--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I cannot kill someone, he thought." description: "\"“I cannot kill someone, he thought.”\" — Lois Lowry" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca4/lois-lowry-978_conscience_i-cannot-kill-someone-he-thought-1024095_1024095.png" --- # I cannot kill someone, he thought. ![“I cannot kill someone, he thought.” quote by Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca4/lois-lowry-978_conscience_i-cannot-kill-someone-he-thought-1024095_1024095.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca4/lois-lowry-978_conscience_i-cannot-kill-someone-he-thought-1024095_1024095.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca4/lois-lowry-978_conscience_i-cannot-kill-someone-he-thought-1024095_1024095.png) > ““I cannot kill someone, he thought.”” [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character wrestles with the moral weight of taking a life, reflecting inner conflict and conscience. **In simple terms:** Struggling with the idea of killing. Key Takeaway Consider the moral consequences before acting. Themes morality conflict conscience Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - war - crime - self‑defense - medical decision - legal judgment Key Concepts ethical dilemma psychology Questions to Reflect On - What values guide your decisions about life and death? - How do you reconcile thoughts with actions? A Different Perspective The quote captures a moment of thought, not action; real decisions may be more complex. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Killing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/killing/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) ## Related quotes > [“The individual who kills who they ‘are’ out of the belief that they are liberating who they are ‘not’ will eventually kill both. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/the-individual-who-kills-who-they-are-out-of-the-belief-that-they-are/) [Craig D. 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You know, I just felt that in a Godless universe, I didn't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/one-day-about-a-month-ago-i-really-hit-bottom-you-know-i-just-felt/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [“While she lay there with these old worn thoughts coming obediently into her mind, called there by habit and the familiar quiet of early…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-gibbons/while-she-lay-there-with-these-old-worn-thoughts-coming-obediently/) [Stella Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-gibbons/) > [“I saw him save the day dozens of times with nothing but his wits, body and will. But I saw something else as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-timm/i-saw-him-save-the-day-dozens-of-times-with-nothing-but-his-wits-body/) [Bruce Timm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-timm/) > [“He thought about alone in Constantinople that time, having quarreled in Paris before he had gone out. He had whored the whole time and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/he-thought-about-alone-in-constantinople-that-time-having-quarreled/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“He doesn’t look like the kind of person that could kill anyone? She thought. - Immortal Door”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-tucker/he-doesn-t-look-like-the-kind-of-person-that-could-kill-anyone-she/) Marion Tucker > [“I can't kill myself, I thought. I'm too insignificant. I'm nothing. I'm a thumbprint on the first-floor window of a skyscraper, a smudge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-pickett/i-can-t-kill-myself-i-thought-i-m-too-insignificant-i-m-nothing-i-m-a/) [Rex Pickett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-pickett/) > [“Gregori stood his ground, his mind carefully blank. This was his life. His reason for existing. He was the dark justice necessary for his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-feehan/gregori-stood-his-ground-his-mind-carefully-blank-this-was-his-life/) [Christine Feehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-feehan/) > [“If you’re thinking about killing someone, don’t. Not don’t kill them, but don’t think about it—just do it already.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/if-you-re-thinking-about-killing-someone-don-t-not-don-t-kill-them/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“He places me on the concrete floor, expressionless as he studies me. “It’ll be easier next time,” he whispers, “killing on command.” 1352 hunkers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-louise-mcgurk/he-places-me-on-the-concrete-floor-expressionless-as-he-studies-me-it/) [Angela Louise McGurk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-louise-mcgurk/) > [If we kill off the wild, then we are killing a part of our souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/if-we-kill-off-the-wild-then-we-are-killing-a-part-of-our-souls/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [If the truth shall kill them, let them die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/if-the-truth-shall-kill-them-let-them-die/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## More by Lois Lowry > [“She's sure, absolutely sure, that what she's waiting for will happen, just the way she wants it to; and I'm so uncertain, so fearful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/she-s-sure-absolutely-sure-that-what-she-s-waiting-for-will-happen/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [I've always been interested in medicine and was pleased when my brother became a doctor. But after thinking seriously about that field, I realized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-medicine-and-was-pleased-when-my/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [“The important