious freedom, the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-smith-jr/your-constitution-guarantees-to-every-citizen-even-the-humblest-the/) [Joseph Smith, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-smith-jr/) > [First, I emptied the closets of your clothes, threw out the bowl of fruit, bruised from your touch, left empty the jars you bought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-trethewey/first-i-emptied-the-closets-of-your-clothes-threw-out-the-bowl-of/) [Natasha Trethewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-trethewey/) > [To eat figs off the tree in the very early morning, when they have been barely touched by the sun, is one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-david/to-eat-figs-off-the-tree-in-the-very-early-morning-when-they-have/) [Elizabeth David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-david/) > [Democracy is the fig leaf of elitism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-king/democracy-is-the-fig-leaf-of-elitism/) [Florence King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-king/) > [The man who is ostentatious of his modesty is twin to the statue that wears a fig-leaf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-man-who-is-ostentatious-of-his-modesty-is-twin-to-the-statue-that/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“This year, of course, being 1936, there would be no figs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-furst/this-year-of-course-being-1936-there-would-be-no-figs/) [Alan Furst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-furst/) > [Here is a rural fellow that will not be denied your Highness' presence: he brings you figs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/here-is-a-rural-fellow-that-will-not-be-denied-your-highness-presence/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I am once more seated under my own vine and fig tree ... and hope to spend the remainder of my days in peaceful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/i-am-once-more-seated-under-my-own-vine-and-fig-tree-and-hope-to/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [Shebna scraped the tablet clean and began drawing circles in the soft clay. "Suppose you had six figs and you ate two. How many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-austin/shebna-scraped-the-tablet-clean-and-began-drawing-circles-in-the-soft/) [Lynn Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-austin/) > [I eat Fig Newtons by the sleeve!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-regan/i-eat-fig-newtons-by-the-sleeve/) [Brian Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-regan/) > [And never since harvests were ripened, / Or laborers born, / Have men gathered figs of the thistle, / Or grapes of the thorn!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-cary/and-never-since-harvests-were-ripened-or-laborers-born-have-men/) [Phoebe Cary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-cary/) > [In all lands, sailors form a race apart. They profess a congenital contempt for landlubbers. As for the tradesman, he understands nothing of sailors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/in-all-lands-sailors-form-a-race-apart-they-profess-a-congenital/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [Close to the Gates a spacious Garden lies, From the Storms defended and inclement Skies; Four Acres was the allotted Space of Ground, Fenc'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/close-to-the-gates-a-spacious-garden-lies-from-the-storms-defended/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) ## More by Annie Proulx > [Writing comes from reading, and reading is the finest teacher of how to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/writing-comes-from-reading-and-reading-is-the-finest-teacher-of-how/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [“A kind of joyous hysteria moved into the room, everything flying before the wind, vehicles outside getting dented to hell, the crowd sweaty and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/a-kind-of-joyous-hysteria-moved-into-the-room-everything-flying/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [“By January it had always been winter.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/by-january-it-had-always-been-winter/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [“.. that old, cold time on the mountain when they owned the world and nothing seemed wrong ..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/that-old-cold-time-on-the-mountain-when-they-owned-the-world-and/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [“The mountain pine beetle is a tiny creature that chews through a lodgepole’s bark, gouges out a hollow in the wood and lays its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/the-mountain-pine-beetle-is-a-tiny-creature-that-chews-through-a/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [“It was as if his eye were an ear and a crackle went through it each time he shot a look at the accordion.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/it-was-as-if-his-eye-were-an-ear-and-a-crackle-went-through-it-each/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [“On the stairs an image came to him. Was love then like a bag of assorted sweets passed around from which one might choose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/on-the-stairs-an-image-came-to-him-was-love-then-like-a-bag-of/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [“The only cities were of ice, bergs with cores of beryl, blue gems within white gems, that some said gave off an odor of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/the-only-cities-were-of-ice-bergs-with-cores-of-beryl-blue-gems/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [“They say that doing ten sums a day prevents you from becoming senile. But by that argument bankers should be geniuses. That's not right.