--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It wasn't so easy though, ending the war…" description: "\"It wasn't so easy though, ending the war. A war is a huge fire; the ashes from it drift far, and settle slowly.\" — Margaret Atwood" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dc/margaret-atwood-40_ashes_it-wasn-t-so-easy-though-ending-the-war_55896.jpg" --- # It wasn't so easy though, ending the war. A war is a huge… ![“It wasn't so easy though, ending the war. A war is a huge fire; the ashes from it drift far, and settle slowly.” quote by Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dc/margaret-atwood-40_ashes_it-wasn-t-so-easy-though-ending-the-war_55896.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dc/margaret-atwood-40_ashes_it-wasn-t-so-easy-though-ending-the-war_55896.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dc/margaret-atwood-40_ashes_it-wasn-t-so-easy-though-ending-the-war_55896.jpg) > “It wasn't so easy though, ending the war. A war is a huge fire; the ashes from it drift far, and settle slowly.” [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. War leaves lingering, widespread damage that persists long after the conflict ends, much like ash spreading and settling slowly. **In simple terms:** War's aftermath spreads and lingers. Key Takeaway Consequences of war endure beyond the fighting. Themes war consequences memory recovery legacy Mood somber reflective Type aphor observation When to use this quote - post-conflict reconstruction - peace negotiations - historical analysis - policy making Key Concepts conflict post-war trauma societal impact Practical Applications - conflict resolution planning - education on war impacts Questions to Reflect On - How can societies address the lingering effects of war? - What responsibilities do victors have toward rebuilding? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ashes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashes/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [I remember being a kid and the Vietnam War was huge and looking at Watergate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cross/i-remember-being-a-kid-and-the-vietnam-war-was-huge-and-looking-at/) [David Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cross/) > [The Iraq war is a huge subject and there have been many films about it. But it was when the private contractors started taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-loach/the-iraq-war-is-a-huge-subject-and-there-have-been-many-films-about/) [Ken Loach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-loach/) > [One of the main reasons I wanted to work on 'World War Z' was because I'm a huge fan of the book, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-forster/one-of-the-main-reasons-i-wanted-to-work-on-world-war-z-was-because-i/) [Marc Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-forster/) > [There's all these costs of war, and they're huge and long-lasting. It's not just the numbers CNN broadcasts. And we never want to pay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/there-s-all-these-costs-of-war-and-they-re-huge-and-long-lasting-it-s/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [So instead of talking about theoretical ways of ending the war and violence, I say that we have to get rid of the individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-quinn/so-instead-of-talking-about-theoretical-ways-of-ending-the-war-and/) [Colin Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-quinn/) > [The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-quickest-way-of-ending-a-war-is-to-lose-it/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Key to America's success in ending the War on Terror will be a continued partnership with one of our most important allies - Israel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronny-jackson/key-to-america-s-success-in-ending-the-war-on-terror-will-be-a/) [Ronny Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronny-jackson/) > [As professor of global peace studies at the International Islamic University of Malaysia I am committed to the ending of war also through criminalization…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-galtung/as-professor-of-global-peace-studies-at-the-international-islamic/) [Johan Galtung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-galtung/) > [I think I should get the Nobel Peace Prize before I die for ending the war between the sexes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-dodson/i-think-i-should-get-the-nobel-peace-prize-before-i-die-for-ending/) [Betty Dodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-dodson/) > [America going into this huge, costly, never-ending war created huge debt, which became a huge problem in Congress and led to it stalling many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karan-mahajan/america-going-into-this-huge-costly-never-ending-war-created-huge/) [Karan Mahajan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karan-mahajan/) > [If we succeeded, we will have the primary satisfaction of ending the war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-andrew-spaatz/if-we-succeeded-we-will-have-the-primary-satisfaction-of-ending-the/) Carl Andrew Spaatz > [To me, you can't win. You can't win. There's a war in Iraq; there's no way that they're ending that. The war in Afghanistan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupe-fiasco/to-me-you-can-t-win-you-can-t-win-there-s-a-war-in-iraq-there-s-no/) [Lupe Fiasco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupe-fiasco/) > [With empathy you know in your heart that it's not a sign of weakness to attempt to understand that the people we call terrorists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/with-empathy-you-know-in-your-heart-that-it-s-not-a-sign-of-weakness/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [We're leaving behind a sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq with a representative government that was elected by its people. We're building a new partnership…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/we-re-leaving-behind-a-sovereign-stable-and-self-reliant-iraq-with-a/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Let me make my point about Vietnam. When the Nixon initiation came into office, there were 550,000 Americans in combat. And ending the war…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/let-me-make-my-point-about-vietnam-when-the-nixon-initiation-came/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) ## More by Margaret Atwood > [“I'm fine," said Pilar, "for the moment. And the moment is the only time we can be fine in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-m-fine-said-pilar-for-the-moment-and-the-moment-is-the-only-time-we/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [And yet it disturbs me to learn I have hurt someone unintentionally. I want all my hurts to be intentional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/and-yet-it-disturbs-me-to-learn-i-have-hurt-someone-unintentionally-i/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Mary: Some call this "Eve's curse," but I think that is stupid because the real curse of Eve was having to put up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/mary-some-call-this-eve-s-curse-but-i-think-that-is-stupid-because/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The