--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The old bitterness came up in him and he…" description: "\"“The old bitterness came up in him and he did not have time to cogitate and push it down.”\" — Carson McCullers" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/415/carson-mccullers-1694_anger_the-old-bitterness-came-up-in-him-and-he_1782332.png" --- # The old bitterness came up in him and he did not have time… ![“The old bitterness came up in him and he did not have time to cogitate and push it down.” quote by Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/415/carson-mccullers-1694_anger_the-old-bitterness-came-up-in-him-and-he_1782332.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/415/carson-mccullers-1694_anger_the-old-bitterness-came-up-in-him-and-he_1782332.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/415/carson-mccullers-1694_anger_the-old-bitterness-came-up-in-him-and-he_1782332.png) > ““The old bitterness came up in him and he did not have time to cogitate and push it down.”” [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. He is overwhelmed by bitterness, leaving no room for thoughtful reflection. **In simple terms:** Bitterness blocks reflection. Key Takeaway Practice emotional awareness. Themes emotions reflection inner conflict literature psychology Mood melancholic introspective Type literary psychological When to use this quote - personal journaling - therapy - creative writing Key Concepts catharsis mindfulness character study Questions to Reflect On - How does bitterness affect decision making? - What strategies help process negative emotions? A Different Perspective Suppressing feelings can lead to impulsive actions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) [Bias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bias/) [Bitterness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitterness/) [Perspective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perspective/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Boy, you're good at figuring things out. Isn't he? Except that if anybody's the devil in this room it's \_you\_, buster." An extraordinary bitterness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kage-baker/boy-you-re-good-at-figuring-things-out-isn-t-he-except-that-if/) [Kage Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kage-baker/) > [I grow old on my bitterness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-grow-old-on-my-bitterness/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I hate when a certain someone gossips in the group, gossips about you. 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And nothing aggravates a slow mind better than a fast tongue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/nothing-complements-a-fast-mind-better-than-a-slow-tongue-and-nothing/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [I'm speaking out against social media bias.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-loomer/i-m-speaking-out-against-social-media-bias/) [Laura Loomer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-loomer/) > [“The most disgusting human trait is bias, because it typically leads to propaganda, hate and violence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-lifsey/the-most-disgusting-human-trait-is-bias-because-it-typically-leads-to/) [Lori Lifsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lifsey/) > [That's awesome. There's no bias in the media.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-edwards/that-s-awesome-there-s-no-bias-in-the-media/) [Carl Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-edwards/) > [The legal bias for special protection for women has begun to wreak havoc with the Constitution's guarantee of equal protection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/the-legal-bias-for-special-protection-for-women-has-begun-to-wreak/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [I can say this very clearly: I have come into this Congress with an antiwar bias.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-frankel/i-can-say-this-very-clearly-i-have-come-into-this-congress-with-an/) [Lois Frankel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-frankel/) > [Fortunately for serious minds, a bias recognized is a bias sterilized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-haydon/fortunately-for-serious-minds-a-bias-recognized-is-a-bias-sterilized/) [Benjamin Haydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-haydon/) > [Science manipulates things and gives up living in them. 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Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [The print is devised so that I can cut the dresses on the bias, so they work around the body. It's not like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galliano/the-print-is-devised-so-that-i-can-cut-the-dresses-on-the-bias-so/) [John Galliano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galliano/) ## 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 Anger quotes > [“If I let myself think of it the pain and anger were still fresh, adrenalin racing down my limbs to pool, hot and itchy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylie-ladd/if-i-let-myself-think-of-it-the-pain-and-anger-were-still-fresh/) [Kylie Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylie-ladd/) > [I receive something we might euphemistically call an 'inappropriately hostile' response - that is to say, more than fair criticism or even fair anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-receive-something-we-might-euphemistically-call-an-inappropriately/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Anger is a rough water; if you can canalize it into a water mill, you can benefit from it. Anything bad can be transformed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/anger-is-a-rough-water-if-you-can-canalize-it-into-a-water-mill-you/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“When you feel terribly angry, you're possessed by anger ghost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-feel-terribly-angry-you-re-possessed-by-anger-ghost/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [“Medical studies have shown that cursing reduces levels of stress and pain. Repressing your anger is not healthy. It's much better to verbalize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/medical-studies-have-shown-that-cursing-reduces-levels-of-stress-and/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [My care will be in the heart n not in words My anger will be in Words n not in the Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/my-care-will-be-in-the-heart-n-not-in-words-my-anger-will-be-in-words/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-a-negro-in-this-country-and-to-be-relatively-conscious-is-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“God, you had enough time to have been through it three times. You've been through my stuff. I bet you over and let one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-you-had-enough-time-to-have-been-through-it-three-times-you-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The present contains nothing more than the past, and what is found in the effect was already in the cause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/the-present-contains-nothing-more-than-the-past-and-what-is-found-in/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/depression-is-merely-anger-without-enthusiasm/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [I always fight better when my opponent's angry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-haye/i-always-fight-better-when-my-opponent-s-angry/) [David Haye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-haye/) > [ “Where there are kashays (anger-pride-deceit-greed), there is worldly life. As long as anger-pride-deceit-greed exist; one is a sansaari \[living a worldly life\] regardless of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-are-kashays-anger-pride-deceit-greed-there-is-worldly/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) [Browse all 7,469 Anger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The old bitterness came up in him and he did not have time to cogitate and push it down.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carson McCullers" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/the-old-bitterness-came-up-in-him-and-he-did-not-have-time-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anger" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/the-old-bitterness-came-up-in-him-and-he-did-not-have-time-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/415/carson-mccullers-1694_anger_the-old-bitterness-came-up-in-him-and-he_1782332.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/415/carson-mccullers-1694_anger_the-old-bitterness-came-up-in-him-and-he_1782332.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/415/carson-mccullers-1694_anger_the-old-bitterness-came-up-in-him-and-he_1782332.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The old bitterness came up in him and he did not have time to cogitate and push it down.” — Carson McCullers", "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": "Carson McCullers", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The old bitterness came up in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/the-old-bitterness-came-up-in-him-and-he-did-not-have-time-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/the-old-bitterness-came-up-in-him-and-he-did-not-have-time-to/#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 } } ] } ```