--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How stark everything became, at the end…" description: "\"“How stark everything became, at the end, all the wishes for one's children distilled by the world's swift cruelty into the desperate hope that death w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f3/justin-cronin-2437_apocalyptic_how-stark-everything-became-at-the-end-a_2752195.png" --- # How stark everything became, at the end, all the wishes… ![“How stark everything became, at the end, all the wishes for one's children distilled by the world's swift cruelty into the desperate hope that death would take them fast.” quote by Justin Cronin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f3/justin-cronin-2437_apocalyptic_how-stark-everything-became-at-the-end-a_2752195.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f3/justin-cronin-2437_apocalyptic_how-stark-everything-became-at-the-end-a_2752195.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f3/justin-cronin-2437_apocalyptic_how-stark-everything-became-at-the-end-a_2752195.png) > ““How stark everything became, at the end, all the wishes for one's children distilled by the world's swift cruelty into the desperate hope that death would take them fast.”” [Justin Cronin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cronin/) ## 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 relentless cruelty, hope for a swift death becomes a desperate wish for children. **In simple terms:** Cruelty fuels hope for quick death for children. Key Takeaway Recognize how suffering shapes hope. Themes suffering hope parental love Mood somber introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - war zones - terminal illness - family crises Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What does this hope reveal about human resilience? - How can we balance hope with realistic action? A Different Perspective Hope may be unrealistic or fatalistic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cruelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruelty/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Literary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary/) [Poetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetic/) ## Related quotes > [If all you were left believing was what you were seeing, it'd be nothing but desperate. To have hope, you're going to have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-dylan/if-all-you-were-left-believing-was-what-you-were-seeing-it-d-be/) [Jakob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-dylan/) > [Your woe hath been my anguish; yea, I quail And perish in your perishing unblest. And I have searched the highths and depths, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thomson/your-woe-hath-been-my-anguish-yea-i-quail-and-perish-in-your/) [James Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thomson/) > [“I think there's a kind of desperate hope built into poetry now that one really wants, hopelessly, to save the world. One is trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-there-s-a-kind-of-desperate-hope-built-into-poetry-now-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The desperate hope that the patient will be healed... That's the last treatment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/choi-woo-shik/the-desperate-hope-that-the-patient-will-be-healed-that-s-the-last/) [Choi Woo-shik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/choi-woo-shik/) > [And I grew up on a steady diet of science fiction, especially apocalyptic and postapocalyptic fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cronin/and-i-grew-up-on-a-steady-diet-of-science-fiction-especially/) [Justin Cronin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cronin/) > [That literary-popular distinction is, in my view, vastly overstated. At the far poles there are clearly books that are purely commercial and purely literary,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cronin/that-literary-popular-distinction-is-in-my-view-vastly-overstated-at/) [Justin Cronin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cronin/) > [It is fashionable to wax apocalyptic about the threat to humanity posed by the AIDS virus, "mad cow" disease, and many others, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/it-is-fashionable-to-wax-apocalyptic-about-the-threat-to-humanity/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [I'm not a peak oil person. I'm not a biohazard apocalyptic kind of freak. I don't have a supply of weapons or gold bars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-hecker/i-m-not-a-peak-oil-person-i-m-not-a-biohazard-apocalyptic-kind-of/) [Tim Hecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-hecker/) > [ I am glad it's \[California novel\] resonated with people because, for me, most apocalyptic novels aren't scary, because they feel so very far off. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edan-lepucki/i-am-glad-it-s-california-novel-resonated-with-people-because-for-me/) [Edan Lepucki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edan-lepucki/) > [“Strange, how in all those apocalyptic movies, when their society breaks down into lawlessness and anarchy, Canada is always the haven of safety, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenifer-mohammed/strange-how-in-all-those-apocalyptic-movies-when-their-society-breaks/) [Jenifer Mohammed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenifer-mohammed/) > [I oppose preserving civilization because I have a better chance of getting laid in a post-apocalyptic world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-oppose-preserving-civilization-because-i-have-a-better-chance-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When forced to survive in an apocalyptic world, there are some characters that embrace their higher selves with some emerging as natural born leaders,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-holden/when-forced-to-survive-in-an-apocalyptic-world-there-are-some/) [Laurie Holden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-holden/) > [America has always had an apocalyptic strain. Yet it also seems