--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He was like a man who had served a term…" description: "\"“He was like a man who had served a term in prison or had been to Harvard College or had lived for a long time with foreigners in South America.”\" — Ca..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/carson-mccullers-1694_long-time_he-was-like-a-man-who-had-served-a-term_3053909.png" --- # He was like a man who had served a term in prison or had… ![“He was like a man who had served a term in prison or had been to Harvard College or had lived for a long time with foreigners in South America.” quote by Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/carson-mccullers-1694_long-time_he-was-like-a-man-who-had-served-a-term_3053909.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/carson-mccullers-1694_long-time_he-was-like-a-man-who-had-served-a-term_3053909.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/carson-mccullers-1694_long-time_he-was-like-a-man-who-had-served-a-term_3053909.png) > ““He was like a man who had served a term in prison or had been to Harvard College or had lived for a long time with foreigners in South America.”” [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A person with varied, intense experiences can seem both alien and familiar, reflecting how diverse backgrounds shape identity. **In simple terms:** Complex pasts affect how we relate to others. Key Takeaway Recognize and respect varied life experiences. Themes identity culture experience perception Mood curious reflective Type narrative observational When to use this quote - meeting new people - cross‑cultural work - storytelling - interviewing Key Concepts social psychology identity formation Questions to Reflect On - How do you perceive someone with a vastly different background? - What assumptions do you make about others' histories? A Different Perspective Assumes all experiences are equally understood by listeners. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [College Lived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college-lived-1912327/) [Harvard College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harvard-college-798526/) [Long time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-time/) [Prison Harvard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison-harvard-1106095/) [Served Term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/served-term-1106096/) [South america](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/south-america/) [Term Prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term-prison-1106097/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“He was like a man who had served a term in prison or had been to Harvard College or had left for a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/he-was-like-a-man-who-had-served-a-term-in-prison-or-had-been-to/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [Restoring the right to vote to individuals who have served their term in prison is also a common-sense public safety measure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-padilla/restoring-the-right-to-vote-to-individuals-who-have-served-their-term/) [Alex Padilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-padilla/) > [When I was in college, I lived in a mostly black, poor neighborhood. That's where I grew up, but I attended a mostly white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-thomas/when-i-was-in-college-i-lived-in-a-mostly-black-poor-neighborhood/) [Angie Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-thomas/) > [I've been through college, and I lived in a trailer park for five years. I've lived in the trenches of Maryland, and I've lived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cordae/i-ve-been-through-college-and-i-lived-in-a-trailer-park-for-five/) [Cordae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cordae/) > [I don't think I was funny until college. I lived with some Harvard MD/PhD students - they were so smart, and what I contributed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-liebman/i-don-t-think-i-was-funny-until-college-i-lived-with-some-harvard-md/) [Wendy Liebman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-liebman/) > [It costs the same to send a person to prison or to Harvard. The difference is the curriculum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-hawken/it-costs-the-same-to-send-a-person-to-prison-or-to-harvard-the/) [Paul Hawken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-hawken/) > [It is all one to me if a man comes from Sing Sing Prison or Harvard. We hire a man, not his history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/it-is-all-one-to-me-if-a-man-comes-from-sing-sing-prison-or-harvard/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [There is nothing normal about removing the FBI director, as a general matter. It's an extraordinary measure. This is an office that is typically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/there-is-nothing-normal-about-removing-the-fbi-director-as-a-general/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [How long does it have to go on? This punishment? Haven't I done time enough, haven't I served my term? can't I apply for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/how-long-does-it-have-to-go-on-this-punishment-haven-t-i-done-time/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [“You keep the title of 'president' even if you served only one term. The same goes for rapists.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-leigh-stewart/you-keep-the-title-of-president-even-if-you-served-only-one-term-the/) [Christy Leigh Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christy-leigh-stewart/) > [“Earlier that year, at the hundredth anniversary of his Harvard club, a member was talking about the spirit of Harvard College and saying how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-matthews/earlier-that-year-at-the-hundredth-anniversary-of-his-harvard-club-a/) [Chris Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-matthews/) > [I went to Harvard College, grew up in Boston, and went to high school in Boston.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/i-went-to-harvard-college-grew-up-in-boston-and-went-to-high-school/) [Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) > [I went to Harvard College and determined right away when I was a junior that I was unemployable, since I think I applied to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamilton-e-james/i-went-to-harvard-college-and-determined-right-away-when-i-was-a/) [Hamilton E. