--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was common enough, to see so much…" description: "\"It was common enough, to see so much death and want a child. Common, therefore human, and he wanted it all the more. When the wounded were screaming, y..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d10/ian-mcewan-494_children_it-was-common-enough-to-see-so-much-deat_554562.png" --- # It was common enough, to see so much death and want a… ![“It was common enough, to see so much death and want a child. Common, therefore human, and he wanted it all the more. When the wounded were screaming, you dreamed of sharing a little house somewhere, of an ordinary life, a family line, connection.” quote by Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d10/ian-mcewan-494_children_it-was-common-enough-to-see-so-much-deat_554562.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d10/ian-mcewan-494_children_it-was-common-enough-to-see-so-much-deat_554562.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d10/ian-mcewan-494_children_it-was-common-enough-to-see-so-much-deat_554562.png) > “It was common enough, to see so much death and want a child. Common, therefore human, and he wanted it all the more. When the wounded were screaming, you dreamed of sharing a little house somewhere, of an ordinary life, a family line, connection.” [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Amidst war’s devastation, the narrator longs for ordinary life, family, and connection as a refuge from death. **In simple terms:** War makes people crave normal family and love. Key Takeaway Seek simple, lasting relationships. Themes war humanity longing family hope Mood melancholic reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - refugee experience - post‑war rebuilding - personal trauma healing - family planning Key Concepts existentialism psychology social bond Questions to Reflect On - What does “ordinary life” mean to you after trauma? - How can we create community in post‑war settings? A Different Perspective The quote romanticizes domestic life without addressing the practical challenges of rebuilding after conflict. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) [Connections](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/connections/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Dreamed Sharing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreamed-sharing-4610494/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lines/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Ordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary/) [Ordinary life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary-life/) [Screaming Dreamed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/screaming-dreamed-4610491/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-child/) [Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted/) [Wanted Wounded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted-wounded-4610493/) [Wounded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wounded/) [Wounded Screaming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wounded-screaming-4610492/) ## Related quotes > [“When I met you I was moving like a blind arrow shot in time of need. 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I also think it's impossible to promise someone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mallory-ortberg/i-think-that-it-s-a-great-idea-to-have-honest-conversations-about/) [Mallory Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mallory-ortberg/) > [I would rather die than ever see you suffering this way. I don't want you or any child I ever have or any woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/i-would-rather-die-than-ever-see-you-suffering-this-way-i-don-t-want/) [Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/) > [I made a choice in life and got pregnant and had a child, and I want to put my child first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/i-made-a-choice-in-life-and-got-pregnant-and-had-a-child-and-i-want/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [I want to be an actress when I grow up. Actually, I don't want to wait until I'm grown up. 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Like a spode dinner plate. Or a single cell. Or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/perhaps-it-s-one-of-those-cases-of-a-microcosm-giving-you-the-whole/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [Who you get, and how it works out- there's so much luck involved, as well as the million branching consequences of your conscious choice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/who-you-get-and-how-it-works-out-there-s-so-much-luck-involved-as/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“On Chesil Beach he could have called out to Florence, he could have gone after her. He did not know, or would not have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/on-chesil-beach-he-could-have-called-out-to-florence-he-could-have/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [It was always the view of my parents...that hot weather encouraged loose morals among young people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/it-was-always-the-view-of-my-parents-that-hot-weather-encouraged/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I apologize for being obvious, but every time I watch the curtain come down on even a halfway decent production of a Shakespeare play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-apologize-for-being-obvious-but-every-time-i-watch-the-curtain-come/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I would rather be physically disabled obviously than mentally. I would rather be paraplegic than nuts. 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And but for the fact that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-did-not-kill-my-father-but-i-sometimes-felt-i-had-helped-him-on-his/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) [Explore all 496 Ian Mcewan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. 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