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/they-say-that-doing-ten-sums-a-day-prevents-you-from-becoming-senile/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [It's easier to die if others around you are dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/it-s-easier-to-die-if-others-around-you-are-dying/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [“You stand there, braced. Cloud shadows race over the buff rock stacks as a projected film, casting a queasy, mottled ground rash. The air…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/you-stand-there-braced-cloud-shadows-race-over-the-buff-rock-stacks/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [“Thirty-six years old and this was the first time anybody ever said he'd done it right. Fog against the window like milk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/thirty-six-years-old-and-this-was-the-first-time-anybody-ever-said-he/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [“There was a month of fiery happiness. Then six kinked years of suffering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/there-was-a-month-of-fiery-happiness-then-six-kinked-years-of/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [It is my feeling that a story is not finished until it is read, and that the reader finishes it through his or her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/it-is-my-feeling-that-a-story-is-not-finished-until-it-is-read-and/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [“One of the tragedies of real life is that there is no background music.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/one-of-the-tragedies-of-real-life-is-that-there-is-no-background-music/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) [Explore all 97 Annie Proulx quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) ## More Figs quotes > [When you get honest with God, you can exchange the fig leaves you used to cover your sin with the righteousness of Jesus Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-hunt/when-you-get-honest-with-god-you-can-exchange-the-fig-leaves-you-used/) [Johnny Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-hunt/) > [In all lands, sailors form a race apart. They profess a congenital contempt for landlubbers. As for the tradesman, he understands nothing of sailors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/in-all-lands-sailors-form-a-race-apart-they-profess-a-congenital/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [And never since harvests were ripened, / Or laborers born, / Have men gathered figs of the thistle, / Or grapes of the thorn!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-cary/and-never-since-harvests-were-ripened-or-laborers-born-have-men/) [Phoebe Cary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-cary/) > [I eat Fig Newtons by the sleeve!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-regan/i-eat-fig-newtons-by-the-sleeve/) [Brian Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-regan/) > [Shebna scraped the tablet clean and began drawing circles in the soft clay. "Suppose you had six figs and you ate two. How many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-austin/shebna-scraped-the-tablet-clean-and-began-drawing-circles-in-the-soft/) [Lynn Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-austin/) > [I am once more seated under my own vine and fig tree ... and hope to spend the remainder of my days in peaceful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/i-am-once-more-seated-under-my-own-vine-and-fig-tree-and-hope-to/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [Here is a rural fellow that will not be denied your Highness' presence: he brings you figs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/here-is-a-rural-fellow-that-will-not-be-denied-your-highness-presence/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“This year, of course, being 1936, there would be no figs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-furst/this-year-of-course-being-1936-there-would-be-no-figs/) [Alan Furst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-furst/) > [The man who is ostentatious of his modesty is twin to the statue that wears a fig-leaf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-man-who-is-ostentatious-of-his-modesty-is-twin-to-the-statue-that/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Democracy is the fig leaf of elitism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-king/democracy-is-the-fig-leaf-of-elitism/) [Florence King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-king/) > [To eat figs off the tree in the very early morning, when they have been barely touched by the sun, is one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-david/to-eat-figs-off-the-tree-in-the-very-early-morning-when-they-have/) [Elizabeth David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-david/) > [First, I emptied the closets of your clothes, threw out the bowl of fruit, bruised from your touch, left empty the jars you bought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-trethewey/first-i-emptied-the-closets-of-your-clothes-threw-out-the-bowl-of/) [Natasha Trethewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-trethewey/) > [Your constitution guarantees to every citizen, even the humblest, the enjoyment of life, liberty, and property. It promises to all, religious freedom, the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-smith-jr/your-constitution-guarantees-to-every-citizen-even-the-humblest-the/) [Joseph Smith, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-smith-jr/) > [The fallen hazel-nuts, Stripped late of their green sheaths, The grapes, red-purple, Their berries Dripping with wine, Pomegranates already broken, And shrunken fig, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilda-doolittle/the-fallen-hazel-nuts-stripped-late-of-their-green-sheaths-the-grapes/) [Hilda Doolittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilda-doolittle/) > [Close to the Gates a spacious Garden lies, From the Storms defended and inclement Skies; Four Acres was the allotted Space of Ground, Fenc'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/close-to-the-gates-a-spacious-garden-lies-from-the-storms-defended/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) [Browse all 108 Figs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/figs/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Quoyle remembered purple-brown seckle pears the size and shape of figs, his father taking the meat off with pecking bites, the smell of fruit in their house, litter of cores and peels in the ashtrays, the grape cluster skeletons, peach stones like hens' brains on the windowsill, the glove of banana peel on the car dashboard. 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