--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I had finished the book I knew that…" description: "\"When I had finished the book I knew that no matter what Scott did, nor how he behaved, I must know it was like a sickness and be of any help I could to..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/418/ernest-hemingway-83_book_when-i-had-finished-the-book-i-knew-that_1915900.jpg" --- # When I had finished the book I knew that no matter what… ![“When I had finished the book I knew that no matter what Scott did, nor how he behaved, I must know it was like a sickness and be of any help I could to him and try to be a good friend. He had many good, good friends, more than anyone I knew. But I enlisted as one more, whether I could be of any…” quote by Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/418/ernest-hemingway-83_book_when-i-had-finished-the-book-i-knew-that_1915900.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/418/ernest-hemingway-83_book_when-i-had-finished-the-book-i-knew-that_1915900.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/418/ernest-hemingway-83_book_when-i-had-finished-the-book-i-knew-that_1915900.jpg) > “When I had finished the book I knew that no matter what Scott did, nor how he behaved, I must know it was like a sickness and be of any help I could to him and try to be a good friend. He had many good, good friends, more than anyone I knew. But I enlisted as one more, whether I could be of any use to him or not. If he could write a book as fine as The Great Gatsby I was sure that he could write an even better one. I did not know Zelda yet, and so I did not know the terrible odds that were against him. But we were to find them out soon enough.” [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator feels compelled to support a friend despite personal doubts, seeing friendship as a duty even when outcomes are uncertain. **In simple terms:** Support a friend despite doubts. Key Takeaway Offer help regardless of uncertainty. Themes friendship duty uncertainty support literary admiration Mood reflective empathetic thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - helping a struggling writer - being a supportive colleague - standing by a friend in crisis Key Concepts literary empathy personal responsibility social obligation Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance personal limits with the desire to help? - When is it okay to step back? A Different Perspective Friendship may not change the friend's fate and can be draining. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Good friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-friend/) [Good friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-friends/) [Odds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/odds/) [Sickness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sickness/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Zelda was very beautiful and was tanned a lovely gold colour and her hair was a beautiful dark gold and she was very friendly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/zelda-was-very-beautiful-and-was-tanned-a-lovely-gold-colour-and-her/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I kept my circle small. 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All my friends knew it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devin-booker/i-always-wanted-to-be-the-best-at-everything-all-my-friends-knew-it/) [Devin Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devin-booker/) > [People who were close to me - family and friends - they knew about my sexuality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-louganis/people-who-were-close-to-me-family-and-friends-they-knew-about-my/) [Greg Louganis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-louganis/) > [And so they fought. And so they laughed. Friends. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-carrigan/even-when-i-was-in-my-20s-very-few-of-my-friends-even-knew-that-i-had/) [Anthony Carrigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-carrigan/) > [God made us best friends because he knew our parents couldnt handle us as sisters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-made-us-best-friends-because-he-knew-our-parents-couldnt-handle/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People are goofy about the movie business, so you end up counting on friends you knew before you were successful. It is harder to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/people-are-goofy-about-the-movie-business-so-you-end-up-counting-on/) [Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) > [Where it all ends I can't fathom, my friends. If I knew, I might toss out my anchor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-buffett/where-it-all-ends-i-can-t-fathom-my-friends-if-i-knew-i-might-toss/) [Jimmy Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-buffett/) ## More by Ernest Hemingway > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“There was no wind, and, outside now of the warm air of the cave, heavy with smoke of both tobacco and charcoal, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/there-was-no-wind-and-outside-now-of-the-warm-air-of-the-cave-heavy/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“It was not brilliant bull-fighting. It was only perfect bull-fighting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/it-was-not-brilliant-bull-fighting-it-was-only-perfect-bull-fighting/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [One cat just leads to another. The place is so damned big it doesn't really seem as though there were many cats until you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/one-cat-just-leads-to-another-the-place-is-so-damned-big-it-doesn-t/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Creation's probably overrated. 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There was the green of the headlands, the white, red-roofed villas, patches of forest, and the ocean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/we-drove-out-along-the-coast-road-there-was-the-green-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [As a Nobel Prize winner I cannot but regret that the award was never given to Mark Twain, nor to Henry James, speaking only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/as-a-nobel-prize-winner-i-cannot-but-regret-that-the-award-was-never/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Oh, darling, I've been so miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/oh-darling-i-ve-been-so-miserable/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I read my own books sometimes to cheer me when it is hard to write, and then I remember that it was always difficult,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-read-my-own-books-sometimes-to-cheer-me-when-it-is-hard-to-write/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“You find everything on earth at Harry's." "Yes, my Colonel. Except, possibly, happiness." "I'll damn well find happiness, too," the Colonel assured him. "Happiness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/you-find-everything-on-earth-at-harry-s-yes-my-colonel-except/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“No. It's bad for me. Cole Porter wrote the words and the music. This knowledge that you're going mad for me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/no-it-s-bad-for-me-cole-porter-wrote-the-words-and-the-music-this/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“everything kills everything else in some way. Fishing kills me exactly as it keeps me alive. The boy keeps me alive, he thought. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/everything-kills-everything-else-in-some-way-fishing-kills-me-exactly/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) [Explore all 1,464 Ernest Hemingway quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. 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He had many good, good friends, more than anyone I knew. But I enlisted as one more, whether I could be of any use to him or not. If he could write a book as fine as The Great Gatsby I was sure that he could write an even better one. I did not know Zelda yet, and so I did not know the terrible odds that were against him. 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