--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Looking over the country with those…" description: "\"Looking over the country with those sunken eyes as if the world out there had been altered or made suspect by what he'd seen of it elsewhere. As if he ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/778/cormac-mccarthy-181_country_looking-over-the-country-with-those-sunk_220668.jpg" --- # Looking over the country with those sunken eyes as if the… ![“Looking over the country with those sunken eyes as if the world out there had been altered or made suspect by what he'd seen of it elsewhere. As if he might never see it right again. Or worse did see it right at last. See it as it had always been, would forever be.” quote by Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/778/cormac-mccarthy-181_country_looking-over-the-country-with-those-sunk_220668.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/778/cormac-mccarthy-181_country_looking-over-the-country-with-those-sunk_220668.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/778/cormac-mccarthy-181_country_looking-over-the-country-with-those-sunk_220668.jpg) > “Looking over the country with those sunken eyes as if the world out there had been altered or made suspect by what he'd seen of it elsewhere. As if he might never see it right again. Or worse did see it right at last. See it as it had always been, would forever be.” [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A narrator describes a character whose perception of the world is distorted by past experiences, making reality seem unreliable. **In simple terms:** Past trauma skews how we see the world. Key Takeaway Question assumptions, seek clarity. Themes perception trauma reality trust Mood melancholic reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - grief counseling - war veterans - journalism - therapy - creative writing Key Concepts psychology subjectivity memory Questions to Reflect On - How do past events shape your current worldview? - Can you separate memory from present reality? A Different Perspective The view may be biased, not objective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“that the body of light come forth from the body of fire And that your eyes come to the surface from the deep wherein…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/that-the-body-of-light-come-forth-from-the-body-of-fire-and-that-your/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Patriotism is easy to understand in America. It means looking out for yourself by looking out for your country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/patriotism-is-easy-to-understand-in-america-it-means-looking-out-for-2/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [“That picture changed everything. I was not the same after I saw it and I couldn’t go back to the man I’d been before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raine-miller/that-picture-changed-everything-i-was-not-the-same-after-i-saw-it-and/) [Raine Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raine-miller/) > [“I want to live again…with you. You’ve changed my world. I’m altered, no longer stuck in purgatory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-i-lynn/i-want-to-live-again-with-you-you-ve-changed-my-world-i-m-altered-no/) [K.I. Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-i-lynn/) > [Look at everything. Don't close your eyes to the world around you. Look and become curious and interested in what there is to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/look-at-everything-don-t-close-your-eyes-to-the-world-around-you-look/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [“Right from the get-go, each of us has to come to grips with who we are in the eyes of our Creator, not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-g-gongwer/right-from-the-get-go-each-of-us-has-to-come-to-grips-with-who-we-are/) Todd G. Gongwer > [“Shut your eyes to the world of pain, and you also shut your eyes to the world of delight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-meissner/shut-your-eyes-to-the-world-of-pain-and-you-also-shut-your-eyes-to/) [Susan Meissner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-meissner/) > [You know you are in love when you see the world in her eyes, and her eyes everywhere in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-know-you-are-in-love-when-you-see-the-world-in-her-eyes-and-her/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Wherever you turn your eyes the world can shine like transfiguration. You don't have to bring a thing to it except a little willingness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/wherever-you-turn-your-eyes-the-world-can-shine-like-transfiguration/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“by the time you open your eyes, the world might have already changed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuri-hino/by-the-time-you-open-your-eyes-the-world-might-have-already-changed/) [Matsuri Hino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuri-hino/) > [Show me what lies just beyond my eyes. Would you take me to the world where my spirit flies?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twiztid/show-me-what-lies-just-beyond-my-eyes-would-you-take-me-to-the-world/) [Twiztid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twiztid/) > [“Bring new eyes to a world even new lenses and presto, new world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/bring-new-eyes-to-a-world-even-new-lenses-and-presto-new-world/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“You see demons in the eyes of the world, and the world sees bottomless pit in yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/you-see-demons-in-the-eyes-of-the-world-and-the-world-sees-bottomless/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [In my eyes you are the world but in yours you are one person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-my-eyes-you-are-the-world-but-in-yours-you-are-one-person/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) ## More by Cormac McCarthy > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“The events of the world can have no separate life from the world. And yet the world itself can have no temporal view of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-events-of-the-world-can-have-no-separate-life-from-the-world-and/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“I had two dreams about him after he died. I dont remember the first one all that well but it was about meetin him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/i-had-two-dreams-about-him-after-he-died-i-dont-remember-the-first/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“You think people was meaner then than they are now? the deputy said. The old man was looking out at the flooded town. No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/you-think-people-was-meaner-then-than-they-are-now-the-deputy-said/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“They set forth in a crimson dawn where sky and earth closed in a razorous plane. Out there dark little archipelagos of cloud and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-set-forth-in-a-crimson-dawn-where-sky-and-earth-closed-in-a/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Nothing. Where all was burnt to ash before them no fires were to be had and the nights were long and dark and cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/nothing-where-all-was-burnt-to-ash-before-them-no-fires-were-to-be/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [He said that whether a man's life was writ in a book someplace or whether it took its form day by day was one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-said-that-whether-a-man-s-life-was-writ-in-a-book-someplace-or/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“He lives in a room above a courtyard behind a tavern and he comes down at night like some fairybook beast to fight with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-lives-in-a-room-above-a-courtyard-behind-a-tavern-and-he-comes/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Ultimo hombre. Last man standing, must've been one. Where'd he go?