--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Growth is the surviving influence in all…" description: "\"Growth is the surviving influence in all our lives. The tree will send up its trunk in thick profusion from land burned black by atom bombs. Children w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba5/chester-himes-30065_atom-bomb_growth-is-the-surviving-influence-in-all_2657910.png" --- # Growth is the surviving influence in all our lives. The… ![“Growth is the surviving influence in all our lives. The tree will send up its trunk in thick profusion from land burned black by atom bombs. Children will grow from poverty and filth and oppression and develop honor, integrity, contribute to all mankind.” quote by Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba5/chester-himes-30065_atom-bomb_growth-is-the-surviving-influence-in-all_2657910.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba5/chester-himes-30065_atom-bomb_growth-is-the-surviving-influence-in-all_2657910.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba5/chester-himes-30065_atom-bomb_growth-is-the-surviving-influence-in-all_2657910.png) > “Growth is the surviving influence in all our lives. The tree will send up its trunk in thick profusion from land burned black by atom bombs. Children will grow from poverty and filth and oppression and develop honor, integrity, contribute to all mankind.” [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Adversity fuels growth; even devastation can yield honor and contribution. **In simple terms:** Hardship can produce strength and purpose. Key Takeaway Transform challenges into societal benefit. Themes resilience growth social justice Mood hopeful determined Type literary activist When to use this quote - community development - education - activism Key Concepts post‑traumatic growth collective responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How can we support those harmed by adversity? - What structures enable growth after disaster? A Different Perspective Not all trauma leads to positive outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atom bomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atom-bomb/) [Atoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atoms/) [Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) [Bombs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bombs/) [Burned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burned/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Children Grow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children-grow/) [Filth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/filth/) [Grow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grow/) [Grow Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grow-poverty-974138/) [Grows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grows/) [Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth/) [Growth Surviving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth-surviving-2403418/) [Honor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honor/) [Honor Integrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honor-integrity/) [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Integrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integrity/) [Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/land/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [Oppression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppression/) [Our lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-lives/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Surviving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surviving/) [Thick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thick/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) [Trunks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trunks/) ## Related quotes > [As a kid, I really wanted to have my own show. But when you grow up in poverty, people tell you nothing is possible.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristela-alonzo/as-a-kid-i-really-wanted-to-have-my-own-show-but-when-you-grow-up-in/) [Cristela Alonzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristela-alonzo/) > [When you grow up in poverty and learn how to survive it, it's something that stays with you forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnel-pineda/when-you-grow-up-in-poverty-and-learn-how-to-survive-it-it-s/) [Arnel Pineda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnel-pineda/) > [Twenty per cent of American children grow up in poverty, and that means they get inadequate nutrition, inadequate health care, and because we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stiglitz/twenty-per-cent-of-american-children-grow-up-in-poverty-and-that/) [Joseph Stiglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stiglitz/) > [Did you know that nearly one in three children live apart from their biological dads? Those kids are two to three times more likely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-dungy/did-you-know-that-nearly-one-in-three-children-live-apart-from-their/) [Tony Dungy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-dungy/) > [There's a real sense of desperation when you grow up in poverty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-lamontagne/there-s-a-real-sense-of-desperation-when-you-grow-up-in-poverty/) [Ray LaMontagne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-lamontagne/) > [Yeah, you got the family dog and the white picket fence, and you just think that's all there is. Some of us had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-vick/yeah-you-got-the-family-dog-and-the-white-picket-fence-and-you-just/) [Michael Vick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-vick/) > [When you grow up in poverty, suffer from abuse, live in a violent neighborhood, come from a broken home, lack positive role models, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-tsai/when-you-grow-up-in-poverty-suffer-from-abuse-live-in-a-violent/) [Christine Tsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-tsai/) > [Sometimes, when you grow up in one of these poverty-stricken neighborhoods where the educational system isn't the best, you don't realize that you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keke-palmer/sometimes-when-you-grow-up-in-one-of-these-poverty-stricken/) [Keke Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keke-palmer/) > [Honor and integrity are at the heart of everything Marines do. It's why I believe so strongly that Joe Biden is the president who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-mcgrath/honor-and-integrity-are-at-the-heart-of-everything-marines-do-it-s/) [Amy McGrath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-mcgrath/) > [When your mission is to restore honor and integrity to the White House, you've got to be willing to use any means necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-begala/when-your-mission-is-to-restore-honor-and-integrity-to-the-white/) [Paul Begala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-begala/) > [“• God is man squared. That is to say, God is man raised to a higher power. • Man is the root, the square…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-yarrow/god-is-man-squared-that-is-to-say-god-is-man-raised-to-a-higher-power/) [Bill Yarrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-yarrow/) > [I think there's so much honor and integrity and beauty in being able to be who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-bareilles/i-think-there-s-so-much-honor-and-integrity-and-beauty-in-being-able/) [Sara Bareilles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-bareilles/) > [I appeal to all loyal citizens to favor, facilitate and aid this effort to maintain the honor, the integrity, and the existence of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-appeal-to-all-loyal-citizens-to-favor-facilitate-and-aid-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I'm confident that Congresswoman Haaland, a fellow New Mexican, will lead the Interior Department with honor and integrity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-ray-lujan/i-m-confident-that-congresswoman-haaland-a-fellow-new-mexican-will/) [Ben Ray Lujan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-ray-lujan/) > [When I'm thinking of sports, when I'm thinking of a boy growing up and being a man, I'm thinking of three things - honor,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-askren/when-i-m-thinking-of-sports-when-i-m-thinking-of-a-boy-growing-up-and/) [Ben Askren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-askren/) ## More by Chester Himes > [“what i really need is a dead man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/what-i-really-need-is-a-dead-man/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [American violence is public