--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Joyce is right about history being a…" description: "\"“Joyce is right about history being a nightmare—but it may be the nightmare from which no one can awaken. People are trapped in history and history is ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecf/james-baldwin-995_history_joyce-is-right-about-history-being-a-nig_299577.jpg" --- # Joyce is right about history being a nightmare—but it may… ![“Joyce is right about history being a nightmare—but it may be the nightmare from which no one can awaken. People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them.” quote by James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecf/james-baldwin-995_history_joyce-is-right-about-history-being-a-nig_299577.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecf/james-baldwin-995_history_joyce-is-right-about-history-being-a-nig_299577.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecf/james-baldwin-995_history_joyce-is-right-about-history-being-a-nig_299577.jpg) > ““Joyce is right about history being a nightmare—but it may be the nightmare from which no one can awaken. People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them.”” [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. History shapes individuals and vice versa, creating a cyclical trap where past events imprison present consciousness. **In simple terms:** History and self are intertwined, often imprisoning us. Key Takeaway Break cycles of historical determinism. Themes history identity freedom Mood thoughtful determined Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - activism - education - personal healing - storytelling Key Concepts generational trauma social consciousness Questions to Reflect On - How does your personal history limit you? - What steps can free you from historical constraints? A Different Perspective Awareness of history can also empower change, not just imprison. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History Nightmare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-nightmare-1035924/) [History Trapped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-trapped-2023356/) [Nightmare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nightmare/) [Nightmare Nightmare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nightmare-nightmare-270563/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Trapped History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trapped-history-2023357/) ## Related quotes > [James Joyce is right about history being a nightmare-- but it may be that nightmare from which no one can awaken. People are trapped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/james-joyce-is-right-about-history-being-a-nightmare-but-it-may-be/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-are-trapped-in-history-and-history-is-trapped-in-them/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [History... is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/history-is-a-nightmare-from-which-i-am-trying-to-awake/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [So many people of color who made major contributions to American history have been trapped in the purgatory of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-louis-gates/so-many-people-of-color-who-made-major-contributions-to-american/) [Henry Louis Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-louis-gates/) > [History is that nightmare from which there is no awakening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/history-is-that-nightmare-from-which-there-is-no-awakening/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“This was worse than a retched nightmare. It was the nightmare of real things, the fallen wonder of the world”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/this-was-worse-than-a-retched-nightmare-it-was-the-nightmare-of-real/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [It's hard to wake from a nightmare when the nightmare is real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cashore/it-s-hard-to-wake-from-a-nightmare-when-the-nightmare-is-real/) [Kristin Cashore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cashore/) > [“History is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake. —JAMES JOYCE”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/history-is-a-nightmare-from-which-i-am-trying-to-awake-james-joyce/) [Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/) > [History is not a nightmare from which. I am trying to awaken, but rather, a glorious tale which I wish to be cast in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/history-is-not-a-nightmare-from-which-i-am-trying-to-awaken-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“History ... is a nightmare from which I am trying to wake.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/history-is-a-nightmare-from-which-i-am-trying-to-wake/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“Life is capricious and cruel and totally fucking random and there is no hope of finding meaning in a nightmare. In a nightmare at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/life-is-capricious-and-cruel-and-totally-fucking-random-and-there-is/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“His ex is a nightmare’s nightmare. You know, the kind where you wake up and you think you’re safe but then you realize you’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/his-ex-is-a-nightmare-s-nightmare-you-know-the-kind-where-you-wake-up/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [The nightmare? The nightmare was myself. I was my own nightmare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-sanchez/the-nightmare-the-nightmare-was-myself-i-was-my-own-nightmare/) [Diego Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-sanchez/) > [“You should have known The price of evil And it hurts to know that you belong here Yeah No one to call Everybody to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avenged-sevenfold/you-should-have-known-the-price-of-evil-and-it-hurts-to-know-that-you/) [Avenged Sevenfold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avenged-sevenfold/) > [Whenever you define family as anything other than a man and a woman married together, you have just introduced an ethical nightmare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-evans/whenever-you-define-family-as-anything-other-than-a-man-and-a-woman/) [Tony Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-evans/) ## More by James Baldwin > [“In any case, white people, who had robbed black people of their liberty and who profited by this theft every hour that they lived,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-any-case-white-people-who-had-robbed-black-people-of-their-liberty/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“The South is very beautiful but its beauty makes one sad because the lives that people live, and have lived here, are so ugly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/the-south-is-very-beautiful-but-its-beauty-makes-one-sad-because-the/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“All cultures have, furthermore, an economic, social, and political base, and no culture can continue to live if its political destiny is not in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/all-cultures-have-furthermore-an-economic-social-and-political-base/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“I remembered that life in that room seemed to be occuring beneath the sea, time flowed past indiffrently above us, hours and days had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/i-remembered-that-life-in-that-room-seemed-to-be-occuring-beneath-the/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“No. It would help if I were able to feel guilty.But the end of innocence is also the end of guilt”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/no-it-would-help-if-i-were-able-to-feel-guilty-but-the-end-of/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“Perhaps now, though, he had hit bottom. One thing about the bottom, he told himself, you can't fall any further. He tried to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/perhaps-now-though-he-had-hit-bottom-one-thing-about-the-bottom-he/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“What kind of friendship have you had? Or for that matter...what kind of love affairs?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/what-kind-of-friendship-have-you-had-or-for-that-matter-what-kind-of/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“For these are all our children, we will all profit by or pay for what they become.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/for-these-are-all-our-children-we-will-all-profit-by-or-pay-for-what/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“Every society is really governed by hidden laws, by unspoken but profound assumptions on the part of the people, and ours is no exception.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/every-society-is-really-governed-by-hidden-laws-by-unspoken-but/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“In those days my mother was given to the exasperating and mysterious habit of having babies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-those-days-my-mother-was-given-to-the-exasperating-and-mysterious/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“He was suggesting that all Negroes were held in a state of supreme tension between the difficult, dangerous relationship in which they stood to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/he-was-suggesting-that-all-negroes-were-held-in-a-state-of-supreme/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“In the beginning—and neither can this be overstated—a Negro just cannot believe that white people are treating him as they do; he does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-the-beginning-and-neither-can-this-be-overstated-a-negro-just/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“If the world wasn't so full of dead folks maybe those of us that's trying to live wouldn't have to suffer so bad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/if-the-world-wasn-t-so-full-of-dead-folks-maybe-those-of-us-that-s/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“I am very much concerned that American Negroes achieve their freedom here in the United States. But I am also concerned for their dignity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/i-am-very-much-concerned-that-american-negroes-achieve-their-freedom/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“The paradox—and a fearful paradox it is—is that the American Negro can have no future anywhere, on any continent, as long as he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/the-paradox-and-a-fearful-paradox-it-is-is-that-the-american-negro/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) [Explore all 312 James Baldwin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The NBA is my history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-hardaway/the-nba-is-my-history/) [Penny Hardaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-hardaway/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) [C-DASH](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-dash/) > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Joyce is right about history being a nightmare—but it may be the nightmare from which no one can awaken. 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