--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Longing on a large scale is what makes…" description: "\"“Longing on a large scale is what makes history. This is just a kid with a local yearning but he is part of an assembling crowd, anonymous thousands of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e8/don-delillo-underworld-104495_body-heat_longing-on-a-large-scale-is-what-makes-h_1838306.jpg" --- # Longing on a large scale is what makes history. This is… ![“Longing on a large scale is what makes history. This is just a kid with a local yearning but he is part of an assembling crowd, anonymous thousands off the buses and trains, people in narrow columns tramping over the swing bridge above the river, and even if they are not a migration or a…” quote by Don Delillo Underworld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e8/don-delillo-underworld-104495_body-heat_longing-on-a-large-scale-is-what-makes-h_1838306.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e8/don-delillo-underworld-104495_body-heat_longing-on-a-large-scale-is-what-makes-h_1838306.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e8/don-delillo-underworld-104495_body-heat_longing-on-a-large-scale-is-what-makes-h_1838306.jpg) > ““Longing on a large scale is what makes history. This is just a kid with a local yearning but he is part of an assembling crowd, anonymous thousands off the buses and trains, people in narrow columns tramping over the swing bridge above the river, and even if they are not a migration or a revolution, some vast shaking of the soul, they bring with them the body heat of a great city and their own small reveries and desperations, the unseen something that haunts the day—men in fedoras and sailors on shore leave, the stray tumble of their thoughts, going to a game.”” Don Delillo Underworld ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Large‑scale longing fuels history; individual yearning joins collective movements, creating a shared, unseen emotional current that shapes society. **In simple terms:** Collective longing shapes history. Key Takeaway Recognize how personal desires contribute to larger social forces. Themes history collective longing urban life emotional undercurrents social dynamics Mood reflective melancholic hopeful Type history:1 Desire:1 Longing:1 Yearning:1 Longing Large:0 Local Yearning:0 Yearning Assembling:0 When to use this quote - commuting - public transport - city festivals - protests - crowd gatherings Key Concepts sociology psychology urban studies Questions to Reflect On - How does your small desire affect your community? - What unseen forces bind strangers together? A Different Perspective Personal yearning may be trivial without broader context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body heat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body-heat/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing/) [Yearning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yearning/) ## Related quotes > [Longing on a large scale makes history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/longing-on-a-large-scale-makes-history/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“The weight of the world is love. Under the burden of solitude, under the burden of dissatisfaction the weight, the weight we carry is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/the-weight-of-the-world-is-love-under-the-burden-of-solitude-under/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [Beneath the skin, there is fear. Pain. Remorse. Yearning. Desire. A fierce longing for power. All of this. We are joined. It is as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/beneath-the-skin-there-is-fear-pain-remorse-yearning-desire-a-fierce/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [My heart only ever had one thought, one want. One need. Despite all, in spite of all...All my heart has ever wanted is you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-laurens/my-heart-only-ever-had-one-thought-one-want-one-need-despite-all-in/) [Stephanie Laurens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-laurens/) > [It is a happy thing that time quells the longings of vengeance and hushes the promptings of rage and aversion. 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His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-james/i-imagine-hunter-sitting-at-a-poker-table-in-a-vegas-casino-he-s/) [Ella James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-james/) > [“We climb three flights of warped stairs and walk into a whoosh of body heat and”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/we-climb-three-flights-of-warped-stairs-and-walk-into-a-whoosh-of/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [I sacrificed my body for the Heat, and I'd do it again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dion-waiters/i-sacrificed-my-body-for-the-heat-and-i-d-do-it-again/) [Dion Waiters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dion-waiters/) > [“Paxton choked on the tears that were gushing uncontrollably down his face. “This feels... a lot like falling,” he let out through his gasps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-duke/paxton-choked-on-the-tears-that-were-gushing-uncontrollably-down-his/) [Megan Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-duke/) > [We warm this house. Fall turns the corner heading this way. Colors change, leaves fall. Temperature drops warm to cold. The walls, windows, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade/we-warm-this-house-fall-turns-the-corner-heading-this-way-colors/) [Jade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade/) > [“Can we take a moment of silence for Jack? That rotten, horse-faced Rose could have inched to the side to make room for him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meghan-quinn/can-we-take-a-moment-of-silence-for-jack-that-rotten-horse-faced-rose/) [Meghan Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meghan-quinn/) > [“We laughed and laughed and passed the bong around each other taking turns to burn our lungs. 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