Aggression Quote by Cornell Woolrich
““Gosh, it's easy!' he marveled, open-mouthed. 'I never knew before how easy it is to kill anyone! Twenty years to grow 'em, and all it takes is one little push!' He was suddenly drunk with some new kind of power, undiscovered until this minute. The power of life and death over his fellowmen! Everyone had it, everyone strong enough to raise a violent arm, but they were afraid to use it. Well, he wasn't! And here he'd been going around for weeks living from hand to mouth, without any money, without enough food, when everything he wanted lay within his reach all the while! He had been green all right, and no mistake about it! Death had become familiar. At seven it had been the most mysterious thing in the world to him, by midnight it was already an old story. ("Dusk To Dawn")””
About This Quote
Source Short Story: “Dusk To Dawn” (1930)
Describes a character’s sudden realization of the ease of killing, reflecting on power and moral decay.
In simple terms: Power to kill feels easy and intoxicating.
Key Takeaway
Beware the seductive nature of absolute power.
Themes
power
violence
morality
corruption
Mood
dark
intense
Type
literary
narrative
When to use this quote
- war
- crime
- personal crisis
- ethical dilemmas
Key Concepts
existential dread
psychological decline
Questions to Reflect On
- What drives someone to seek such power?
- How can societies prevent the abuse of lethal power?
A Different Perspective
Glorifies violence without condemning it.
![“Now they [the Powers] have started the aggression, and the extinction of our nation is imminent. If we just fold our arms and yield to them, I would have no face to see our ancestors after death. If we must perish, why not fight to the death?” quote by Empress Dowager Cixi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/947/empress-dowager-cixi-68177_after-death_now-they-the-powers-have-started-the-agg_53275.jpg)
