--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Lew had never seen a dead man before. He…" description: "\"“Lew had never seen a dead man before. He just stood there, and looked and looked. Then he went a step closer, and looked some more. 'So that's what it..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1d/cornell-woolrich-2734_dead-man_lew-had-never-seen-a-dead-man-before-he_2595989.png" --- # Lew had never seen a dead man before. He just stood there… ![“Lew had never seen a dead man before. He just stood there, and looked and looked. Then he went a step closer, and looked some more. 'So that's what it's like!' he murmured inaudibly. Finally Lew reached out slowly and touched him on the face, and cringed as he met the clammy feel of it, pulled his…” quote by Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1d/cornell-woolrich-2734_dead-man_lew-had-never-seen-a-dead-man-before-he_2595989.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1d/cornell-woolrich-2734_dead-man_lew-had-never-seen-a-dead-man-before-he_2595989.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1d/cornell-woolrich-2734_dead-man_lew-had-never-seen-a-dead-man-before-he_2595989.png) > ““Lew had never seen a dead man before. He just stood there, and looked and looked. Then he went a step closer, and looked some more. 'So that's what it's like!' he murmured inaudibly. Finally Lew reached out slowly and touched him on the face, and cringed as he met the clammy feel of it, pulled his hand back and whipped it down, as though to get something off it. The flesh was still warm and Lew knew suddenly he had no time alibi. He threw something over that face and that got rid of the awful feeling of being watched by something from the other world. After that Lew wasn't afraid to go near him; he just looked like a bundle of old clothes. The dead man was on his side, and Lew fiddled with the knife-hilt, trying to get it out. It was caught fast, so he let it alone after grabbing it with his fingers from a couple of different directions. Next he went through his pockets, thinking he'd be helping to identify him. The man was Luther Kemp, forty-two, and he lived on 79th Street. But none of that was really true any more, Lew thought, mystified; he'd left it all behind. His clothes and his home and his name and his body and the show he'd paid to see were here. But where the hell had he gone to, anyway? Again that weird feeling came over Lew momentarily, but he brushed it aside. It was just that one of the commonest things in life - death - was still strange to him. But after strangeness comes familiarity, after familiarity, contempt. ("Dusk To Dawn")”” [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Encounter with death transforms fear into familiarity, then contempt. **In simple terms:** Death becomes familiar, then despised. Key Takeaway Accept death’s strangeness, move beyond fear. Themes death fear familiarity contempt Mood eerie thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - mortality counseling - grief therapy - creative writing Key Concepts existentialism psychology human condition Questions to Reflect On - How does familiarity change fear? - Can contempt be productive? A Different Perspective Contempt may hinder healing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dead man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-man/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Different directions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-directions/) [Dying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dying/) [Lew Reached](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lew-reached-1902788/) [Lew Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lew-thought-1902786/) [Old clothes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-clothes/) [Seen Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seen-dead-695648/) [Strangeness Comes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strangeness-comes-1902787/) [Things in life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-in-life/) [Weird feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weird-feeling/) ## Related quotes > [“Again, was it not this same presentiment of death that made it seem so strange to me now that I should never again walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shohei-ooka/again-was-it-not-this-same-presentiment-of-death-that-made-it-seem-so/) [Shohei Ooka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shohei-ooka/) > [“They groaned, they stirred, they all uprose, Nor spake, nor moved their eyes; It had been strange, even in a dream, To have seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/they-groaned-they-stirred-they-all-uprose-nor-spake-nor-moved-their/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [“I have seen an evil thing this night,' he said; 'I have seen how the dead drink the blood of the living. And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-marion-crawford/i-have-seen-an-evil-thing-this-night-he-said-i-have-seen-how-the-dead/) [Francis Marion Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-marion-crawford/) > [“But if you’ve seen a dead body, you know how they change the air: that huge silence, the absence strong as a black hole,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/but-if-you-ve-seen-a-dead-body-you-know-how-they-change-the-air-that/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [“When a man has seen so many dead he cannot understand any longer why there should be so much anguish over a single individual.