--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In our world,\" Darija said, throwing…" description: "\"“In our world,\" Darija said, throwing aside the chapter she was marking up, \"there will be no semicolons.”\" — Jodi Picoult" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85e/jodi-picoult-45_punctuation_in-our-world-darija-said-throwing-aside_2925562.jpg" --- # In our world," Darija said, throwing aside the chapter she… ![“In our world," Darija said, throwing aside the chapter she was marking up, "there will be no semicolons.” quote by Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85e/jodi-picoult-45_punctuation_in-our-world-darija-said-throwing-aside_2925562.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85e/jodi-picoult-45_punctuation_in-our-world-darija-said-throwing-aside_2925562.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85e/jodi-picoult-45_punctuation_in-our-world-darija-said-throwing-aside_2925562.jpg) > ““In our world," Darija said, throwing aside the chapter she was marking up, "there will be no semicolons.”” [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that future writing will abandon traditional punctuation, symbolizing a shift toward new forms of expression. **In simple terms:** Future writing may drop semicolons. Key Takeaway Embrace evolving language norms. Themes language innovation punctuation Mood thoughtful analytical Type literary commentary When to use this quote - creative writing - editing - publishing - teaching grammar Key Concepts literary change digital communication Questions to Reflect On - How does punctuation shape thought? - Will readers adapt to new styles? A Different Perspective Traditional structures may still dominate in formal contexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aside Chapter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aside-chapter-4284742/) [Darija Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darija-said-4284743/) [Marking Semicolons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marking-semicolons-4284741/) [Punctuation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/punctuation/) [Semicolons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/semicolons-280411/) [World Darija](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-darija-4284744/) ## Related quotes > [Here is a lesson in creative writing. First rule: Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/here-is-a-lesson-in-creative-writing-first-rule-do-not-use-semicolons/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [You practically do not use semicolons at all. This is a symptom of mental defectiveness, probably induced by camp life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-practically-do-not-use-semicolons-at-all-this-is-a-symptom-of/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [It should come as no surprise that writers take an interest in punctuation. I have been told that the dying words of one famous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/it-should-come-as-no-surprise-that-writers-take-an-interest-in/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) > [“Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites, representing nothing. All they do is show you've been to college.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/do-not-use-semicolons-they-are-transvestite-hermaphrodites/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Let me note that Kilgore Trout and I have never used semicolons. They don't do anything, don't suggest anything. They are transvestite hermaphrodites.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/let-me-note-that-kilgore-trout-and-i-have-never-used-semicolons-they/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“How come you never use semicolons?” she’ll say. Or: “How come you chop it all up into little sections instead of letting it flow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/how-come-you-never-use-semicolons-she-ll-say-or-how-come-you-chop-it/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [I use a whole lot of half-assed semicolons; there was one of them just now; that was a semicolon after 'semicolons,' and another one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-use-a-whole-lot-of-half-assed-semicolons-there-was-one-of-them-just/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Cruelty to punctuation is quite unlegislated: you can get away with pulling the legs off semicolons; shrivelling question marks on the garden path under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/cruelty-to-punctuation-is-quite-unlegislated-you-can-get-away-with/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) > [“Here is a lesson in creative writing. First rule: Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/here-is-a-lesson-in-creative-writing-first-rule-do-not-use-semicolons-3/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Semicolons . . . signal, rather than shout, a relationship. . . . A semicolon is a compliment from the writer to the reader.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/semicolons-signal-rather-than-shout-a-relationship-a-semicolon-is-a/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [“The one critisism the author of Slaugherhouse-Five would make of the young writer was what he called a punctuation problem. Mr. Vonnegut didn't like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/the-one-critisism-the-author-of-slaugherhouse-five-would-make-of-the/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [Somebody put a drop under a magnifying-glass and it was all semicolons and parentheses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/somebody-put-a-drop-under-a-magnifying-glass-and-it-was-all/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Maximum sentence length: seventeen words. Minimum:one No semicolons. Semicolons indicate relationships that only idiots need defined by punctuation. Besides, they are ugly. Make sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hugo/maximum-sentence-length-seventeen-words-minimum-one-no-semicolons/) [Richard Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hugo/) > [I hope that my ideas attract a lively dialogue, even if my sentences are simple. Simple sentences have always served me well. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-hope-that-my-ideas-attract-a-lively-dialogue-even-if-my-sentences/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I have been told that the dying words of one famous 20th-century writer were, “I should have used fewer semicolons” – and although I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/i-have-been-told-that-the-dying-words-of-one-famous-20th-century/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) ## More by Jodi Picoult > [You get through it, you just never get over it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/you-get-through-it-you-just-never-get-over-it/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Let me guess," Eric says, "You never meant for it to happen." "Hell, yes, I did. I've wanted her since you two started dating."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/let-me-guess-eric-says-you-never-meant-for-it-to-happen-hell-yes-i/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“It’s the difference between dancing along the eggshell crust of acquaintance and diving into the messy center of a relationship.