Too late Quote by Jonathan Stroud
““He looked like a kid caught making an angel in the snow, except his glasses had been blown off and one of his hands was bleeding. He breathed heavily; his belly rose and fell. I knelt close. 'George?' A groan, a cough. 'It's too late. Leave me…Let me sleep…' I shook him firmly, slapped the side of his face. 'George, you've got to wake up! George, *please.* Are you okay?' An eye opened. 'Ow. That cheek was the one part of me that *wasn't* sore.' 'Here, look - your glasses.' I scooped them out of the ash, put them on his chest.””
About This Quote
Source Short story: "The Man Who Wasn't There" by Jonathan Stroud, 2015
Compassion can drive desperate actions that may harm others, revealing moral ambiguity.
In simple terms: Compassion can lead to harmful deeds.
Key Takeaway
Balance empathy with caution.
Themes
compassion
morality
conflict
Mood
tense
empathetic
Type
narrative
dramatic
When to use this quote
- Emergency care
- medical triage
- personal crisis
- ethical dilemmas
Key Concepts
Ethics
psychology
human behavior
Questions to Reflect On
- When does helping become harmful?
- How to act responsibly under pressure?
A Different Perspective
Urgent help may cause unintended injury.
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