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/when-a-man-has-seen-so-many-dead-he-cannot-understand-any-longer-why/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [The past has to be seen to be dead; or the past will kill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/the-past-has-to-be-seen-to-be-dead-or-the-past-will-kill/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [To be fair, it's not even the first time I've seen a dead version of myself. There was one on Harry Potter, on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-radcliffe/to-be-fair-it-s-not-even-the-first-time-i-ve-seen-a-dead-version-of/) [Daniel Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-radcliffe/) > [“She’d seen too many dead to think of that bitch, Fate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/she-d-seen-too-many-dead-to-think-of-that-bitch-fate/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [Growing up from Nirvana to all the bands I was listening to at the teenage time, those were my best friends, more than my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-bruno/growing-up-from-nirvana-to-all-the-bands-i-was-listening-to-at-the/) [Aaron Bruno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-bruno/) > [I was like one of the boys in school who flap their legs frantically under the desk. I always had this weird feeling between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-was-like-one-of-the-boys-in-school-who-flap-their-legs-frantically/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I was an adult and I was in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. I was performing in this cave - they used to bury the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhys-darby/i-was-an-adult-and-i-was-in-the-edinburgh-fringe-festival-i-was/) [Rhys Darby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhys-darby/) > [“Katie says, "You can't choose the time and place the when and where with whom you fall in love." She says, "It just happens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-tregay/katie-says-you-can-t-choose-the-time-and-place-the-when-and-where/) [Sarah Tregay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-tregay/) > [When it comes to acting, it's about creating a character and bringing forth a director's vision. It's a weird feeling, because with acting, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenny-kravitz/when-it-comes-to-acting-it-s-about-creating-a-character-and-bringing/) [Lenny Kravitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lenny-kravitz/) > [“Nostalgia" How often we use this word reminiscing about the past - our childhood, school days, college days.. We feel nostalgic, we dwell in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanhita-baruah/nostalgia-how-often-we-use-this-word-reminiscing-about-the-past-our/) [Sanhita Baruah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanhita-baruah/) > [When I get to the stage, I don't get no kind of weird feeling when everybody starts screaming. It doesn't make me feel superhuman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chamillionaire/when-i-get-to-the-stage-i-don-t-get-no-kind-of-weird-feeling-when/) [Chamillionaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chamillionaire/) ## More by Cornell Woolrich > [“He should have caught up with me inside of fifteen minutes at the outside, if he'd been able to get on the next train…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/he-should-have-caught-up-with-me-inside-of-fifteen-minutes-at-the/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“Home? What is home? Home is where a house is that you come back to when the rainy season is about to begin, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/home-what-is-home-home-is-where-a-house-is-that-you-come-back-to-when/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“Gates got up, but not fast or jerkily, with the same slowness that had always characterized him. 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("Mind Over Murder")”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/murder-is-such-an-elastic-term-isn-t-it-mind-over-murder/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“She was beautiful, only hers was the dark beauty of night, just as Sherry's was the bright beauty of daytime. Her hair was raven-black,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/she-was-beautiful-only-hers-was-the-dark-beauty-of-night-just-as/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“And I still say it was just a coincidence;' he muttered pugnaciously. 'You say it too! Look at me and say it! It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/and-i-still-say-it-was-just-a-coincidence-he-muttered-pugnaciously/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“And then finally she came - and the whole world faded out around us and we were just alone on the crowded sidewalk. I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/and-then-finally-she-came-and-the-whole-world-faded-out-around-us-and/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“One of the two owners, the man who had been sitting in the front room, was stretched out in there asleep, stockinged-toes pointed at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/one-of-the-two-owners-the-man-who-had-been-sitting-in-the-front-room/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“But that's the Way, and there is no other. And once his mind's made up, the trembling and aimless walking stops, and he can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/but-that-s-the-way-and-there-is-no-other-and-once-his-mind-s-made-up/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“He just lingers long enough to see his plane put to bed properly, then grabs a cab at the airport-gate. "The Settlement" and forgetting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/he-just-lingers-long-enough-to-see-his-plane-put-to-bed-properly-then/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“There was a pause, while I fought against this other, lesser kind of death that was creeping over me - this death called strangeness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/there-was-a-pause-while-i-fought-against-this-other-lesser-kind-of/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“Every life is a mystery. And every story of every life is a mystery. But it is not what happens that is the mystery.