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/ultimo-hombre-last-man-standing-must-ve-been-one-where-d-he-go/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“To seek out the upright. No fall but preceded by a declination. He took great marching steps into the nothingness, counting them against his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/to-seek-out-the-upright-no-fall-but-preceded-by-a-declination-he-took/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“They went through the last of the cars and then walked up the track to the locomotive and climbed up to the catwalk. Rust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-went-through-the-last-of-the-cars-and-then-walked-up-the-track/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Night fell upon them dark and starblown and the wagon grew swollen near mute with dew. On their chairs in such black immobility these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/night-fell-upon-them-dark-and-starblown-and-the-wagon-grew-swollen/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“When I was in school I studied biology. I learned that in making their experiments scientists will take some group - bacteria, mice, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/when-i-was-in-school-i-studied-biology-i-learned-that-in-making-their/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [ “We none of us knew him to speak \[Dutch\]. Asked him where he'd learned it you know what he said? What did he say.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/we-none-of-us-knew-him-to-speak-dutch-asked-him-where-he-d-learned-it/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“You know that the things you put it your head stay there, right?' 'Yeah. But you remember some things, don't you?' 'Yeah. You remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/you-know-that-the-things-you-put-it-your-head-stay-there-right-yeah/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) [Explore all 927 Cormac McCarthy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) ## More Country quotes > [I love playing for my country, getting the support. Especially for the kids and everybody, showing my example of what I can achieve so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-sharapova/i-love-playing-for-my-country-getting-the-support-especially-for-the/) [Maria Sharapova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-sharapova/) > [ That country \[Carthage\] was rapidly sinking into the state of barbarism from whence it had been raised by the Phoenician colonies and Roman laws;… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/that-country-carthage-was-rapidly-sinking-into-the-state-of-barbarism/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [For the Scottish government, the practice of having meetings in different parts of the country is well established, but for the U.K. government, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-sturgeon/for-the-scottish-government-the-practice-of-having-meetings-in/) [Nicola Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-sturgeon/) > [There's no reason someone who has fought for their country should be homeless of jobless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kyle/there-s-no-reason-someone-who-has-fought-for-their-country-should-be/) [Chris Kyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kyle/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [It's very nice to be a rebel saying, 'I stand on my principles,' but if in fact that's not going to have any impact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominic-grieve/it-s-very-nice-to-be-a-rebel-saying-i-stand-on-my-principles-but-if/) [Dominic Grieve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominic-grieve/) > [Most paper money initially existed as a substitute for gold. That's what gave it value. But right now what gives a currency value is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/most-paper-money-initially-existed-as-a-substitute-for-gold-that-s/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [That's what this country is. It's made up of immigrants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bria-vinaite/that-s-what-this-country-is-it-s-made-up-of-immigrants/) [Bria Vinaite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bria-vinaite/) > [You, of Canada, are building a magnificent record of achievement. My country rejoices in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/you-of-canada-are-building-a-magnificent-record-of-achievement-my/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [The United States cannot and should not discriminate on the basis of religion. The free exercise of religion is at the very heart of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/the-united-states-cannot-and-should-not-discriminate-on-the-basis-of/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [The reason I was drawn to the Band Perry was because they have a knack for doing rollicking country music that can sound a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-robinson/the-reason-i-was-drawn-to-the-band-perry-was-because-they-have-a/) [Phoebe Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-robinson/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > ['Lovecraft Country' is reclaiming all these pulp genres for people of color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misha-green/lovecraft-country-is-reclaiming-all-these-pulp-genres-for-people-of/) [Misha Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misha-green/) > [No judge can stop us from praying for our country and I pray that on May 6, millions of Americans will join me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-graham/no-judge-can-stop-us-from-praying-for-our-country-and-i-pray-that-on/) [Franklin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-graham/) [Browse all 29,881 Country quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Looking over the country with those sunken eyes as if the world out there had been altered or made suspect by what he'd seen of it elsewhere. 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