--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Man,\" he said, \"I'm not afraid of…" description: "\"Man,\" he said, \"I'm not afraid of graveyards. The dead are just, you know, people who wanted the same things you and I want.\" \"What do we want?\" I aske..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84a/michael-cunningham-1120_graveyard_man-he-said-i-m-not-afraid-of-graveyards_2783784.png" --- # Man," he said, "I'm not afraid of graveyards. The dead are… ![“Man," he said, "I'm not afraid of graveyards. The dead are just, you know, people who wanted the same things you and I want." "What do we want?" I asked blurrily. "Aw, man, you know," he said. "We just want, well, the same things these people wanted." "What was that?" He shrugged. "To live, I…” quote by Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84a/michael-cunningham-1120_graveyard_man-he-said-i-m-not-afraid-of-graveyards_2783784.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84a/michael-cunningham-1120_graveyard_man-he-said-i-m-not-afraid-of-graveyards_2783784.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84a/michael-cunningham-1120_graveyard_man-he-said-i-m-not-afraid-of-graveyards_2783784.png) > “Man," he said, "I'm not afraid of graveyards. The dead are just, you know, people who wanted the same things you and I want." "What do we want?" I asked blurrily. "Aw, man, you know," he said. "We just want, well, the same things these people wanted." "What was that?" He shrugged. "To live, I guess," he said.” [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Characters discuss that the dead share common desires with the living, suggesting a universal human longing for purpose and connection **In simple terms:** The dead wanted the same things as the living Key Takeaway Seek shared human aspirations across life and death Themes existence purpose universality Mood thoughtful philosophical Type literary reflective When to use this quote - grief counseling - spiritual practice - education - community building - creative writing Key Concepts philosophy literature psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do personal goals differ across cultures? - Can we learn from the dead's aspirations? A Different Perspective Assuming uniform desires ignores individual differences ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Graveyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graveyard/) [Graveyards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graveyards/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [“In the middle of the cemetery is a grassy plane, strangely vacant. There are no granite tombs or crumbling concrete, just a sun-washed treeless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-caldwell-crosby/in-the-middle-of-the-cemetery-is-a-grassy-plane-strangely-vacant/) Molly Caldwell Crosby > [When you leave the desires behind, you will find the graveyards ahead!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/when-you-leave-the-desires-behind-you-will-find-the-graveyards-ahead/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The moon was full, shining enough light down for Scarlet to make out the hundreds of gravestones lined up in the wet grass and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-fine/the-moon-was-full-shining-enough-light-down-for-scarlet-to-make-out/) [Chelsea Fine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-fine/) > [It is far better to be happy than to have our bodies act as graveyards to animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-of-alexandria/it-is-far-better-to-be-happy-than-to-have-our-bodies-act-as/) [Clement of Alexandria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-of-alexandria/) > [When I was younger, I loved graveyards. They weren't spooky so much as mysterious. Each tombstone another story to uncover. Another life to learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pseudonymous-bosch/when-i-was-younger-i-loved-graveyards-they-weren-t-spooky-so-much-as/) [Pseudonymous Bosch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pseudonymous-bosch/) > [Most people say about graveyards: "Oh, it's just a bunch of dead people. It's creepy." But for me, there's an energy to it that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-burton/most-people-say-about-graveyards-oh-it-s-just-a-bunch-of-dead-people/) [Tim Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-burton/) > [I will gradually drop this subject of graveyards. I have been trying all I could to get down to the sentimental part of it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-will-gradually-drop-this-subject-of-graveyards-i-have-been-trying/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“The hush of the night sky is the silence of a graveyard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-chiang/the-hush-of-the-night-sky-is-the-silence-of-a-graveyard/) [Ted Chiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-chiang/) > [Those forms we fancy shadows, those strange lights That flash on dank morasses, the quick wind That smites us by the roadside—are the Night's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/those-forms-we-fancy-shadows-those-strange-lights-that-flash-on-dank/) [Thomas Bailey Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/) > [We are all our own graveyards, I believe; we squat amongst the tombs of the people we were. If we're healthy, every day is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/we-are-all-our-own-graveyards-i-believe-we-squat-amongst-the-tombs-of/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [Personally I have no bone to pick with graveyards, I take the air there willingly, perhaps more willingly than elsewhere, when take the air…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/personally-i-have-no-bone-to-pick-with-graveyards-i-take-the-air/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [Wall Street's graveyards are filled with men who were right too soon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-peter-hamilton/wall-street-s-graveyards-are-filled-with-men-who-were-right-too-soon/) William Peter Hamilton > [“Death was everywhere. Death was everything. Career. Desire. Dream. Poetry. Love. Youth itself. Dying became just another way of living. Graveyards sprang up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/death-was-everywhere-death-was-everything-career-desire-dream-poetry/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [As we go on with our lives we tend to forget that the jails and the