to believe that if, or when, The End comes, it will still come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-duhigg/america-has-always-had-an-apocalyptic-strain-yet-it-also-seems-to/) [Charles Duhigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-duhigg/) > [What until recently seemed to be only the apocalyptic fantasies of the Christian faith has today entered the sphere of the soberest scientific calculations;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-brunner/what-until-recently-seemed-to-be-only-the-apocalyptic-fantasies-of/) [Emil Brunner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-brunner/) > [Texting is apocalyptic on some level. It's a reduction of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cave/texting-is-apocalyptic-on-some-level-it-s-a-reduction-of-things/) [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) ## More by Justin Cronin > [“The greatest faith is the willingness to ask in the first place, all evidence to the contrary. Faith not just in God, but in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cronin/the-greatest-faith-is-the-willingness-to-ask-in-the-first-place-all/) [Justin Cronin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cronin/) > [“They say that the moment your life appears before your eyes will be your last, but I'm here to say that it's not so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cronin/they-say-that-the-moment-your-life-appears-before-your-eyes-will-be/) [Justin Cronin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cronin/) > [“It was more than physical attraction; it was the broken thing inside him she loved most of all, the unreachable place where he kept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cronin/it-was-more-than-physical-attraction-it-was-the-broken-thing-inside/) [Justin Cronin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cronin/) > [It's different being afraid when there's the hope it will amount to something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cronin/it-s-different-being-afraid-when-there-s-the-hope-it-will-amount-to/) [Justin Cronin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cronin/) > [Vampires have always been hot. They are one of our most durable monsters. It's one of those stories that galvanizes us early and it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cronin/vampires-have-always-been-hot-they-are-one-of-our-most-durable/) [Justin Cronin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cronin/) > [“There was a term he knew and thought of now; he had heard it used only in the context of aviation, to explain how,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cronin/there-was-a-term-he-knew-and-thought-of-now-he-had-heard-it-used-only/) [Justin Cronin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cronin/) > [“His father had always said, Son, the most important thing in life is to make a contribution. Who would have thought Kittridge’s contribution would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cronin/his-father-had-always-said-son-the-most-important-thing-in-life-is-to/) [Justin Cronin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cronin/) > [“I could have held his hand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cronin/i-could-have-held-his-hand/) [Justin Cronin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cronin/) > [It was what you did, Wolgast understood; you started to tell a story about who you were, and soon enough the lies were all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cronin/it-was-what-you-did-wolgast-understood-you-started-to-tell-a-story/) [Justin Cronin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cronin/) > [“This isn't a question of odds. Of all the men in the world, that woman hose you. If she's still out there, she's waiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cronin/this-isn-t-a-question-of-odds-of-all-the-men-in-the-world-that-woman/) [Justin Cronin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cronin/) > [I came to Houston for a job, the reason most people move halfway across the country with a first grader and a five-week-old. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cronin/i-came-to-houston-for-a-job-the-reason-most-people-move-halfway/) [Justin Cronin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cronin/) > [And indeed, I am a warmhearted and thoroughly domestic man who gets up and makes pancakes for his children and kisses them on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cronin/and-indeed-i-am-a-warmhearted-and-thoroughly-domestic-man-who-gets-up/) [Justin Cronin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cronin/) > [When you write, you take the ball and you hold it up to the light and you turn it slowly, and let people draw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cronin/when-you-write-you-take-the-ball-and-you-hold-it-up-to-the-light-and/) [Justin Cronin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cronin/) > [“Wolgast recalled when he’d come down here with his friends to buy candy and comic books. Back then, a spinning wire rack had stood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cronin/wolgast-recalled-when-he-d-come-down-here-with-his-friends-to-buy/) [Justin Cronin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cronin/) > [“It's all well and good to save the human race. You could say I'm in favor. But you might want to pay a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cronin/it-s-all-well-and-good-to-save-the-human-race-you-could-say-i-m-in/) [Justin Cronin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cronin/) [Explore all 163 Justin Cronin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cronin/) ## More Apocalyptic quotes > [Texting is apocalyptic on some level. It's a reduction of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cave/texting-is-apocalyptic-on-some-level-it-s-a-reduction-of-things/) [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) > [What until recently seemed to be only the apocalyptic fantasies of the Christian faith has today entered the sphere of the soberest scientific