--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He’s like a hero come back from the war…" description: "\"“He’s like a hero come back from the war, a poor maimed bastard living out the reality of his dreams. Wherever he sits himself the chair collapses; wha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a38/henry-miller-179_bad-taste_he-s-like-a-hero-come-back-from-the-war_869078.jpg" --- # He’s like a hero come back from the war, a poor maimed… ![“He’s like a hero come back from the war, a poor maimed bastard living out the reality of his dreams. Wherever he sits himself the chair collapses; whatever door he enters the room is empty: whatever he puts in his mouth leaves a bad taste. Everything is just the same as it was before; the elements…” quote by Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a38/henry-miller-179_bad-taste_he-s-like-a-hero-come-back-from-the-war_869078.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a38/henry-miller-179_bad-taste_he-s-like-a-hero-come-back-from-the-war_869078.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a38/henry-miller-179_bad-taste_he-s-like-a-hero-come-back-from-the-war_869078.jpg) > ““He’s like a hero come back from the war, a poor maimed bastard living out the reality of his dreams. Wherever he sits himself the chair collapses; whatever door he enters the room is empty: whatever he puts in his mouth leaves a bad taste. Everything is just the same as it was before; the elements are unchanged, the dream is no different than the reality. Only, between the time he went to sleep and the time he woke up, his body was stolen.”” [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A man feels detached from reality, his experiences feel empty and his body feels stolen during sleep. **In simple terms:** He feels disconnected and his body seems taken while he sleeps. Key Takeaway Recognize moments of disconnection and seek grounding. Themes alienation dreams reality identity disorientation Mood melancholic reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - nightmares - sleep paralysis - creative writing - catharsis Key Concepts existentialism psychological fragmentation illusion Questions to Reflect On - Do you feel your body is separate from your mind? - How can you reconnect with reality? A Different Perspective The metaphor may overstate normal fatigue or mental fog. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad taste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-taste/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Dreams Sits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams-sits-932180/) [Hero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hero/) [Like Hero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-hero-311777/) [Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) [Nothingness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothingness/) [Soldier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soldier/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Unchanged Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unchanged-dream-932181/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [Civilization is drugs, alcohol, engines of war, prostitution, machines and machine slaves, low wages, bad food, bad taste, prisons, reformatories, lunatic asylums, divorce, perversion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/civilization-is-drugs-alcohol-engines-of-war-prostitution-machines/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“I can never go back on what I've written. If it was not good, it was true; if it was not artistic, it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-can-never-go-back-on-what-i-ve-written-if-it-was-not-good-it-was/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [We are dancing in the hollow of nothingness. We are one flesh, but separated like stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/we-are-dancing-in-the-hollow-of-nothingness-we-are-one-flesh-but/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“It’s true, he did look like the hero in all this, and for the most part, he was. What he did for this girl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-richardson/it-s-true-he-did-look-like-the-hero-in-all-this-and-for-the-most-part/) [Angela Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-richardson/) > [“If life is but a movie, be the hero you'd like to see, be the hero you'd like to be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-halimi/if-life-is-but-a-movie-be-the-hero-you-d-like-to-see-be-the-hero-you/) [Eve Halimi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-halimi/) > [“You know you're like, my hero, right?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-stutzman/you-know-you-re-like-my-hero-right/) [Stuart Stutzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-stutzman/) > [“The way she curls in my arms makes me feel like I’m the hero. I like being her hero. I like the way her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-mcgarry/the-way-she-curls-in-my-arms-makes-me-feel-like-i-m-the-hero-i-like/) [Katie McGarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-mcgarry/) > [I don't feel like I'm a hero.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-stallworth/i-don-t-feel-like-i-m-a-hero/) [Ron Stallworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-stallworth/) > [I like heroes, and would like to be a hero myself. I suppose we all want that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rhys-davies/i-like-heroes-and-would-like-to-be-a-hero-myself-i-suppose-we-all/) [John Rhys-Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rhys-davies/) > [“...So that someone might want to put you in a book...So that you may be worth putting in a book...Live like a hero...Be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/so-that-someone-might-want-to-put-you-in-a-book-so-that-you-may-be/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [Arthur, their young king, like a hero out of legend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-zimmer-bradley/arthur-their-young-king-like-a-hero-out-of-legend/) [Marion Zimmer Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-zimmer-bradley/) > [Be like a hero and save your people like legend the SCARLET PIMPERNEL…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vino/be-like-a-hero-and-save-your-people-like-legend-the-scarlet-pimpernel/) [Vino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vino/) > [Live your life like you're the hero in your movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-rogan/live-your-life-like-you-re-the-hero-in-your-movie/) [Joe Rogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-rogan/) > [One must think like a hero to behave like a merely decent human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/one-must-think-like-a-hero-to-behave-like-a-merely-decent-human-being/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Live your life like you're the hero in your movie and right now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-rogan/live-your-life-like-you-re-the-hero-in-your-movie-and-right-now/) [Joe Rogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-rogan/) ## More by Henry Miller > [“I reached out for something to attach myself to—and I found nothing. But in reaching out, in the effort to grasp, to attach myself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-reached-out-for-something-to-attach-myself-to-and-i-found-nothing/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“I saw the errors I had made and assumed full responsibility for everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-saw-the-errors-i-had-made-and-assumed-full-responsibility-for/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [The monstrous thing is not that men have created roses out of this dung heap, but that, for some reason or other, they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-monstrous-thing-is-not-that-men-have-created-roses-out-of-this/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [They never opened the door which leads to