--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And it may be that a crowd at a…" description: "\"And it may be that a crowd at a particular moment of history creates the object to justify its gathering, as it did at the first Human Be-In and Monter..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d43/jennifer-egan-825_craving_and-it-may-be-that-a-crowd-at-a-particul_2225026.jpg" --- # And it may be that a crowd at a particular moment of… ![“And it may be that a crowd at a particular moment of history creates the object to justify its gathering, as it did at the first Human Be-In and Monterey Pop and Woodstock. Or it may be that two generations of war and surveillance had left people craving the embodiment of their own unease in the…” quote by Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d43/jennifer-egan-825_craving_and-it-may-be-that-a-crowd-at-a-particul_2225026.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d43/jennifer-egan-825_craving_and-it-may-be-that-a-crowd-at-a-particul_2225026.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d43/jennifer-egan-825_craving_and-it-may-be-that-a-crowd-at-a-particul_2225026.jpg) > “And it may be that a crowd at a particular moment of history creates the object to justify its gathering, as it did at the first Human Be-In and Monterey Pop and Woodstock. Or it may be that two generations of war and surveillance had left people craving the embodiment of their own unease in the form of a lone, unsteady man on a slide guitar.” [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Historical moments and generational trauma shape cultural icons, like the lone guitarist, reflecting collective anxieties. **In simple terms:** Events and trauma create symbolic figures that embody societal unease. Key Takeaway Recognize how art mirrors collective fears. Themes culture history trauma iconography music generational Mood analytical contemplative Type cultural literary When to use this quote - music festivals - historical retrospectives - cultural analysis - artist interviews Key Concepts symbolic representation collective memory artistic archetype Questions to Reflect On - What modern symbols reflect today's anxieties? - How do generational experiences influence artistic expression? A Different Perspective Interpretations can oversimplify complex histories. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Guitar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guitar/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Surveillance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surveillance/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Unease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unease/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Woodstock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woodstock/) ## Related quotes > [ \[I\]t may be that a crowd at a particular moment of history creates the object to justify its gathering. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-t-may-be-that-a-crowd-at-a-particular-moment-of-history-creates-the/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [No doubt Carlyle has a propensity to exaggerate the heroic in history, that is, he creates you an ideal hero rather than another thing……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/no-doubt-carlyle-has-a-propensity-to-exaggerate-the-heroic-in-history/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Every work of history constructs contexts and designs, forms in which past reality can be comprehended. History creates comprehensibility primarily by arranging facts meaningfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-huizinga/every-work-of-history-constructs-contexts-and-designs-forms-in-which/) [Johan Huizinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-huizinga/) > [A lot of people believe that you don't need to know the history and that creates newness. I disagree: we should always be informed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-wilson/a-lot-of-people-believe-that-you-don-t-need-to-know-the-history-and/) [Louise Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-wilson/) > [“Unease squirmed in my gut like a pile of worms in an occupied coffin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-rose/unease-squirmed-in-my-gut-like-a-pile-of-worms-in-an-occupied-coffin/) [A.J. Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-rose/) > [“Guests arrived carrying more than luggage. They brought frustration, uncertainty, exhaustion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/belinda-kelderhouse/guests-arrived-carrying-more-than-luggage-they-brought-frustration/) [Belinda Kelderhouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/belinda-kelderhouse/) > [If you cannot be at ease with yourself when alone, you will seek a relationship to cover up your unease. You can be sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/if-you-cannot-be-at-ease-with-yourself-when-alone-you-will-seek-a/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“For myself the delay may be compared with a reprieve; for in confidence I assure you, with the world it would obtain little credit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/for-myself-the-delay-may-be-compared-with-a-reprieve-for-in/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [Much of the international unease with the Sochi Games has focused on the threat of terrorism, Putin's domestic repressiveness, and the Russian campaign of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/much-of-the-international-unease-with-the-sochi-games-has-focused-on/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [ That kind of unease, that melancholy, is of course partly my interpretation, but partly, I think, it's something that's really there \[in America\] as… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-van-agtmael/that-kind-of-unease-that-melancholy-is-of-course-partly-my/) [Peter van Agtmael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-van-agtmael/) > [“Is this how it is for a species that senses it is going extinct? Is there a feeling of loneliness, or unease, each morning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-bass/is-this-how-it-is-for-a-species-that-senses-it-is-going-extinct-is/) [Rick Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-bass/) > [You see, the contemporary writer must write through his intimations of unease, while trying to elucidate them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/you-see-the-contemporary-writer-must-write-through-his-intimations-of/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [I would have handled it differently than the mayor of Baltimore, that's for sure. I think it's a mistake to say, hey, guys, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/i-would-have-handled-it-differently-than-the-mayor-of-baltimore-that/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [Unease, anxiety, tension, stress, worry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/unease-anxiety-tension-stress-worry/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [There's a distinct unease about Americans when they are outside the United States. I can't say quite what it is, but they are easily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-osborne/there-s-a-distinct-unease-about-americans-when-they-are-outside-the/) [Lawrence Osborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-osborne/) ## More by Jennifer Egan > [“Behind the desk was nothing but view-the whole city flung out in front of us the way street vendors fling out their towels packed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/behind-the-desk-was-nothing-but-view-the-whole-city-flung-out-in/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I just think that, for my particular personality, feeling slightly invisible is always a help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-just-think-that-for-my-particular-personality-feeling-slightly/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Between books, I have to throw out everything I did before, because the tools I've used to write the previous book will not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/between-books-i-have-to-throw-out-everything-i-did-before-because-the/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [As a reader