--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: and we stood next to each other because…" description: "\"“and we stood next to each other because that is what friends do in the presence of evil or love.”\" — Jonathan Safran Foer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c3/jonathan-safran-foer-136_friend_and-we-stood-next-to-each-other-because_77568.png" --- # and we stood next to each other because that is what… ![“and we stood next to each other because that is what friends do in the presence of evil or love.” quote by Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c3/jonathan-safran-foer-136_friend_and-we-stood-next-to-each-other-because_77568.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c3/jonathan-safran-foer-136_friend_and-we-stood-next-to-each-other-because_77568.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c3/jonathan-safran-foer-136_friend_and-we-stood-next-to-each-other-because_77568.png) > ““and we stood next to each other because that is what friends do in the presence of evil or love.”” [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. In the face of extreme emotions—whether malevolent or affectionate—people seek companionship, standing together as a sign of solidarity and shared humanity. **In simple terms:** Companionship amid intense emotions Key Takeaway Friends provide support in both darkness and love Themes solidarity human connection emotional resilience friendship shared experience Mood reflective hopeful intimate Type philosophical narrative emotional When to use this quote - confronting a crisis - celebrating a joyous event - navigating personal loss - supporting a friend in danger Key Concepts presence of evil presence of love standing together Practical Applications - building supportive communities - strengthening relational bonds Questions to Reflect On - How does shared presence alter the perception of fear or joy? - What does it mean to be a friend when confronting extreme emotions? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend/) [Friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friends/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [I saw Herschel and he saw me and we stood next to each other because that is what friends do in the presence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/i-saw-herschel-and-he-saw-me-and-we-stood-next-to-each-other-because/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [The presence of evil was something to be first recognized, then dealt with, survived, outwitted, triumphed over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/the-presence-of-evil-was-something-to-be-first-recognized-then-dealt/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“(The presence of evil) in his life provokes him into either overcoming it or yielding to it. If the first, it has led him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-brunton/the-presence-of-evil-in-his-life-provokes-him-into-either-overcoming/) [Paul Brunton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-brunton/) > [“Temerity in the presence of evil is not prudence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-m-doran/temerity-in-the-presence-of-evil-is-not-prudence/) T.M. Doran > [Always be careful , the sight of god may not be easily available but you may find presence of the evil in person any time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/always-be-careful-the-sight-of-god-may-not-be-easily-available-but/) Mak\_786 > [Believers know that the presence of evil is always accompanied by the presence of good, by grace... Where evil grows, there the hope for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/believers-know-that-the-presence-of-evil-is-always-accompanied-by-the/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [What I fear is being in the presence of evil and doing nothing. I fear that more than death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otilia-de-koster/what-i-fear-is-being-in-the-presence-of-evil-and-doing-nothing-i-fear/) Otilia De Koster > [Around us there is the presence of evil. The devil is at work. But in a loud voice I say: GOD IS STRONGER.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/around-us-there-is-the-presence-of-evil-the-devil-is-at-work-but-in-a/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [When anything is in the presence of evil, but is not as yet evil, the presence of good arouses the desire of good in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/when-anything-is-in-the-presence-of-evil-but-is-not-as-yet-evil-the/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“We just stood there, facing each other, but nine floors apart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/we-just-stood-there-facing-each-other-but-nine-floors-apart/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“Please do not forget those who have always stood by your side and supported you. If you do not fail to keep them in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-rainsworth/please-do-not-forget-those-who-have-always-stood-by-your-side-and/) Sharon Rainsworth > [“She knew where she stood, when she stood among books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-r-graham/she-knew-where-she-stood-when-she-stood-among-books/) M.R. Graham > [I'd always wanted the show to be more reality based science fiction, something along the lines of The Day the Earth Stood Still, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-gerard/i-d-always-wanted-the-show-to-be-more-reality-based-science-fiction/) [Gil Gerard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-gerard/) > [“I stood by you at your lowest, but you left me for another at your highest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-bekoe/i-stood-by-you-at-your-lowest-but-you-left-me-for-another-at-your/) [Marion Bekoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-bekoe/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) ## More by Jonathan Safran Foer > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [I try not to remember the life that I didn’t want to lose but lost and have to remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/i-try-not-to-remember-the-life-that-i-didn-t-want-to-lose-but-lost/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“I have an aristocratic smile and like to punch people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/i-have-an-aristocratic-smile-and-like-to-punch-people/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [He removed several pages of death certificates, which were picked up by another breeze and sent into the trees. Some would fall with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/he-removed-several-pages-of-death-certificates-which-were-picked-up/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [I would have done anything for him. Maybe that was my sickness. We made love in nothing places and turned the lights off. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/i-would-have-done-anything-for-him-maybe-that-was-my-sickness-we-made/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“One day I wandered away from her and hid. I liked the way it felt to have someone look for me, to hear my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/one-day-i-wandered-away-from-her-and-hid-i-liked-the-way-it-felt-to/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [If nothing matters, there's nothing to save.