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/every-life-is-a-mystery-and-every-story-of-every-life-is-a-mystery/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“Evans made himself their spokesman. "Charlie and Joe," he offered. "Remember us? We brought a friend back with us this time." Girls evidently didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/evans-made-himself-their-spokesman-charlie-and-joe-he-offered/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) [Explore all 152 Cornell Woolrich quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) ## More Dead man quotes > [Those old hypocrites. They talk about killing witches but the Good Book’s full of magic. Turning the Nile to blood and parting the Red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/those-old-hypocrites-they-talk-about-killing-witches-but-the-good/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“A thousand times a coward and not once a dead man”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suad-amiry/a-thousand-times-a-coward-and-not-once-a-dead-man/) [Suad Amiry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suad-amiry/) > [“I cocked my eyebrow at her. "Are you kidding me, Clare?" I indicated to the dead man on the broken pine table. 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To the Norse it is Valhalla,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kami-garcia/dead-man-listen-well-the-great-keep-is-not-like-the-otherworld-the/) [Kami Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kami-garcia/) > [Dead men tell no tales, Mary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dead-men-tell-no-tales-mary/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“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/) > [And he that will this health deny, down among the dead men let him lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dyer/and-he-that-will-this-health-deny-down-among-the-dead-men-let-him-lie/) [John Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dyer/) > [“Death Valley is the perfect flesh-grilling device, the Foreman Grill in Mother Nature’s cupboard. It’s a big, shimmering sea of salt ringed by mountains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-mcdougall/death-valley-is-the-perfect-flesh-grilling-device-the-foreman-grill/) [Christopher McDougall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-mcdougall/) > [We're here for such a short period of time. Live like you're already dead, man. Have a good time. Do your best. Let it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bridges/we-re-here-for-such-a-short-period-of-time-live-like-you-re-already/) [Jeff Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bridges/) > [For my own part, I would rather be in company with a dead man than with an absent one; for if the dead man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-my-own-part-i-would-rather-be-in-company-with-a-dead-man-than/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Victor ignored him and reached inside the dead man’s jacket, searching unsuccessfully for a wallet. He went to take the man’s radio receiver, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wood/victor-ignored-him-and-reached-inside-the-dead-man-s-jacket-searching/) [Tom Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wood/) > [“People had always amazed him, he began. But they amazed him more since the sickness. For as long as the two of them had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/people-had-always-amazed-him-he-began-but-they-amazed-him-more-since/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [How can so much beauty hide such a bruised and steely heart, and why must I love him, why must I lean in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/how-can-so-much-beauty-hide-such-a-bruised-and-steely-heart-and-why/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 490 Dead man quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-man/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Lew had never seen a dead man before. He just stood there, and looked and looked. Then he went a step closer, and looked some more. 'So that's what it's like!' he murmured inaudibly. Finally Lew reached out slowly and touched him on the face, and cringed as he met the clammy feel of it, pulled his hand back and whipped it down, as though to get something off it. The flesh was still warm and Lew knew suddenly he had no time alibi. He threw something over that face and that got rid of the awful feeling of being watched by something from the other world. After that Lew wasn't afraid to go near him; he just looked like a bundle of old clothes. The dead man was on his side, and Lew fiddled with the knife-hilt, trying to get it out. It was caught fast, so he let it alone after grabbing it with his fingers from a couple of different directions. Next he went through his pockets, thinking he'd be helping to identify him. The man was Luther Kemp, forty-two, and he lived on 79th Street. But none of that was really true any more, Lew thought, mystified; he'd left it all behind. His clothes and his home and his name and his body and the show he'd paid to see were here. But where the hell had he gone to, anyway? Again that weird feeling came over Lew momentarily, but he brushed it aside. It was just that one of the commonest things in life - death - was still strange to him. But after strangeness comes familiarity, after familiarity, contempt. 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