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Bombs Quote by Jonathan Safran Foer

“bombs poured down from the sky exploding across trachimbrod in bursts of light and heat those watching the festivities hollered ran frantically they jumped into the bubbling splashing frantically dynamic water not after the sack of gold buy to save themselves they stayed under as long as they…” quote by Jonathan Safran Foer
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““bombs poured down from the sky exploding across trachimbrod in bursts of light and heat those watching the festivities hollered ran frantically they jumped into the bubbling splashing frantically dynamic water not after the sack of gold buy to save themselves they stayed under as long as they could they surfaced to seize air and look for loved ones my safran picked up his wife and carried her like a newlywed into the water which seemed amid the falling trees and hackling crackling explosions the safest place hundreds of bodies poured into the brod that river with my name I embraced them with open arms come to me come I wanted to save them all to save everybody from everybody the bombs rained from the sky and it was not the explosions or scattering shrapnel that would be our death not the heckling cinders not the laughing debris but all of the bodies bodies flailing and grabbing hold of one another bodies looking something to hold on to my safran lost sight of his wife who was carried deeper into me by the pull of the bodies the silent shrieks were carried in bubbles to the surface where they popped PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE the kicking in zosha’s belly became more and more PLEASE PLEASE the baby refused to die like this PLEASE the bombs came down cackling smoldering and my safran was able to break free from the human mass and float downstream over the small falls to clearer waters zosha was pulled down PLEASE and the baby refusing to die like this was pulled up and out of her body turning the waters around her red she surfaced like a bubble to the light to oxygen to life to life WAWAWAWAWAWA she cried she was perfectly healthy and she would have lived except for the umbilical cord that pulled her back under toward her mother who was barely conscious but conscious of the cord and tried to break it with her hands and then bite it with her teeth but could not it would not be broken and she died with her perfectly healthy nameless baby in her arms she held it to her chest the crowd pulled itself into itself long after the bombing ceased the confused the frightened the desperate mass of babies children teenagers adults elderly all pulled at each other to survive but pulled each other into me drowning each other killing each other the bodies began to rise one at a time until I couldn’t be seen through all of the bodies blue skin open white eyes I was invisible under them I was the carcass they were the butterflies white eyes blue skin this is what we’ve done we’ve killed our own babies to save them””

Jonathan Safran Foer

About This Quote

Source Novel: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, 2005

A chaotic wartime scene shows people desperate to survive, clinging to each other, while the narrator reflects on loss, love, and the futility of violence.

In simple terms: People scramble for safety and connection amid destruction.

Key Takeaway

Seek compassion and protect loved ones.

Themes

war survival loss humanity hope

Mood

despair determination hopeful

Type

literary emotional reflective

When to use this quote

  • refugee crisis
  • family emergency
  • disaster response
  • mental health support

Key Concepts

trauma collective grief resilience

Questions to Reflect On

  • How do we balance empathy with action?
  • What responsibilities do survivors have to the fallen?
A Different Perspective

The vivid description may romanticize suffering, overlooking systemic causes.

3.4 out of 5 (10 ratings)

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