life, it's a public way of life, it became a form, a detective story form. So I should think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/american-violence-is-public-life-it-s-a-public-way-of-life-it-became/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [Our highest ambition is to be included in the stream of American life, to be permitted to "play the game" as any other American;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/our-highest-ambition-is-to-be-included-in-the-stream-of-american-life/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [It seemed so illogical to punish some poor criminal for doing something that civilization taught him how to do so he could have something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/it-seemed-so-illogical-to-punish-some-poor-criminal-for-doing/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [“Don't ever lean your whole weight on happiness, Jimmy. You fall too hard too hard when it gives away”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/don-t-ever-lean-your-whole-weight-on-happiness-jimmy-you-fall-too/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [“For he reached the conclusion that everything he had ever seen, or had ever done, or had ever dreamed of doing would in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/for-he-reached-the-conclusion-that-everything-he-had-ever-seen-or-had/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [I grew to manhood in the Ohio State Penitentiary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/i-grew-to-manhood-in-the-ohio-state-penitentiary/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [When you get to mixing sex and religion, it will make anybody crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/when-you-get-to-mixing-sex-and-religion-it-will-make-anybody-crazy/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [Democracy is not tolerance. Democracy is a prescribed way of life erected on the premise that all men are created equal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/democracy-is-not-tolerance-democracy-is-a-prescribed-way-of-life/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [I would sit in my room and become hysterical about the wild incredible story I was writing. And I thought I was writing realism.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/i-would-sit-in-my-room-and-become-hysterical-about-the-wild/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [Man cannot live without some knowledge of the purpose of life. If he can find no purpose in life he creates one in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/man-cannot-live-without-some-knowledge-of-the-purpose-of-life-if-he/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [The Harlem of my books was never meant to be real; I never called it real; I just wanted to take it away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/the-harlem-of-my-books-was-never-meant-to-be-real-i-never-called-it/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [There is an indomitable quality within the human spirit that cannot be destroyed; a face deep within the human personality that is impregnable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/there-is-an-indomitable-quality-within-the-human-spirit-that-cannot/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [If one lives in a country where racism is held valid and practiced in all ways of life eventually, no matter whether one is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/if-one-lives-in-a-country-where-racism-is-held-valid-and-practiced-in/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [“She held him at arms’ length, looked at the pipe still gripped in his hand, then looked at his face and read him like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/she-held-him-at-arms-length-looked-at-the-pipe-still-gripped-in-his/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) [Explore all 17 Chester Himes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) ## More Atom bomb quotes > [Being in service and being involved in something that is greater than you is what makes a person complete and whole. The very first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-moreno/being-in-service-and-being-involved-in-something-that-is-greater-than/) [Rita Moreno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-moreno/) > [“America's greatest revelation was not the atom bomb, not Fundamentalism, not fat farms, not Elvis, not even the quite astute observation that gentlemen prefer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/america-s-greatest-revelation-was-not-the-atom-bomb-not/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [“As the tail on our back disappeared as we no longer had any use for it, nuclear weapons will also disappear once we realize,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/as-the-tail-on-our-back-disappeared-as-we-no-longer-had-any-use-for/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“If we do not stop these mar-makers not,...it will soon be too late. We are the only nation that can halt this crusade. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-aldridge/if-we-do-not-stop-these-mar-makers-not-it-will-soon-be-too-late-we/) [James Aldridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-aldridge/) > [I am not sure why, but I have been obsessed by the Atom Bomb ever since it first happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lanford-wilson/i-am-not-sure-why-but-i-have-been-obsessed-by-the-atom-bomb-ever/) [Lanford Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lanford-wilson/) > [“Just because you can solve a crossword puzzle or build an atom bomb doesn’t mean that you use your mind. Just as dogs love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/just-because-you-can-solve-a-crossword-puzzle-or-build-an-atom-bomb/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“The atom bomb wasn’t used in Korea,” Father contributed. They really didn’t see it. “America planned to use the bomb,” she insisted. “Everything was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-davis/the-atom-bomb-wasn-t-used-in-korea-father-contributed-they-really/) [Jane Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-davis/) > [Non-violence ... is the only thing that the atom bomb cannot destroy. I did not move a muscle when I first heard that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/non-violence-is-the-only-thing-that-the-atom-bomb-cannot-destroy-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“If you've a notion of what man's heart is, wouldn't you say that maybe the whole effort of man on earth to build a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/if-you-ve-a-notion-of-what-man-s-heart-is-wouldn-t-you-say-that-maybe/) [Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/) > [I hope we shall abolish war and settle all differences at the conference table I hope we shall abolish all hydrogen and atom bombs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-chaplin/i-hope-we-shall-abolish-war-and-settle-all-differences-at-the/) [Charlie Chaplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-chaplin/) > [Fear kills, want to kill. Fear is destructive. Love is creative energy. When you love you would like to create - you may like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/fear-kills-want-to-kill-fear-is-destructive-love-is-creative-energy/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [If we had the atom bomb, we would have used it against the British.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-we-had-the-atom-bomb-we-would-have-used-it-against-the-british/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Teach us all to do right, Lord, please, and to get along together with that atom bomb on this earth because I do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/teach-us-all-to-do-right-lord-please-and-to-get-along-together-with/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [Going to work just looked crazy. Eating another meal, ever, made about as much sense as planting tulip bulbs in the shadow of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/going-to-work-just-looked-crazy-eating-another-meal-ever-made-about/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [The present reeks of mediocrity and the atom bomb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-magritte/the-present-reeks-of-mediocrity-and-the-atom-bomb/) [Rene Magritte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-magritte/) [Browse all 122 Atom bomb quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atom-bomb/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Growth is the surviving influence in all our lives. The tree will send up its trunk in thick profusion from land burned black by atom bombs. 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