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamilton-e-james/) > [I ended up going to Harvard College, which was about as likely in my neighborhood as going to the moon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/i-ended-up-going-to-harvard-college-which-was-about-as-likely-in-my/) [Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) > [“Harvard College was probably less hurtful than any other university then in existence. It taught little, and that little ill, but it left the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/harvard-college-was-probably-less-hurtful-than-any-other-university/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) ## More by Carson McCullers > [“Because things accumulate around your name," said Berenice. "You have a name and one thing after another happens to you, and you behave in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/because-things-accumulate-around-your-name-said-berenice-you-have-a/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [It was like she was cheated. Only nobody had cheated her. So there was nobody to take it out on. However, just the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/it-was-like-she-was-cheated-only-nobody-had-cheated-her-so-there-was/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [“Love is a joint experience between two persons—but the fact that it is a joint experience does not mean that it is a similar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/love-is-a-joint-experience-between-two-persons-but-the-fact-that-it/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [The thinking mind is best controlled by the imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/the-thinking-mind-is-best-controlled-by-the-imagination/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [“He was like a man who had served a term in prison or had been to Harvard College or had left for a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/he-was-like-a-man-who-had-served-a-term-in-prison-or-had-been-to/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [Comparing the Brooklyn that I know with Manhattan is like comparing a comfortable and complacent duenna to her more brilliant and neurotic sister.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/comparing-the-brooklyn-that-i-know-with-manhattan-is-like-comparing-a/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [“Son, do you know how love should be begun?" The boy sat small and listening and still. Slowly he shook his head. The old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/son-do-you-know-how-love-should-be-begun-the-boy-sat-small-and/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [The most fatal thing a man can do is try to stand alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/the-most-fatal-thing-a-man-can-do-is-try-to-stand-alone/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [The dimensions of a work of art are seldom realized by the author until the work is accomplished. It is like a flowering dream.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/the-dimensions-of-a-work-of-art-are-seldom-realized-by-the-author/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [Now hoppin'-john was F. Jasmine's very favorite food. She had always warned them to wave a plate of rice and peas before her nose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/now-hoppin-john-was-f-jasmine-s-very-favorite-food-she-had-always/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [There's nothing that makes you so aware of the improvisation of human existence as a song unfinished. Or an old address book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/there-s-nothing-that-makes-you-so-aware-of-the-improvisation-of-human/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [“Maybe when people longed for a thing that bad the longing made them trust in anything that might give it to them . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/maybe-when-people-longed-for-a-thing-that-bad-the-longing-made-them/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [“But the music did not come again. The tune was left broken, unfinished. And the drawn tightness she could no longer stand. She felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/but-the-music-did-not-come-again-the-tune-was-left-broken-unfinished/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [“...we must remember that we all make the things of this earth of value because of labor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/we-must-remember-that-we-all-make-the-things-of-this-earth-of-value/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [I have more to say than Hemingway, and God knows, I say it better than Faulkner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/i-have-more-to-say-than-hemingway-and-god-knows-i-say-it-better-than/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) [Explore all 211 Carson McCullers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) ## More Long time quotes > [“I locked the door and turned on the water to fill the tub. 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"The same thing you do when you don't have forever."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hocking/forever-is-a-really-long-time-you-know-what-do-you-do-with-forever/) [Amanda Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hocking/) > [Our young Marines of today are courageous, willing to make sacrifices, and are marvelous team players. I am confident our Corps, and indeed our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-conway/our-young-marines-of-today-are-courageous-willing-to-make-sacrifices/) [James T. Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-t-conway/) > [Well, I've been politically involved for a really long time. Growing up in the segregated South, it was a very painful experience for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cybill-shepherd/well-i-ve-been-politically-involved-for-a-really-long-time-growing-up/) [Cybill Shepherd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cybill-shepherd/) > [It was only when I started making short films in college and I was looking for girls to play the me-ish parts that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/it-was-only-when-i-started-making-short-films-in-college-and-i-was/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [“For a very long time, Viviane and Jack lived in that world people inhabit before love. Some people called that place friendship; others called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslye-walton/for-a-very-long-time-viviane-and-jack-lived-in-that-world-people/) [Leslye Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslye-walton/) > [“If any woman opens her legs for you, don't feel so lucky to be fed with nonsense, she has been a bitch for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/if-any-woman-opens-her-legs-for-you-don-t-feel-so-lucky-to-be-fed/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Hollywood is so fixated on keeping it that way because it's generating the buzz, but that representation isn't right. I definitely feel like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/hollywood-is-so-fixated-on-keeping-it-that-way-because-it-s/) [John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/) > [I've been around in public life for a long time. I think people know what I stand for. 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