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/it-s-the-difference-between-dancing-along-the-eggshell-crust-of/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Because hate's just the flip side of love. Like heads and tails on a dime. If you don't know what it feels like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/because-hate-s-just-the-flip-side-of-love-like-heads-and-tails-on-a/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Some women are meant to change the world, while others are meant to hold it together. And then there are those of us who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/some-women-are-meant-to-change-the-world-while-others-are-meant-to/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [I love feeling loved. I don't love knowing that I will always come in second place. I love the fact that at least sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/i-love-feeling-loved-i-don-t-love-knowing-that-i-will-always-come-in/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Music is the language of memory”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/music-is-the-language-of-memory/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [But there is a different between mending someone who's broken and finding someone who makes you complete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/but-there-is-a-different-between-mending-someone-who-s-broken-and/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“sometimes words are not big enough to contain all the feelings you are trying to pour into them. My”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/sometimes-words-are-not-big-enough-to-contain-all-the-feelings-you/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“The age wasn't as important as the milestones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-age-wasn-t-as-important-as-the-milestones/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [The night is falling down around us. Meteors rain like fireworks, quick rips in the seam of the dark... Every second, another streak of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-night-is-falling-down-around-us-meteors-rain-like-fireworks-quick/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“When she had packed all the artifacts that made up their personal history into liquor store boxes, the house became strictly a feminine place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/when-she-had-packed-all-the-artifacts-that-made-up-their-personal/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Maybe who we are isn't so much about what we do, but rather what we're capable of when we least expect it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/maybe-who-we-are-isn-t-so-much-about-what-we-do-but-rather-what-we-re/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Here's what I hadn't realized : the mother you haven't seen for almost 36 years isn't your mother. She is a stranger. Sharing DNA…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/here-s-what-i-hadn-t-realized-the-mother-you-haven-t-seen-for-almost/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [My brother believed in all sorts of mythical creatures: pixies, dragons, werewolves, honest men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/my-brother-believed-in-all-sorts-of-mythical-creatures-pixies-dragons/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) [Explore all 2,062 Jodi Picoult quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) ## More Punctuation quotes > [“In the United States, periods and commas go inside the quotation mark. In Britain, they go outside the quotation mark. Squiggly said, “No.” (United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-fogarty/in-the-united-states-periods-and-commas-go-inside-the-quotation-mark/) [Mignon Fogarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-fogarty/) > [You know, you'd hide behind a Public Enemy or Ice Cube, or Bruce Springsteen, or U2, because they spoke for you. But now everybody's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ice-t/you-know-you-d-hide-behind-a-public-enemy-or-ice-cube-or-bruce/) [Ice T](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ice-t/) > [Everyone suffers; life is pain; and death is the final punctuation at the end of that sentence, so deal with it. I really think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sufjan-stevens/everyone-suffers-life-is-pain-and-death-is-the-final-punctuation-at/) [Sufjan Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sufjan-stevens/) > [One of the things I like about my job is that it draws on the entire person: not just your knowledge of grammar and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-norris/one-of-the-things-i-like-about-my-job-is-that-it-draws-on-the-entire/) [Mary Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-norris/) > [Punctuation marks are the traffic signals of language: they tell us to slow down, notice this, take a detour, and stop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/punctuation-marks-are-the-traffic-signals-of-language-they-tell-us-to/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) > [In writing, punctuation plays the role of body language. It helps readers hear you the way you want to be heard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/in-writing-punctuation-plays-the-role-of-body-language-it-helps/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [“April 6—Today, I learned, the comma, this is, a, comma (,) a period, with, a tail, Miss Kinnian, says its, importent, because, it makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/april-6-today-i-learned-the-comma-this-is-a-comma-a-period-with-a/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [Give a civil servant a good case and he'll wreck it with clichés, bad punctuation, double negatives, and convoluted apology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-clark/give-a-civil-servant-a-good-case-and-he-ll-wreck-it-with-clich-s-bad/) [Alan Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-clark/) > [“I'm a big believer in random capitalization. The rules of capitalization are so unfair to the words in the middle. (32)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-m-a-big-believer-in-random-capitalization-the-rules-of/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [When we study Shakespeare on the page, for academic purposes, we may require all kinds of help. Generally, we read him in modern spelling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/when-we-study-shakespeare-on-the-page-for-academic-purposes-we-may/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [The Biblical text does not have punctuation marks like periods and question marks. Where we end sentences is a matter of interpretation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/the-biblical-text-does-not-have-punctuation-marks-like-periods-and/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [I want to change my punctuation. I long for exclamation marks, but I'm drowning in ellipses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/i-want-to-change-my-punctuation-i-long-for-exclamation-marks-but-i-m/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [I still put punctuation in my texts. If it's an 'I', I make sure it's a capital.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-cowell/i-still-put-punctuation-in-my-texts-if-it-s-an-i-i-make-sure-it-s-a/) [Simon Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-cowell/) > [“You didn’t put a semicolon there — God did.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-brownn/you-didn-t-put-a-semicolon-there-god-did/) [Eleanor Brownn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-brownn/) > [Doctors and nurses seemed to have been born and raised in the hospital, with only short punctuations of absenteeism for such things as schooling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-kellogg/doctors-and-nurses-seemed-to-have-been-born-and-raised-in-the/) [Marjorie Kellogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-kellogg/) [Browse all 287 Punctuation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/punctuation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In our world,\" Darija said, throwing aside the chapter she was marking up, \"there will be no semicolons.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jodi Picoult" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/in-our-world-darija-said-throwing-aside-the-chapter-she-was-marking/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Punctuation" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/in-our-world-darija-said-throwing-aside-the-chapter-she-was-marking/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85e/jodi-picoult-45_punctuation_in-our-world-darija-said-throwing-aside_2925562.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85e/jodi-picoult-45_punctuation_in-our-world-darija-said-throwing-aside_2925562.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85e/jodi-picoult-45_punctuation_in-our-world-darija-said-throwing-aside_2925562.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In our world,\" Darija said, throwing aside the chapter she was marking up, \"there will be no semicolons.” — Jodi Picoult", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jodi Picoult", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“In our world,\" Darija said, throwing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/in-our-world-darija-said-throwing-aside-the-chapter-she-was-marking/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/in-our-world-darija-said-throwing-aside-the-chapter-she-was-marking/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```