the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/they-never-opened-the-door-which-leads-to-the-soul/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“(...)I decided to let myself drift with the tide, to make not the least resistance to fate, no matter in what form it presented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-decided-to-let-myself-drift-with-the-tide-to-make-not-the-least/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“If it be knowledge or wisdom one is seeking, then one had better go direct to the source. And the source is not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/if-it-be-knowledge-or-wisdom-one-is-seeking-then-one-had-better-go/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“In the egocentric prism the helpless victim is walled in by the very light which he refracts. The ego dies in its own glass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/in-the-egocentric-prism-the-helpless-victim-is-walled-in-by-the-very/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“When one spends what he has on himself, when one has a thoroughly good time with his own money, people are apt to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/when-one-spends-what-he-has-on-himself-when-one-has-a-thoroughly-good/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [Paint what you like and die happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/paint-what-you-like-and-die-happy/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [She may be lying in bed reading a book, she may be making love with a prize fighter, or she may be running like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/she-may-be-lying-in-bed-reading-a-book-she-may-be-making-love-with-a/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“And no one sets about saving the world unless he has first experienced the miracle of personal salvation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/and-no-one-sets-about-saving-the-world-unless-he-has-first/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“He looks about the room at the few sticks of furniture, at the dirty bed sheets and the wash basin with the dirty water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/he-looks-about-the-room-at-the-few-sticks-of-furniture-at-the-dirty/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“Since then, of course, I have discovered what every madman in Paris discovers sooner of later; that there are no ready made infernos for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/since-then-of-course-i-have-discovered-what-every-madman-in-paris/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“Looking back upon my career, I see myself as a person capable of undertaking almost any task, any vocation. It was the monotony and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/looking-back-upon-my-career-i-see-myself-as-a-person-capable-of/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“The word in your mouth is anarchy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-word-in-your-mouth-is-anarchy/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) [Explore all 894 Henry Miller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) ## More Bad taste quotes > [When I passed the Chancellor he arose, waved his hand at me, and I waved back at him. I think the writers showed bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/when-i-passed-the-chancellor-he-arose-waved-his-hand-at-me-and-i/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [The Derby experience had not been good for me and the way it finished left a very bad taste in my mouth so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-pearson/the-derby-experience-had-not-been-good-for-me-and-the-way-it-finished/) [Nigel Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-pearson/) > [Good taste is better than bad taste, but bad taste is better than no taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/good-taste-is-better-than-bad-taste-but-bad-taste-is-better-than-no/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [“Others praise ceremonial Magic, and are supposed to suffer much Ecstasy! Our asylums are crowded, the stage is over-run! Is it by symbolizing we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-osman-spare-2/others-praise-ceremonial-magic-and-are-supposed-to-suffer-much/) [Austin Osman, Spare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-osman-spare-2/) > [Salvador Dali has been called kitsch, but, although some of this work may be grotesque, its brazenly self-conscious bad taste saves it from being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-dutton/salvador-dali-has-been-called-kitsch-but-although-some-of-this-work/) [Denis Dutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-dutton/) > [“Bryan gaped, as though that was more than he'd been expecting. "Oh. Okay. Well, um, there's a silent film festival downtown next week. Do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/bryan-gaped-as-though-that-was-more-than-he-d-been-expecting-oh-okay/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [“lack, or loutish and crass kollective is a program dedicated to the proposition that vulgarity and bad taste are an inalienable right. the lackies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/lack-or-loutish-and-crass-kollective-is-a-program-dedicated-to-the/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [It's not about doing over the living room of someone who has bad taste in color. This is about restoring historic buildings and instilling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genevieve-gorder/it-s-not-about-doing-over-the-living-room-of-someone-who-has-bad/) [Genevieve Gorder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genevieve-gorder/) > [The kind of people who always go on about whether a thing is in good taste invariably have very bad taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-orton/the-kind-of-people-who-always-go-on-about-whether-a-thing-is-in-good/) [Joe Orton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-orton/) > [“Life is too short for bad taste.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-russell/life-is-too-short-for-bad-taste/) [Glenn Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-russell/) > [If you give a little credit to the concept of the artist, I think you ought to indulge excesses a bit, because that reflects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/if-you-give-a-little-credit-to-the-concept-of-the-artist-i-think-you/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [The line between humor and bad taste is your audience, in which some people will find everything offensive, and some people will find nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mankoff/the-line-between-humor-and-bad-taste-is-your-audience-in-which-some/) [Robert Mankoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mankoff/) > [This is going to leave a bad taste in a lot of people's eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-day-hicks/this-is-going-to-leave-a-bad-taste-in-a-lot-of-people-s-eyes/) [Louise Day Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-day-hicks/) > [To use bad taste, you have to know the rules of good taste. I've always thanked my mother for that. She taught how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-waters/to-use-bad-taste-you-have-to-know-the-rules-of-good-taste-i-ve-always/) [John Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-waters/) > ['Bad Taste' was - it was, in many respects, my sort of, my, I guess, my single-minded desire to want to break into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-jackson/bad-taste-was-it-was-in-many-respects-my-sort-of-my-i-guess-my-single/) [Peter Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-jackson/) [Browse all 230 Bad taste quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-taste/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He’s like a hero come back from the war, a poor maimed bastard living out the reality of his dreams. Wherever he sits himself the chair collapses; whatever door he enters the room is empty: whatever he puts in his mouth leaves a bad taste. 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