--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Man, when reduced to nothing, or in other…" description: "\"Man, when reduced to nothing, or in other words, a survivor, is not tragic but comic, because he has no fate. On the other hand, he lives with an aware..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/260/imre-kert-sz-20119_fate_man-when-reduced-to-nothing-or-in-other_1588670.jpg" --- # Man, when reduced to nothing, or in other words, a… ![“Man, when reduced to nothing, or in other words, a survivor, is not tragic but comic, because he has no fate. On the other hand, he lives with an awareness of tragic fate. This is a paradox.” quote by Imre Kertesz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/260/imre-kert-sz-20119_fate_man-when-reduced-to-nothing-or-in-other_1588670.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/260/imre-kert-sz-20119_fate_man-when-reduced-to-nothing-or-in-other_1588670.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/260/imre-kert-sz-20119_fate_man-when-reduced-to-nothing-or-in-other_1588670.jpg) > “Man, when reduced to nothing, or in other words, a survivor, is not tragic but comic, because he has no fate. On the other hand, he lives with an awareness of tragic fate. This is a paradox.” [Imre Kertesz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-kert-sz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A survivor, stripped of fate, becomes comic rather than tragic, yet remains aware of tragic destiny, creating a paradox of existential awareness. **In simple terms:** Survivor without fate feels comic, yet knows tragic destiny. Key Takeaway Embrace paradoxical awareness. Themes existentialism paradox fate survival humor tragic awareness Mood thoughtful reflective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - philosophy - literature Practical Applications - personal crisis - identity formation - life reflection Questions to Reflect On - How does humor affect your perception of fate? - Can tragedy and comedy coexist meaningfully? A Different Perspective The comic view may downplay genuine suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate/) [Tragic fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragic-fate/) ## Related quotes > [“Man, when reduced to nothing, or in other words a survivor, is not tragic but comic, because he has no fate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-kert-sz/man-when-reduced-to-nothing-or-in-other-words-a-survivor-is-not/) [Imre Kertész](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-kert-sz/) > [Compassion begins with the acknowledgment of the single inescapable truth that is the foundation for the possibility of love between human beings - an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/compassion-begins-with-the-acknowledgment-of-the-single-inescapable/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [The characters I've played that I like the most are people that have a lot of obstacles. 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And therein we err, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-beston/we-patronize-the-animals-for-their-incompleteness-for-their-tragic/) [Henry Beston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-beston/) ## More by Imre Kertesz > [I tried to depict the human face of this history, I wanted to write a book that people would actually want to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-kert-sz/i-tried-to-depict-the-human-face-of-this-history-i-wanted-to-write-a/) [Imre Kertész](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-kert-sz/) > [“Man, when reduced to nothing, or in other words a survivor, is not tragic but comic, because he has no fate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-kert-sz/man-when-reduced-to-nothing-or-in-other-words-a-survivor-is-not/) [Imre Kertész](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-kert-sz/) > [“On one occasion she had spoken heatedly about the French Revolution, saying it had been little better than the Nazis. 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This street offered the most mundane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-kert-sz/kingbitter-as-he-did-frequently-nowadays-was-standing-at-his-window/) [Imre Kertész](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-kert-sz/) > [You just sit there and tolerate it, the same way everything in this country is tolerated. Every deception, every lie, every bullet in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-kert-sz/you-just-sit-there-and-tolerate-it-the-same-way-everything-in-this/) [Imre Kertész](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-kert-sz/) > [Talking is not enough; words don't clarify anything. I'll have to hit upon something, but what?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-kert-sz/talking-is-not-enough-words-don-t-clarify-anything-i-ll-have-to-hit/) [Imre Kertész](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-kert-sz/) [Explore all 25 Imre Kertesz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-kert-sz/) ## More Fate quotes > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [When you have counted eighty years and more, Time and Fate will batter at your door; But if you should survive to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khushwant-singh/when-you-have-counted-eighty-years-and-more-time-and-fate-will-batter/) [Khushwant Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khushwant-singh/) > [“To be a Sufi is to detach from fixed ideas and from preconceptions; and not to try to avoid what is your lot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/to-be-a-sufi-is-to-detach-from-fixed-ideas-and-from-preconceptions/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [ Man blindly works the will of fate. \[Ger., Blindlings that er blos den Willen des Geschickes.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-martin-wieland/man-blindly-works-the-will-of-fate-ger-blindlings-that-er-blos-den/) [Christoph Martin Wieland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-martin-wieland/) > [Fate with impartial hand turns out the doom of high and low; her capacious urn is constantly shaking the names of all mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/fate-with-impartial-hand-turns-out-the-doom-of-high-and-low-her/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Real chessplayers think about chess more or less 24 hours a day. It is a passion and a fate that one has to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simen-agdestein/real-chessplayers-think-about-chess-more-or-less-24-hours-a-day-it-is/) Simen Agdestein > [Holy shadows of the dead, I'm not to blame for your cruel and bitter fate, but the accursed rivalry which brought sister nations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/holy-shadows-of-the-dead-i-m-not-to-blame-for-your-cruel-and-bitter/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [You can't choose what stays and what stays away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-welch/you-can-t-choose-what-stays-and-what-stays-away/) [Florence Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-welch/) > [“In that instant it all seemed to come clear to him- it came in a grisly flash of light, and he realized that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-that-instant-it-all-seemed-to-come-clear-to-him-it-came-in-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Fate and future both are servant to the determined, for they are nothing but creation of human determination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/fate-and-future-both-are-servant-to-the-determined-for-they-are/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [My fate cannot be mastered; it can only be collaborated with and thereby, to some extent, directed. 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Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Do we make ourselves into what we become or is it built into our genes, into the fate spun for us by whatever shapes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-bruchac/do-we-make-ourselves-into-what-we-become-or-is-it-built-into-our/) [Joseph Bruchac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-bruchac/) [Browse all 5,152 Fate quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Man, when reduced to nothing, or in other words, a survivor, is not tragic but comic, because he has no fate. On the other hand, he lives with an awareness of tragic fate. 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