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/if-nothing-matters-there-s-nothing-to-save/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“It was one of the best days of my life, a day during which I lived my life and didn't think about it at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/it-was-one-of-the-best-days-of-my-life-a-day-during-which-i-lived-my/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“The appearance was misleading- human dreams; rubbish heaps abundant yet ephemeral sudden and splendid, only to wilt and perish”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/the-appearance-was-misleading-human-dreams-rubbish-heaps-abundant-yet/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“the entirety of human society and moral progress represents an explicit transcendence of what’s “natural.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/the-entirety-of-human-society-and-moral-progress-represents-an/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“Food is not so much a symbol of freedom as the first requirement of freedom. We eat foods that are native to America on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/food-is-not-so-much-a-symbol-of-freedom-as-the-first-requirement-of/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“Rationally, factory farming is so obviously wrong, in so many ways. In all of my reading and conversations, I’ve yet to find a credible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/rationally-factory-farming-is-so-obviously-wrong-in-so-many-ways-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [Just because you're an atheist, that doesn't mean you wouldn't love for things to have reasons for why they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/just-because-you-re-an-atheist-that-doesn-t-mean-you-wouldn-t-love/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [Do you think I'm wonderful? she asked him one day as they leaned against the trunk of a petrified maple. No, he said. Why?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/do-you-think-i-m-wonderful-she-asked-him-one-day-as-they-leaned/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [My insides don't match up with my outsides. -Do anyone's inside and outsides match up? -I don't know. I'm only me. -Maybe that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/my-insides-don-t-match-up-with-my-outsides-do-anyone-s-inside-and/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) [Explore all 1,117 Jonathan Safran Foer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) ## More Friend quotes > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Friends are like stars you can't always see them, but you know they're there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknwon/friends-are-like-stars-you-can-t-always-see-them-but-you-know-they-re/) Unknwon > [“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/) > [“way. A true friend isn't the one that agrees with everything you say or do. A true friend is someone that has your back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shameek-speight/way-a-true-friend-isn-t-the-one-that-agrees-with-everything-you-say/) [Shameek Speight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shameek-speight/) > [No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/no-one-is-completely-unhappy-at-the-failure-of-his-best-friend/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [“The real purpose of friendship was to discover and exploit weakness in others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-thompson/the-real-purpose-of-friendship-was-to-discover-and-exploit-weakness/) [Brian Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-thompson/) > [That FRIEND who claim they do anything for you. but yet talk behind your back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kushsoulja/that-friend-who-claim-they-do-anything-for-you-but-yet-talk-behind/) KushSoulja > [In life, we never lose friends we only get to know who the true ones are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ace-kid/in-life-we-never-lose-friends-we-only-get-to-know-who-the-true-ones/) [Ace Kid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ace-kid/) > [“Before you were my enemy, you were my best friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole/before-you-were-my-enemy-you-were-my-best-friend/) [Kresley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole/) > [Sam dropped me off. When she was too far away to see me, I started to cry again. Because she was my friend again.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/sam-dropped-me-off-when-she-was-too-far-away-to-see-me-i-started-to/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [“When you get lost in a really strange place, nothing is more comforting than found your friend whom you trust and can show the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-get-lost-in-a-really-strange-place-nothing-is-more/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [Friendship, "the wine of life," should, like a well-stocked cellar, be continually renewed; and it is consolatory to think, that although we can seldom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/friendship-the-wine-of-life-should-like-a-well-stocked-cellar-be/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [I fell in love with my best friend, but I know that if it doesn't last, it will never be the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-yang/i-fell-in-love-with-my-best-friend-but-i-know-that-if-it-doesn-t-last/) Shelly Yang > [A best friend isn't someone who's just always there for you.Its someone who understands you a bit more than you understand yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/a-best-friend-isn-t-someone-who-s-just-always-there-for-you-its/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) [Browse all 14,984 Friend quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“and we stood next to each other because that is what friends do in the presence of evil or love.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jonathan Safran Foer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/and-we-stood-next-to-each-other-because-that-is-what-friends-do-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Friend" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/and-we-stood-next-to-each-other-because-that-is-what-friends-do-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c3/jonathan-safran-foer-136_friend_and-we-stood-next-to-each-other-because_77568.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c3/jonathan-safran-foer-136_friend_and-we-stood-next-to-each-other-because_77568.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c3/jonathan-safran-foer-136_friend_and-we-stood-next-to-each-other-because_77568.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“and we stood next to each other because that is what friends do in the presence of evil or love.” — Jonathan Safran Foer", "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": "Jonathan Safran Foer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“and we stood next to each...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/and-we-stood-next-to-each-other-because-that-is-what-friends-do-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/and-we-stood-next-to-each-other-because-that-is-what-friends-do-in/#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 } } ] } ```