Animals Quote by Jonathan Safran Foer
““Her learning to sew (from a book Yankel brought back from Lvov) coincided with her refusal to wear any clothes that she did not make for herself, and when he bought her a book about animal physiology, she held the pictures to his face and said, "Don’t you think it’s strange, Yankel, how we eat them?" "I’ve never eaten a picture." "The animals. Don’t you find that strange? I can’t believe I never found it strange before. It’s like your name, how you don’t notice it for so long, but when you finally do, you can’t help but say it over and over, and wonder why you never thought it was strange that you should have that name, and that everyone has been calling you that name for your whole life." "Yankel. Yankel. Yankel. Nothing so strange for me." "I won’t eat them, at least not until it doesn’t seem strange to me.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, 2005
A young girl learns self-reliance through sewing and questioning norms, realizing how everyday things become strange when examined closely.
In simple terms: She discovers strangeness in familiar things.
Key Takeaway
Question assumptions about the familiar.
Themes
self‑reliance
identity
perception
norms
Mood
curious
reflective
Type
literary
philosophical
When to use this quote
- learning to sew
- self‑expression
- philosophical dialogue
- family dynamics
Key Concepts
existentialism
personal growth
Questions to Reflect On
- How does questioning the familiar change your worldview?
- What everyday habits have you never examined?
A Different Perspective
The narrative may over‑intellectualize simple experiences.
