Ballet dance Quote by Frederik Pohl
““How long the party lasted Forrester did not know. He remembered a long harangue in which the drunken ballet dancer was trying to explain to him that the accent was Martian, not German; something to do with six-hundred-millibar oxyhelium air, which got them out of the habit of hearing certain frequencies.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Reefs of Earth by Frederik Pohl, 1975
A character is confused by a bizarre, alien explanation involving a drunken dancer and strange atmospheric conditions.
In simple terms: Confusing alien explanation;
Key Takeaway
Recognize that miscommunication can arise from cultural differences.
Themes
communication
misunderstanding
science fiction
Mood
confused
curious
Type
narrative
descriptive
When to use this quote
- science fiction reading
- discussion of alien cultures
- interpretation of cryptic dialogue
Key Concepts
cultural relativism
perception
language barriers
Questions to Reflect On
- How would you clarify confusing technical jargon for a lay audience?
- What does this scene reveal about the character’s perception?
A Different Perspective
The quote may be overly obscure for readers unfamiliar with the novel’s context.
![“...Bliss is not something to be got. On the other hand you are always Bliss. This desire [for Bliss] is born of the sense of incompleteness. To whom is this sense of incompleteness? Enquire. In deep sleep you were blissful. Now you are not so. What has interposed between that Bliss and this…” quote by Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e10/ramana-maharshi-915_bliss_bliss-is-not-something-to-be-got-on-the_565847.jpg)
