Long ago Quote by Jennifer E. Smith
““Around them the stubbled land was marked off by plaques and signs that explained to visitors what had happened here on a long-ago July day not unlike this one. But Peter already knew all they said and more. He looked around at the people with their noses tucked in brochures and guidebooks, and those trailing, sheeplike, after tour guides and park employees. He was used to feeling somewhat out of place most everywhere he went--at school or the barbershop, even at home, but here, where he knew everything, all the names and dates and facts, he somehow seemed to fit, and the knowledge of this welled up inside him. It was like he'd been born a blue flower in a field full of red ones and had only now been plunked down in a meadow so blue it might as well have been the ocean.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Summer of the Blue Flower by Jennifer E. Smith, 2015
A character feels out of place but finds belonging through deep knowledge, likened to a blue flower among reds, suggesting uniqueness and comfort in expertise.
In simple terms: Feeling unique due to knowledge.
Key Takeaway
Embrace expertise to find belonging.
Themes
identity
belonging
expertise
uniqueness
Mood
contemplative
melancholic
Type
narrative
psychological
When to use this quote
- tourist sites
- educational trips
- social gatherings
- personal introspection
Key Concepts
knowledge as identity
social alienation
Questions to Reflect On
- How does deep knowledge affect social integration?
- When does expertise become a barrier?
A Different Perspective
Expertise may isolate from others.
