--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Why slum it where people were burdened by…" description: "\"“Why slum it where people were burdened by yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that? By history? Here, on the Island, they had learnt how..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16b/julian-barnes-522_history_why-slum-it-where-people-were-burdened-b_37168.jpg" --- # Why slum it where people were burdened by yesterday, and… ![“Why slum it where people were burdened by yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that? By history? Here, on the Island, they had learnt how to deal with history, how to sling it carelessly on your back and stride out across the download with the breeze in your face.” quote by Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16b/julian-barnes-522_history_why-slum-it-where-people-were-burdened-b_37168.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16b/julian-barnes-522_history_why-slum-it-where-people-were-burdened-b_37168.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16b/julian-barnes-522_history_why-slum-it-where-people-were-burdened-b_37168.jpg) > ““Why slum it where people were burdened by yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that? By history? Here, on the Island, they had learnt how to deal with history, how to sling it carelessly on your back and stride out across the download with the breeze in your face.”” [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage urges abandoning the weight of past burdens, embracing a lighter, forward‑looking stance, as if shedding history like a load and moving freely. **In simple terms:** Let go of past burdens to move forward. Key Takeaway Release history, embrace freedom. Themes freedom history resilience mindset travel Mood hopeful determined Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - leaving a painful past - starting a new chapter - overcoming generational trauma - traveling to a fresh environment Key Concepts burden lightness perspective Practical Applications - personal growth coaching - motivational speaking Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to 'sling history carelessly' for you? - How can you practice this mindset daily? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Islands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/islands/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Slum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slum/) ## Related quotes > [Seest thou how pale the sated guest rises from supper, where the appetite is puzzled with varieties? The body, too, burdened with I yesterday's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/seest-thou-how-pale-the-sated-guest-rises-from-supper-where-the/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“If soccer really is a ‘a slum sport played in slum stadiums increasingly watched by slum people’ as declared by the Sunday Times in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbie-dunne/if-soccer-really-is-a-a-slum-sport-played-in-slum-stadiums/) Robbie Dunne > [“football was a ‘slum sport played in slum stadiums watched by slum people’.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/football-was-a-slum-sport-played-in-slum-stadiums-watched-by-slum/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“the ghetto should never come with a photo. The Third World slum is a nightmare that defies beliefs or facts, even the ones staring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-james/the-ghetto-should-never-come-with-a-photo-the-third-world-slum-is-a/) [Marlon James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-james/) > [A man of letters never objects to a slum. He sharpens his pen there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-a-moore/a-man-of-letters-never-objects-to-a-slum-he-sharpens-his-pen-there/) [George A. Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-a-moore/) > [Slumdog' was my first movie, and I had never been to India before - I was just a teenager in the U.K. with my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dev-patel/slumdog-was-my-first-movie-and-i-had-never-been-to-india-before-i-was/) [Dev Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dev-patel/) > [Besides being a slum kid with no great education in anything except how to fight and stay alive and steal, I also had this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-lamotta/besides-being-a-slum-kid-with-no-great-education-in-anything-except/) [Jake LaMotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-lamotta/) > [One of the saddest sights of the slums is to see the thrifty wife of the working man, with her rosy brood of children,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albion-fellows-bacon/one-of-the-saddest-sights-of-the-slums-is-to-see-the-thrifty-wife-of/) [Albion Fellows Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albion-fellows-bacon/) > [Hate builds up from the childhood when your world was a slum, but you haven't got the right to blow it to kingdom come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-davies/hate-builds-up-from-the-childhood-when-your-world-was-a-slum-but-you/) [Ray Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-davies/) > [We lived in a slum area in the suburbs of Mumbai.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-lever/we-lived-in-a-slum-area-in-the-suburbs-of-mumbai/) [Johnny Lever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-lever/) > [We are seeing a changed Mumbai, but having showcased Dharavi in 'Slum Dog Millionaire' brought shame and disgrace to our city. Whenever the firangs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohit-shetty/we-are-seeing-a-changed-mumbai-but-having-showcased-dharavi-in-slum/) [Rohit Shetty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohit-shetty/) > [“The slum, with its dirt and its queer lives, was first an object-lesson in poverty, and then the background of my own experiences.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-slum-with-its-dirt-and-its-queer-lives-was-first-an-object-lesson/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“These people were building homes for the rich, but they lived in tents covered with blue tarpaulin sheets, and partitioned into lanes by lines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/these-people-were-building-homes-for-the-rich-but-they-lived-in-tents/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [Misery is when you heard on the radio that the neighborhood you live in is a slum but you always thought it was home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/misery-is-when-you-heard-on-the-radio-that-the-neighborhood-you-live/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [When I was 16, I made some little 35mm documentaries about the poor in London. I went round Notting Hill, which was a real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suchet/when-i-was-16-i-made-some-little-35mm-documentaries-about-the-poor-in/) [David Suchet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suchet/) ## More by Julian Barnes > [“You put together two things that have not been put together before. And the world is changed. People may not notice at the time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/you-put-together-two-things-that-have-not-been-put-together-before/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“I settled into a contented routine of working, spending my free time with Veronica and, back in my student room, wanking explosively to fantasies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/i-settled-into-a-contented-routine-of-working-spending-my-free-time/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [The greatest patriotism is to tell your country when it is behaving dishonorably, foolishly, viciously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/the-greatest-patriotism-is-to-tell-your-country-when-it-is-behaving/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“There is only good vodka and very good vodka—there is no such thing as bad vodka.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/there-is-only-good-vodka-and-very-good-vodka-there-is-no-such-thing/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [Alice Munro can move characters through time in a way that no other writer can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/alice-munro-can-move-characters-through-time-in-a-way-that-no-other/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [How rarely do our emotions meet the object they seem to deserve? How hopelessly we signal; how dark the sky; how big the waves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/how-rarely-do-our-emotions-meet-the-object-they-seem-to-deserve-how/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [You put together two people who have not been put together before. Sometimes it is like that first attempt to harness a hydrogen balloon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/you-put-together-two-people-who-have-not-been-put-together-before/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“Also, when you are young, you think you can predict the likely pains and bleaknesses that age might bring. You imagine yourself being lonely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/also-when-you-are-young-you-think-you-can-predict-the-likely-pains/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“In those years before mobile phones, email and Skype, travelers depended on the rudimentary communications system known as the postcard. Other methods--the long-distance phone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/in-those-years-before-mobile-phones-email-and-skype-travelers/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“My train was late, slowed by the usual Sunday engineering work. I got home in the early evening. I remember that I had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/my-train-was-late-slowed-by-the-usual-sunday-engineering-work-i-got/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [In life, every ending is just the start of another story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/in-life-every-ending-is-just-the-start-of-another-story/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“Indeed, isn’t the whole business of ascribing responsibility kind of a cop-out? We want to blame an individual so that everyone else is exculpated.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/indeed-isn-t-the-whole-business-of-ascribing-responsibility-kind-of-a/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [Some of the freckles I once loved are now closer to liver spots. But it’s still the eyes we look at, isn’t it? That’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/some-of-the-freckles-i-once-loved-are-now-closer-to-liver-spots-but/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“And what percentage of people take up the option to die off?’ She looked at me, her glance telling me to be calm. ‘Oh,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/and-what-percentage-of-people-take-up-the-option-to-die-off-she/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“In the letter he left for the coroner he had explained his reasoning (for suicide): that life is a gift bestowed without anyone asking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/in-the-letter-he-left-for-the-coroner-he-had-explained-his-reasoning/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) [Explore all 454 Julian Barnes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. 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It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) C-DASH > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Why slum it where people were burdened by yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that? 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