Death Quote by Frederick Exley
““Mr. Blue's way of death was fitting. He had been utterly corrupted by America, and I find it proper that his carotid artery should have been severed by flak from a jumbo-sized can of mentholated shave cream. Like James Joyce, who tried to bend and subjugate the ironmongery of the cosmos with words (wasn't it The Word Joyce was after?), Mr. Blue tried to undo the empyrean mysteries with Seedy and his red carpet, with his elevated alligator shoes, with the ardent push-ups he seemed so sure would make him outlast time's ravages, with his touching search for some golden pussy that would yield to his lips the elixir of eternal life. And like Joyce's Leopold Bloom, like Quixote, Mr. Blue had become the perennial mock-epic hero of his country, the salesman, the boomer who believed that at the end of his American sojourn of demeaning doorbell-ringing, of faking and fawning, he would come to the Ultimate Sale, conquer, and soar.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: *The Adventures of Mr. Blue* (fictional excerpt)
A satirical critique of American consumerism and the hollow pursuit of fame, using exaggerated imagery to expose moral decay.
In simple terms: America’s greed corrupts identity and purpose.
Key Takeaway
Recognize and reject superficial success.
Themes
consumerism
identity
satire
heroism
corruption
Mood
cynical
ironic
critical
Type
satirical
philosophical
When to use this quote
- political commentary
- media criticism
- personal reflection
Key Concepts
American Dream
mock-epic
existential absurdity
Questions to Reflect On
- How does satire reveal truth?
- What values are sacrificed for fame?
A Different Perspective
The humor may obscure the seriousness of the critique.
![“[Ulysses] appears to have been written by a perverted lunatic who has made a speciality of the literature of the latrine… I have no stomach for Ulysses… James Joyce is a writer of talent, but in Ulysses he has ruled out all the elementary decencies of life and dwells appreciatively on things that…” quote by Aramis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/69c/aramis-186052_bad-reviews_ulysses-appears-to-have-been-written-by_210594.jpg)
