--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: August Smith is a child telling the…" description: "\"August Smith is a child telling the truth. Sometimes the truth is he has to listen to the voices of various creatures he's killed speak to him reproach..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0c/matthew-rohrer-46173_august_august-smith-is-a-child-telling-the-trut_1867479.jpg" --- # August Smith is a child telling the truth. Sometimes the… ![“August Smith is a child telling the truth. Sometimes the truth is he has to listen to the voices of various creatures he's killed speak to him reproachfully, and he shares that with us, because wouldn't we all? Parties abound in this collection and reading it feels like being invited. You can tell…” quote by Matthew Rohrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0c/matthew-rohrer-46173_august_august-smith-is-a-child-telling-the-trut_1867479.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0c/matthew-rohrer-46173_august_august-smith-is-a-child-telling-the-trut_1867479.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0c/matthew-rohrer-46173_august_august-smith-is-a-child-telling-the-trut_1867479.jpg) > “August Smith is a child telling the truth. Sometimes the truth is he has to listen to the voices of various creatures he's killed speak to him reproachfully, and he shares that with us, because wouldn't we all? Parties abound in this collection and reading it feels like being invited. You can tell Smith wants you there.” [Matthew Rohrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-rohrer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A child narrator confronts the moral weight of his actions by hearing the imagined voices of his victims, inviting readers to share in his uneasy honesty. **In simple terms:** A child hears his victims' voices and shares them. Key Takeaway Listen to inner guilt and share truth. Themes guilt honesty empathy violence redemption Mood reflective somber introspective Type literary philosophical emotional When to use this quote - Therapy sessions - creative writing workshops - ethical debates - literary analysis Key Concepts Moral psychology narrative voice psychic haunting Questions to Reflect On - How does hearing imagined victims affect moral judgment? - Can sharing guilt heal or harm? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify complex trauma. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [August](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/august/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/party/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [Telling the truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telling-the-truth/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) ## Related quotes > [I go where I'm invited. And all I can tell you is if we accepted every invitation we had, I'd be away every day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-go-where-i-m-invited-and-all-i-can-tell-you-is-if-we-accepted-every/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [When I had a child, everyone was telling me that I was going to see the world through her eyes, and everything was going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-vedder/when-i-had-a-child-everyone-was-telling-me-that-i-was-going-to-see/) [Eddie Vedder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-vedder/) > [The 6th of August in the morning we saw an opening in the land and we ran into it, and anchored in 7 and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dampier/the-6th-of-august-in-the-morning-we-saw-an-opening-in-the-land-and-we/) [William Dampier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dampier/) > [There could be oil coming up until August.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-browner/there-could-be-oil-coming-up-until-august/) [Carol Browner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-browner/) > [I studied acting in NYU's graduate program, in which we covered everything from Ibsen and Chekov to August Wilson and David Mamet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-holland/i-studied-acting-in-nyu-s-graduate-program-in-which-we-covered/) [Andre Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-holland/) > [It's August, which means Congress is on recess and Mitch McConnell has shimmied back into the ocean to seek a mate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/it-s-august-which-means-congress-is-on-recess-and-mitch-mcconnell-has/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [How sociable the garden was. We ate and talked in given light. The children put their toys to grass All the warm wakeful August…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-gunn/how-sociable-the-garden-was-we-ate-and-talked-in-given-light-the/) [Thom Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-gunn/) > [ It \[August 10th 1792\] was the bloodiest day of the Revolution so far, but also one of the most decisive. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-doyle/it-august-10th-1792-was-the-bloodiest-day-of-the-revolution-so-far/) William Doyle > [August, the summer's last messenger of misery, is a hollow actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/august-the-summer-s-last-messenger-of-misery-is-a-hollow-actor/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [August depresses me a little. I don't even feel like eating. And when I don't eat, that's a sure sign of stagnation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-scott/august-depresses-me-a-little-i-don-t-even-feel-like-eating-and-when-i/) [Willard Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-scott/) > [I can see that I imagine all kinds of rejection that never happens. I can see that I beg and plead for love that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/i-can-see-that-i-imagine-all-kinds-of-rejection-that-never-happens-i/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [I love the little garden in the back of my family's brownstone in Brooklyn. Digging out there in the dirt is a joy for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/i-love-the-little-garden-in-the-back-of-my-family-s-brownstone-in/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [I had the advantage, that I know Swedish. So I had the Swedish book and I had a lot of English translations, and German…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-ullmann/i-had-the-advantage-that-i-know-swedish-so-i-had-the-swedish-book-and/) [Liv Ullmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-ullmann/) > [Meanwhile after failing the bar twice, I knew some people in New York and moved here in August '71.