calculations;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-brunner/what-until-recently-seemed-to-be-only-the-apocalyptic-fantasies-of/) [Emil Brunner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-brunner/) > [America has always had an apocalyptic strain. Yet it also seems to believe that if, or when, The End comes, it will still come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-duhigg/america-has-always-had-an-apocalyptic-strain-yet-it-also-seems-to/) [Charles Duhigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-duhigg/) > [When forced to survive in an apocalyptic world, there are some characters that embrace their higher selves with some emerging as natural born leaders,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-holden/when-forced-to-survive-in-an-apocalyptic-world-there-are-some/) [Laurie Holden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-holden/) > [I oppose preserving civilization because I have a better chance of getting laid in a post-apocalyptic world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-oppose-preserving-civilization-because-i-have-a-better-chance-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Strange, how in all those apocalyptic movies, when their society breaks down into lawlessness and anarchy, Canada is always the haven of safety, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenifer-mohammed/strange-how-in-all-those-apocalyptic-movies-when-their-society-breaks/) [Jenifer Mohammed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenifer-mohammed/) > [ I am glad it's \[California novel\] resonated with people because, for me, most apocalyptic novels aren't scary, because they feel so very far off. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edan-lepucki/i-am-glad-it-s-california-novel-resonated-with-people-because-for-me/) [Edan Lepucki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edan-lepucki/) > [I'm not a peak oil person. I'm not a biohazard apocalyptic kind of freak. I don't have a supply of weapons or gold bars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-hecker/i-m-not-a-peak-oil-person-i-m-not-a-biohazard-apocalyptic-kind-of/) [Tim Hecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-hecker/) > [It is fashionable to wax apocalyptic about the threat to humanity posed by the AIDS virus, "mad cow" disease, and many others, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/it-is-fashionable-to-wax-apocalyptic-about-the-threat-to-humanity/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Todayart is moving in a direction of which our fathers would never even have dreamed.We stand before the new pictures as in a dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-marc/todayart-is-moving-in-a-direction-of-which-our-fathers-would-never/) [Franz Marc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-marc/) > [In the event of a Mad Max-style post-apocalyptic dystopia, people with supplies of food and water could become warlords or chieftains in the social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nish-kumar/in-the-event-of-a-mad-max-style-post-apocalyptic-dystopia-people-with/) [Nish Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nish-kumar/) > [Post-apocalyptic novels tell you that in the future there is some great war. I would tell you that most cops say that it's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gardner/post-apocalyptic-novels-tell-you-that-in-the-future-there-is-some/) [Lisa Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gardner/) > [Today's mom watches her every child-rearing step lest she commit some egregious and apocalyptic parenting faux pas that will certainly doom her child to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rosemond/today-s-mom-watches-her-every-child-rearing-step-lest-she-commit-some/) [John Rosemond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rosemond/) > [People are hungry in these communities. They don't know how they are going to get food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keiji-fukuda/people-are-hungry-in-these-communities-they-don-t-know-how-they-are/) Keiji Fukuda > [“In my view, the gospels are true, not historically, but theologically, or, as I would argue, prophetically! What we have is, the Messiah’s history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-of-kittim/in-my-view-the-gospels-are-true-not-historically-but-theologically-or/) [Eli Of Kittim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-of-kittim/) Browse all 225 Apocalyptic quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“How stark everything became, at the end, all the wishes for one's children distilled by the world's swift cruelty into the desperate hope that death would take them fast.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Justin Cronin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cronin/how-stark-everything-became-at-the-end-all-the-wishes-for-one-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Apocalyptic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cronin/how-stark-everything-became-at-the-end-all-the-wishes-for-one-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f3/justin-cronin-2437_apocalyptic_how-stark-everything-became-at-the-end-a_2752195.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f3/justin-cronin-2437_apocalyptic_how-stark-everything-became-at-the-end-a_2752195.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f3/justin-cronin-2437_apocalyptic_how-stark-everything-became-at-the-end-a_2752195.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“How stark everything became, at the end, all the wishes for one's children distilled by the world's swift…” — Justin Cronin", "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": "Justin Cronin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cronin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“How stark everything became, at the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cronin/how-stark-everything-became-at-the-end-all-the-wishes-for-one-s/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cronin/how-stark-everything-became-at-the-end-all-the-wishes-for-one-s/#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 } } ] } ```