and a writer, I'm happiest when apparently mutually exclusive states can somehow coexist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/as-a-reader-and-a-writer-i-m-happiest-when-apparently-mutually/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I teach intermittently, and while I enjoy it, I don't find that it's a calling for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-teach-intermittently-and-while-i-enjoy-it-i-don-t-find-that-it-s-a/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Like all failed experiments, that one taught me something I didn’t expect: one key ingredient of so-called experience is the delusional faith that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/like-all-failed-experiments-that-one-taught-me-something-i-didn-t/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [“Thousands of solar panels lift and tilt at the same time, in the same way. I clutch at Dad's arm: "Why are they doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/thousands-of-solar-panels-lift-and-tilt-at-the-same-time-in-the-same/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [It was the hat. He looked sweet in the hat. How could a man in a fuzzy blue hat have used human bones to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/it-was-the-hat-he-looked-sweet-in-the-hat-how-could-a-man-in-a-fuzzy/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I was a stepchild in two different families. The hardest thing about being a stepchild is you know that in some way everything would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-was-a-stepchild-in-two-different-families-the-hardest-thing-about/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [“The seconds pass. I know what’s going on because it’s the same thing that always happens: give me something nice, something I love or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/the-seconds-pass-i-know-what-s-going-on-because-it-s-the-same-thing/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I had this idea that I could hire myself out as a person to go on archeological digs and dig, without any training! I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-had-this-idea-that-i-could-hire-myself-out-as-a-person-to-go-on/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [At night, the house thick with sleep, she would peer out her bedroom window at the trees and sky and feel the presence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/at-night-the-house-thick-with-sleep-she-would-peer-out-her-bedroom/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I number my drafts, and by the time a book is done, I'll have 75 or 80 drafts of some sections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-number-my-drafts-and-by-the-time-a-book-is-done-i-ll-have-75-or-80/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Read at the level at which you want to write. Reading is the nourishment that feeds the kind of writing you want to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/read-at-the-level-at-which-you-want-to-write-reading-is-the/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I was a stepchild in two different families. The hardest thing about being a stepchild is you know that in some way everything would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-was-a-stepchild-in-two-different-families-the-hardest-thing-about-2/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) [Explore all 358 Jennifer Egan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) ## More Craving quotes > [“The more the soul loves the word, the more craving it has after it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gurnall/the-more-the-soul-loves-the-word-the-more-craving-it-has-after-it/) [William Gurnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gurnall/) > [By the time they were pulling into the parking lot of the A&P, the mood was fading, the moment gone. Amy could feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/by-the-time-they-were-pulling-into-the-parking-lot-of-the-a-p-the/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [I dream of a love that is more than two people craving to possess one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/i-dream-of-a-love-that-is-more-than-two-people-craving-to-possess-one/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [When I look at you all I see is heartbreak waiting to happen. And I can't tell if it's because of love. Or loneliness.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ream/when-i-look-at-you-all-i-see-is-heartbreak-waiting-to-happen-and-i/) [Ream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ream/) > [People who do not understand themselves have a craving for understanding — a thing which is rather surmised and never spoken than known and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-stekel/people-who-do-not-understand-themselves-have-a-craving-for/) [Wilhelm Stekel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-stekel/) > [Pleasure simply brings more craving, but the problem is that we try to get contentment through pleasure. True contentment can only come through service.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/pleasure-simply-brings-more-craving-but-the-problem-is-that-we-try-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [I had left home (like all Jewish girls) in order to eat pork and take birth control pills. When I first shared an intimate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roseanne-barr/i-had-left-home-like-all-jewish-girls-in-order-to-eat-pork-and-take/) [Roseanne Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roseanne-barr/) > [When we think carefully, we see that the brief elation we experience when appeasing sensual impulses may not be very different from what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/when-we-think-carefully-we-see-that-the-brief-elation-we-experience/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Fie on the eloquence that leaves us craving itself, not things!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/fie-on-the-eloquence-that-leaves-us-craving-itself-not-things/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [How are we to account for the strange human craving for the pleasure of feeling afraid which is so much involved in our love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/how-are-we-to-account-for-the-strange-human-craving-for-the-pleasure/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [You don't want to love - your eternal and abnormal craving is to be loved. You aren't positive, you're negative. You absorb, absorb, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-don-t-want-to-love-your-eternal-and-abnormal-craving-is-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The worst passion we mortals cherish is the desire to possess. Even when we know that our final destination is a hole not more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-t-suzuki/the-worst-passion-we-mortals-cherish-is-the-desire-to-possess-even/) [D.T. Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-t-suzuki/) > [Memory, with its fugitive adjustments, is the merciful veil to the grim enactments of the first law. It hides the anguish in the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-aumonier/memory-with-its-fugitive-adjustments-is-the-merciful-veil-to-the-grim/) [Stacy Aumonier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-aumonier/) > [Fianlly a wave of reailty swept over my eyes and I was able to see, I wasn't in love with an angle but addicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian/fianlly-a-wave-of-reailty-swept-over-my-eyes-and-i-was-able-to-see-i/) [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian/) > [The craving to risk death is our last great perversion. We come from night, we go into night. Why live in night?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/the-craving-to-risk-death-is-our-last-great-perversion-we-come-from/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) Browse all 626 Craving quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "And it may be that a crowd at a particular moment of history creates the object to justify its gathering, as it did at the first Human Be-In and Monterey Pop and Woodstock. 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