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-quine/meanwhile-after-failing-the-bar-twice-i-knew-some-people-in-new-york/) [Robert Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-quine/) > [On the McLaughlin Report, August 26, 1990: 'There are only two groups that are beating the drums for war in the middle East, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/on-the-mclaughlin-report-august-26-1990-there-are-only-two-groups/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) ## More by Matthew Rohrer > [“I believe there is something else entirely going on but no single person can ever know it, so we fall in love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-rohrer/i-believe-there-is-something-else-entirely-going-on-but-no-single/) [Matthew Rohrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-rohrer/) > [I was coming out of a bar in Manhattan in the rain at night. I felt lonely. Then I thought: there is nothing lonelier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-rohrer/i-was-coming-out-of-a-bar-in-manhattan-in-the-rain-at-night-i-felt/) [Matthew Rohrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-rohrer/) > [And there I was with the stars hanging above my house like live wiresand the night sky the color of stockings. I stuck out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-rohrer/and-there-i-was-with-the-stars-hanging-above-my-house-like-live/) [Matthew Rohrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-rohrer/) > [“And there I was with the stars hanging above my house like live wires and the night sky the color of stockings. I stuck…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-rohrer/and-there-i-was-with-the-stars-hanging-above-my-house-like-live-wires/) [Matthew Rohrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-rohrer/) > [“I’m charming and handsome. They take my pen. I buy the poem from the garden of bees for one euro. A touch on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-rohrer/i-m-charming-and-handsome-they-take-my-pen-i-buy-the-poem-from-the/) [Matthew Rohrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-rohrer/) > [“He was a small part of summer, he was summer’s tongue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-rohrer/he-was-a-small-part-of-summer-he-was-summer-s-tongue/) [Matthew Rohrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-rohrer/) > [“Recently I've been dreaming of cursing old people with little provocation, because their culture has a long history of enslaving, raping, and segregating, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-rohrer/recently-i-ve-been-dreaming-of-cursing-old-people-with-little/) [Matthew Rohrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-rohrer/) [Explore all 8 Matthew Rohrer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-rohrer/) ## More August quotes > [On the McLaughlin Report, August 26, 1990: 'There are only two groups that are beating the drums for war in the middle East, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/on-the-mclaughlin-report-august-26-1990-there-are-only-two-groups/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [Meanwhile after failing the bar twice, I knew some people in New York and moved here in August '71.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-quine/meanwhile-after-failing-the-bar-twice-i-knew-some-people-in-new-york/) [Robert Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-quine/) > [I had the advantage, that I know Swedish. So I had the Swedish book and I had a lot of English translations, and German…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-ullmann/i-had-the-advantage-that-i-know-swedish-so-i-had-the-swedish-book-and/) [Liv Ullmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-ullmann/) > [I love the little garden in the back of my family's brownstone in Brooklyn. Digging out there in the dirt is a joy for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/i-love-the-little-garden-in-the-back-of-my-family-s-brownstone-in/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [I can see that I imagine all kinds of rejection that never happens. I can see that I beg and plead for love that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/i-can-see-that-i-imagine-all-kinds-of-rejection-that-never-happens-i/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [August depresses me a little. I don't even feel like eating. And when I don't eat, that's a sure sign of stagnation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-scott/august-depresses-me-a-little-i-don-t-even-feel-like-eating-and-when-i/) [Willard Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-scott/) > [August, the summer's last messenger of misery, is a hollow actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/august-the-summer-s-last-messenger-of-misery-is-a-hollow-actor/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [ It \[August 10th 1792\] was the bloodiest day of the Revolution so far, but also one of the most decisive. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-doyle/it-august-10th-1792-was-the-bloodiest-day-of-the-revolution-so-far/) William Doyle > [How sociable the garden was. We ate and talked in given light. The children put their toys to grass All the warm wakeful August…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-gunn/how-sociable-the-garden-was-we-ate-and-talked-in-given-light-the/) [Thom Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-gunn/) > [It's August, which means Congress is on recess and Mitch McConnell has shimmied back into the ocean to seek a mate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/it-s-august-which-means-congress-is-on-recess-and-mitch-mcconnell-has/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I studied acting in NYU's graduate program, in which we covered everything from Ibsen and Chekov to August Wilson and David Mamet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-holland/i-studied-acting-in-nyu-s-graduate-program-in-which-we-covered/) [Andre Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-holland/) > [There could be oil coming up until August.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-browner/there-could-be-oil-coming-up-until-august/) [Carol Browner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-browner/) > [The 6th of August in the morning we saw an opening in the land and we ran into it, and anchored in 7 and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dampier/the-6th-of-august-in-the-morning-we-saw-an-opening-in-the-land-and-we/) [William Dampier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dampier/) > [August creates as she slumbers, replete and satisfied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/august-creates-as-she-slumbers-replete-and-satisfied/) [Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/) > [I left for Petersburg in August, 1871 and stayed there until 1879.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-spitteler/i-left-for-petersburg-in-august-1871-and-stayed-there-until-1879/) Carl Spitteler [Browse all 448 August quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/august/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "August Smith is a child telling the truth. 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