thing is that another medium—stage, film, music—doesn’t obliterate a book. The movie is here now, on a big screen, with stars and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/the-important-thing-is-that-another-medium-stage-film-music-doesn-t/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [Pretending that there are no choices to be made - reading only books, for example, which are cheery and safe and nice - is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/pretending-that-there-are-no-choices-to-be-made-reading-only-books/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [They were satisfied with their lives which had none of the vibrance his own was taking on. And he was angry at himself, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/they-were-satisfied-with-their-lives-which-had-none-of-the-vibrance/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [Nowadays it seems as though people sit down to write what they know is going to be a trilogy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/nowadays-it-seems-as-though-people-sit-down-to-write-what-they-know/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [“Take your pride in your pain. You are stronger than those who have none.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/take-your-pride-in-your-pain-you-are-stronger-than-those-who-have-none/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [“Sometimes we have to hurt people, in order to keep ourselves whole. We must just do it with love, that's all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/sometimes-we-have-to-hurt-people-in-order-to-keep-ourselves-whole-we/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [“Once, back in the time of the memories, everything had a shape and size, the way things still do, but they also had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/once-back-in-the-time-of-the-memories-everything-had-a-shape-and-size/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [“No one mentioned such things; it was not a rule, but was considered rude to call attention to things that were unsettling or different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/no-one-mentioned-such-things-it-was-not-a-rule-but-was-considered/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [When you lose a child in an accident as I did, it's final - you're not caught in this longing for him, to search…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/when-you-lose-a-child-in-an-accident-as-i-did-it-s-final-you-re-not/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [“...and I want you all to remember- that you must not dream yourselves back to the times before the war, but the dream for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/and-i-want-you-all-to-remember-that-you-must-not-dream-yourselves/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [“He saw Forest and understood what Seer had meant. 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Annemarie smiled, but Peter's comment was no longer the lighthearted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/don-t-grow-much-more-or-you-will-be-taller-than-i-am-little-longlegs/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [“Matty had felt this sensation—the”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/matty-had-felt-this-sensation-the/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) [Explore all 311 Lois Lowry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) ## More Conscience quotes > [Self-respect and a clear conscience are powerful components of integrity and are the basis for enriching your relationships with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/self-respect-and-a-clear-conscience-are-powerful-components-of/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [“Knowledge without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabelaise/knowledge-without-conscience-is-but-the-ruin-of-the-soul/) Rabelaise > [Writing adds up to the conscience of our times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-firrell/writing-adds-up-to-the-conscience-of-our-times/) [Martin Firrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-firrell/) > [My conscience is really active. So I feel bad about spending excess amount of money on things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd/my-conscience-is-really-active-so-i-feel-bad-about-spending-excess/) [Syd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd/) > [Let us be thankful for health and competence, and, above all, for a quiet conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izaak-walton/let-us-be-thankful-for-health-and-competence-and-above-all-for-a/) [Izaak Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izaak-walton/) > [Making money doesn't oblige people to forfeit their honor or their conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-rothschild/making-money-doesn-t-oblige-people-to-forfeit-their-honor-or-their/) [Guy de Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-rothschild/) > [“If we cannot be happy and powerful and prey on others, we invent conscience and prey on ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/if-we-cannot-be-happy-and-powerful-and-prey-on-others-we-invent/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [The God in whose hands are all our days and ways, did cast into my hand one day a book of Martin Luthers; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/the-god-in-whose-hands-are-all-our-days-and-ways-did-cast-into-my/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [My morals are important to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-parrish/my-morals-are-important-to-me/) [Hunter Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-parrish/) > [Being tolerant does not mean that I share another ones belief. 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