--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They was a brave on a ridge, against the…" description: "\"“They was a brave on a ridge, against the sun. Knowed he stood out. Spread his arms an' stood. Naked as morning, an' against the sun. Maybe he was craz..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/john-steinbeck-71_courage_they-was-a-brave-on-a-ridge-against-the_2648272.jpg" --- # They was a brave on a ridge, against the sun. Knowed he… ![“They was a brave on a ridge, against the sun. Knowed he stood out. Spread his arms an' stood. Naked as morning, an' against the sun. Maybe he was crazy. I don' know. Stood there, arms spread out; like a cross he looked. Four hunderd yards. An' the men - well, they raised their sights an' they felt…” quote by John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/john-steinbeck-71_courage_they-was-a-brave-on-a-ridge-against-the_2648272.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/john-steinbeck-71_courage_they-was-a-brave-on-a-ridge-against-the_2648272.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/john-steinbeck-71_courage_they-was-a-brave-on-a-ridge-against-the_2648272.jpg) > ““They was a brave on a ridge, against the sun. Knowed he stood out. Spread his arms an' stood. Naked as morning, an' against the sun. Maybe he was crazy. I don' know. Stood there, arms spread out; like a cross he looked. Four hunderd yards. An' the men - well, they raised their sights an' they felt the wind with their fingers; an' then they just lay there an' couldn' shoot. Maybe that Injun knowed somepin. Knowed we couldn' shoot. Jes' laid there with the rifles cocked, an' didn' even put 'em to our shoulders. Lookin' at him. Head-band, one feather. Could see it, an' naked as the sun. Long time we laid there an' looked, an' he never moved. An' then the captain got mad. "Shoot, you crazy bastards, shoot!" he yells. An' we jus' laid there. "I'll give you to a five-count, an' then mark you down," the captain says. Well, sir - we put up our rifles slow, an' ever' man hoped somebody'd shoot first. I ain't never been so sad in my life. An' I laid my sights on his belly, 'cause you can't stop a Injun no other place - an' - then. Well, he jest plunked down an' rolled. An' we went up. An' he wasn' big - he'd looked so grand - up there. All tore to pieces an' little. Ever see a cock pheasant, stiff and beautiful, ever' feather drawed an' painted, an' even his eyes drawed in pretty? An' bang! You pick him up - bloody an' twisted, an' you spoiled somepin better'n you; an' eating him don't never make it up to you, 'cause you spoiled somepin in yaself, an' you can never fix it up.”” [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A vivid, chaotic battlefield scene illustrates the horror of war, the dehumanization of combatants, and the lingering trauma of violence. **In simple terms:** War is brutal and dehumanizing. Key Takeaway Recognize the cost of conflict. Themes war trauma humanity Mood somber reflective Type historical literary cautionary When to use this quote - military history - peace activism - education - mental health counseling Key Concepts combat psychology morality memory Questions to Reflect On - How does witnessing suffering change a soldier? - What can we learn to prevent future wars? A Different Perspective The narrative may romanticize violence, obscuring its true tragedy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Couldn Shoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/couldn-shoot-2316996/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Laid Looked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laid-looked-2328423/) [Laid Rifles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laid-rifles-2328420/) [Laid Sights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laid-sights-2328417/) [Long time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-time/) [Rifles Cocked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rifles-cocked-2328421/) ## Related quotes > [We had the sky up there, all speckled with stars, and we used to lay on our backs and look up at them, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/we-had-the-sky-up-there-all-speckled-with-stars-and-we-used-to-lay-on/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [You couldn't shoot a fart out of your own ass!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marston/you-couldn-t-shoot-a-fart-out-of-your-own-ass/) [John Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marston/) > [I couldn't shoot with both hands until I was a junior in college. I was strictly right-handed until then.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikan/i-couldn-t-shoot-with-both-hands-until-i-was-a-junior-in-college-i/) [George Mikan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikan/) > [I couldn't shoot. When I went to play in Europe, I learned to shoot better. I could jump, so people would just back off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masai-ujiri/i-couldn-t-shoot-when-i-went-to-play-in-europe-i-learned-to-shoot/) [Masai Ujiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masai-ujiri/) > [“But when he said he couldn’t shoot, it just seemed to make an odd sort of sense to tell him that Hermione couldn’t dance.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-quinn/but-when-he-said-he-couldn-t-shoot-it-just-seemed-to-make-an-odd-sort/) [Julia Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-quinn/) > [I couldn't skate, I couldn't shoot, and I wasn't very intelligent. But I was spectacular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-reardon/i-couldn-t-skate-i-couldn-t-shoot-and-i-wasn-t-very-intelligent-but-i/) [Ken Reardon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-reardon/) > [Coming out of college that's all people kept saying was I couldn't shoot. I shot probably 30-something percent from 3 so they were pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/collin-sexton/coming-out-of-college-that-s-all-people-kept-saying-was-i-couldn-t/) [Collin Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/collin-sexton/) > [“He didn't quite know how to neutralize a threat that he couldn't shoot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyn-gala/he-didn-t-quite-know-how-to-neutralize-a-threat-that-he-couldn-t-shoot/) [Lyn Gala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyn-gala/) > [I couldn't shoot and I couldn't score in high school. All I could do is dunk and play defense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donovan-mitchell/i-couldn-t-shoot-and-i-couldn-t-score-in-high-school-all-i-could-do/) [Donovan Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donovan-mitchell/) > [Hey Steve, no offense, but if you couldn't shoot, there would be no reason for you to be alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-barkley/hey-steve-no-offense-but-if-you-couldn-t-shoot-there-would-be-no/) [Charles Barkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-barkley/) > [I guess people looked at me in college, said I couldn't shoot or play defense. I proved them wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayson-tatum/i-guess-people-looked-at-me-in-college-said-i-couldn-t-shoot-or-play/) [Jayson Tatum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayson-tatum/) > [“He unbuttoned his shirt to reveal the ballistic vest underneath. The Brits were dead set against them carrying weapons, but body armor they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-england/he-unbuttoned-his-shirt-to-reveal-the-ballistic-vest-underneath-the/) [Stephen England](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-england/) > [I can't make anything. I don't know how to make a dress. I couldn't go on a shoot and create an image. I can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-wintour/i-can-t-make-anything-i-don-t-know-how-to-make-a-dress-i-couldn-t-go/) [Anna Wintour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-wintour/) > [“But my best friend from college was silent for a long time. She, of all of my friends, had seen the parade of sad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/but-my-best-friend-from-college-was-silent-for-a-long-time-she-of-all/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [“I locked the door and turned on the water to fill the tub. 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Takes a shoat to bring in pork.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/prayer-never-brought-in-no-side-meat-takes-a-shoat-to-bring-in-pork/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“And now submarines are armed with mass murder, our silly, only way of deterring mass murder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/and-now-submarines-are-armed-with-mass-murder-our-silly-only-way-of/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“I’d think there are degrees of greatness,” Adam said. “I don’t think so,” said Samuel. “That would be like saying there is a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-d-think-there-are-degrees-of-greatness-adam-said-i-don-t-think-so/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“He was forever inventing a new way of doing an old thing and doing it better and quicker, but he never in his whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/he-was-forever-inventing-a-new-way-of-doing-an-old-thing-and-doing-it/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“You come back a changed man. 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Years from now, we will look back at this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ingraham/certainly-these-are-not-easy-times-but-history-does-not-contain-very/) [Laura Ingraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ingraham/) > [Have the courage to go against the tide of current values that do not conform to the path of Jesus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/have-the-courage-to-go-against-the-tide-of-current-values-that-do-not/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [“There is nothing purer, braver, or more beautiful than the try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-armstrong/there-is-nothing-purer-braver-or-more-beautiful-than-the-try/) [Kristen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-armstrong/) > [“One theory on cannibals, of course, is that they eat parts of their slain enemies to benefit from that person's greatest assets - their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-powell/one-theory-on-cannibals-of-course-is-that-they-eat-parts-of-their/) [Julie Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-powell/) > [It is a tragedy that we live in a world where physical courage is so common, and moral courage is so rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/it-is-a-tragedy-that-we-live-in-a-world-where-physical-courage-is-so/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [I have pictures with Morimoto where I'm all embarrassed and he's so serious, it took me 30 minutes to get up the courage to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcela-valladolid/i-have-pictures-with-morimoto-where-i-m-all-embarrassed-and-he-s-so/) [Marcela Valladolid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcela-valladolid/) [Browse all 14,559 Courage quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“They was a brave on a ridge, against the sun. Knowed he stood out. Spread his arms an' stood. Naked as morning, an' against the sun. Maybe he was crazy. I don' know. Stood there, arms spread out; like a cross he looked. Four hunderd yards. An' the men - well, they raised their sights an' they felt the wind with their fingers; an' then they just lay there an' couldn' shoot. Maybe that Injun knowed somepin. Knowed we couldn' shoot. Jes' laid there with the rifles cocked, an' didn' even put 'em to our shoulders. Lookin' at him. Head-band, one feather. Could see it, an' naked as the sun. Long time we laid there an' looked, an' he never moved. An' then the captain got mad. \"Shoot, you crazy bastards, shoot!\" he yells. An' we jus' laid there. \"I'll give you to a five-count, an' then mark you down,\" the captain says. Well, sir - we put up our rifles slow, an' ever' man hoped somebody'd shoot first. I ain't never been so sad in my life. An' I laid my sights on his belly, 'cause you can't stop a Injun no other place - an' - then. Well, he jest plunked down an' rolled. An' we went up. An' he wasn' big - he'd looked so grand - up there. All tore to pieces an' little. Ever see a cock pheasant, stiff and beautiful, ever' feather drawed an' painted, an' even his eyes drawed in pretty? An' bang! You pick him up - bloody an' twisted, an' you spoiled somepin better'n you; an' eating him don't never make it up to you, 'cause you spoiled somepin in yaself, an' you can never fix it up.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Steinbeck" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/they-was-a-brave-on-a-ridge-against-the-sun-knowed-he-stood-out/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Courage" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/they-was-a-brave-on-a-ridge-against-the-sun-knowed-he-stood-out/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/john-steinbeck-71_courage_they-was-a-brave-on-a-ridge-against-the_2648272.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/john-steinbeck-71_courage_they-was-a-brave-on-a-ridge-against-the_2648272.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/john-steinbeck-71_courage_they-was-a-brave-on-a-ridge-against-the_2648272.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“They was a brave on a ridge, against the sun. 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