Airplane Quote by Cornell Woolrich
““It takes will power and nerve to hold the stick that way, to keep his eyes open and watch the rocky face of the cliff, pine-bearded, rush up at them. O'Shaughnessy's mouth flattens, his face goes white. And then in that final fraction of a moment, he laughs, a little crazily - a laugh of defiance, of mocking farewell, and, somehow, of conquest. 'Here we go, baby!' he shouts, teeth bared. 'Now I'm going to find out what it really feels like to fly into the side of a mountain!...' There is only the storm to hear the smash of the plane as it splinters itself against the rock - and the storm drowns the sound out with thunder, just as the lightning turns pale the flame that rises, like a hungry tongue, from the wreckage. ("Jane Browns Body")””
About This Quote
Source Novel: Jane Brown's Body, 1945
A daring pilot confronts death, laughing defiantly as he crashes into a mountain, embracing risk and the thrill of the unknown.
In simple terms: A reckless pilot laughs while crashing, embracing danger.
Key Takeaway
Embrace daring, but respect limits.
Themes
risk
defiance
adventure
mortality
thrill
Mood
intense
defiant
dramatic
Type
narrative
dramatic
inspirational
When to use this quote
- extreme sports
- aviation
- mountain climbing
- creative pursuits
Key Concepts
existentialism
human daring
heroism
Questions to Reflect On
- What drives you to seek extreme thrills?
- When does daring become foolhardy?
A Different Perspective
The thrill can blind one to safety, leading to needless loss.
![“By sort of combining the research of a lot of smart people, I came up with an equation for dread [dread=uncontrollability+unfamiliarity+imaginability+suffering+scale of destruction+unfairness]. The dread equation is a simplification, but it's a way to explain why we fear something so much when it…” quote by Amanda Ripley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/cf5/amanda-ripley-10708_car_by-sort-of-combining-the-research-of-a-l_338671.jpg)