birds were singing around me, but I reflected that the very birds were strangers to me, for I did not even know their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-birds-were-singing-around-me-but-i-reflected-that-the-very-birds/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Strange how we decorate pain. These ribbons, for instance, and the small hard teardrops of blood. Who are they for? Do we think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/strange-how-we-decorate-pain-these-ribbons-for-instance-and-the-small/) [margaret atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I wanted to forget the past, but it refused to forget me; it waited for sleep, then cornered me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-wanted-to-forget-the-past-but-it-refused-to-forget-me-it-waited-for/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Back at home they drew the curtains and read, with disapproval, with relish, with avidity and glee - even the ones who'd never thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/back-at-home-they-drew-the-curtains-and-read-with-disapproval-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“It's my fault. I am forgetting too much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-s-my-fault-i-am-forgetting-too-much/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [All fiction is about people, unless it's about rabbits pretending to be people. It's all essentially characters in action, which means characters moving through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/all-fiction-is-about-people-unless-it-s-about-rabbits-pretending-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Simon walks back to the house alone. The night is clear and warm, with a moon, almost full, enclosed in a nimbus of mist;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/simon-walks-back-to-the-house-alone-the-night-is-clear-and-warm-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“There is indeed something delightful about being able to combine obedience and disobedience in the same act.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-is-indeed-something-delightful-about-being-able-to-combine/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Every time the women appear, Snowman is astonished all over again. They're every known colour from the deepest black to whitest white, they're various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/every-time-the-women-appear-snowman-is-astonished-all-over-again-they/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Once you publish a book, it is out of your control. You cannot dictate how people read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-you-publish-a-book-it-is-out-of-your-control-you-cannot-dictate/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The more difficult it was to love the particular man beside us, the more we believed in Love, abstract and total. We were waiting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-more-difficult-it-was-to-love-the-particular-man-beside-us-the/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“She knows she's deceiving herself about that, but she prefers to deceive herself. She desperately needs to believe such pure joy is still possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/she-knows-she-s-deceiving-herself-about-that-but-she-prefers-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) [Explore all 2,072 Margaret Atwood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## More Ashes quotes > [You can flush my ashes down the toilet, for all I care.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-flush-my-ashes-down-the-toilet-for-all-i-care/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-that-is-gold-does-not-glitter-not-all-those-who-wander-are-lost/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't want to have a gravestone. I want to have all my friends burn me and then snort the ashes. I think that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/i-don-t-want-to-have-a-gravestone-i-want-to-have-all-my-friends-burn/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) > [You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the red branch of the slow autumn at my window, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/you-know-how-this-is-if-i-look-at-the-crystal-moon-at-the-red-branch/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [He said that he will never let you cry,he will always be there for you no matter how hard the situation is,that he will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhra/he-said-that-he-will-never-let-you-cry-he-will-always-be-there-for/) Zhra > [“The past is to be learned from but not lived in. We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-past-is-to-be-learned-from-but-not-lived-in-we-look-back-to-claim/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Much can they praise the trees so straight and high, The sailing pine,the cedar proud and tall, The vine-prop elm, the poplar never dry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/much-can-they-praise-the-trees-so-straight-and-high-the-sailing-pine/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [When any civilization is dust and ashes," he said, "art is all that's left over. Images, words, music. Imaginative structures. Meaning—human meaning, that is—is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/when-any-civilization-is-dust-and-ashes-he-said-art-is-all-that-s/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Man is a noble animal, splendid in ashes, and pompous in the grave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/man-is-a-noble-animal-splendid-in-ashes-and-pompous-in-the-grave/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [“Bury us, and mark our names above. Let us be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/bury-us-and-mark-our-names-above-let-us-be-free/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [There is nothing quite like an Ashes trip Down Under.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anderson/there-is-nothing-quite-like-an-ashes-trip-down-under/) [James Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anderson/) > [I think momentum is huge in sport, especially in a series like the Ashes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-stokes/i-think-momentum-is-huge-in-sport-especially-in-a-series-like-the/) [Ben Stokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-stokes/) > [Mark how fleeting and paltry is the estate of man-yesterday in embryo, tomorrow a mummy or ashes. So for the hairsbreadth of time assigned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/mark-how-fleeting-and-paltry-is-the-estate-of-man-yesterday-in-embryo/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“When you burn a bridge, you have to be prepared to live with some ashes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-coppernoll/when-you-burn-a-bridge-you-have-to-be-prepared-to-live-with-some-ashes/) [Chris Coppernoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-coppernoll/) > [I would rather be ashes than dust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/i-would-rather-be-ashes-than-dust/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) [Browse all 900 Ashes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It wasn't so easy though, ending the war. 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