hospitals and the madhouses and the graveyards are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/as-we-go-on-with-our-lives-we-tend-to-forget-that-the-jails-and-the/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [Nothing but great antiquity can make graveyards interesting to me. I have no friends there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/nothing-but-great-antiquity-can-make-graveyards-interesting-to-me-i/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More by Michael Cunningham > [“Mizzy has wandered into the garden. Carole looks contemplatively at him, says, "Lovely boy." "My wife's insanely younger brother. He's one of those kids…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/mizzy-has-wandered-into-the-garden-carole-looks-contemplatively-at/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [“Zoe loved Trancas's mother. She respected her exhausted and ironic hope for rebirth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/zoe-loved-trancas-s-mother-she-respected-her-exhausted-and-ironic/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [The lives great artists live and the books they write are two very different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/the-lives-great-artists-live-and-the-books-they-write-are-two-very/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [“How often since then has she wondered what might have happened if she'd tried to remain with him; if she’d returned Richard's kiss on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/how-often-since-then-has-she-wondered-what-might-have-happened-if-she/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [“...a full week of their mother's quiet fury over the fun they don't seem to be having and their father's dogged attempts to provide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/a-full-week-of-their-mother-s-quiet-fury-over-the-fun-they-don-t-seem/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [Oh, all you immigrants and visionaries, what do you hope to find here, who do you hope to become?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/oh-all-you-immigrants-and-visionaries-what-do-you-hope-to-find-here/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [“She wants to have baked a cake that banishes sorrow, even if only for a little while.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/she-wants-to-have-baked-a-cake-that-banishes-sorrow-even-if-only-for/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [“And yet, it gives Peter nothing. Not now. Not today. Not when he needs... more. More than this well-executed idea. More than the shark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/and-yet-it-gives-peter-nothing-not-now-not-today-not-when-he-needs/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [He insists on a version of you that is funnier, stranger, more eccentric and prfound thatn you suspect yourself to be--capable of doing more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/he-insists-on-a-version-of-you-that-is-funnier-stranger-more/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [The worst are full of passionate intensity while the best lack all conviction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/the-worst-are-full-of-passionate-intensity-while-the-best-lack-all/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [“And here he is, letting the massive steel street door click shut behind him, standing at the top of the three iron steps that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/and-here-he-is-letting-the-massive-steel-street-door-click-shut/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [It's the world, you live in it, even if some boy has made a fool of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/it-s-the-world-you-live-in-it-even-if-some-boy-has-made-a-fool-of-you/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [“She's had a long life. Now she's going to the Lord." "Frankly it creeps me out a little when you say things like that,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/she-s-had-a-long-life-now-she-s-going-to-the-lord-frankly-it-creeps/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [Any other vexations to report?" he asks. "I love the word 'vexations.'" "It's the 'x.' Nice to jump off a 'v' and bite into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/any-other-vexations-to-report-he-asks-i-love-the-word-vexations-it-s/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [Dead, we are revealed in our true dimensions, and they are surprisingly modest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/dead-we-are-revealed-in-our-true-dimensions-and-they-are-surprisingly/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) [Explore all 277 Michael Cunningham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) ## More Graveyard quotes > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [Cheshvan starts tonight," Rixon said, "What are you doing arsing around in a graveyard?" "Thinking." "Thinking?" "A process by which I use my brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/cheshvan-starts-tonight-rixon-said-what-are-you-doing-arsing-around/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [“In the middle of the cemetery is a grassy plane, strangely vacant. There are no granite tombs or crumbling concrete, just a sun-washed treeless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-caldwell-crosby/in-the-middle-of-the-cemetery-is-a-grassy-plane-strangely-vacant/) Molly Caldwell Crosby > [As we go on with our lives we tend to forget that the jails and the hospitals and the madhouses and the graveyards are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/as-we-go-on-with-our-lives-we-tend-to-forget-that-the-jails-and-the/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“The dead has always been within us, its just the graveyard where we lay to rest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/the-dead-has-always-been-within-us-its-just-the-graveyard-where-we/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [The stars begin to fade like guttering candles and are snuffed out one by one. Out in the depths of space the great celestial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-robert-harrison/the-stars-begin-to-fade-like-guttering-candles-and-are-snuffed-out/) [Edward Robert Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-robert-harrison/) > [They say 'life is precious'. To who? To you, when you're young and you've got a few dollars in your pocket. Tell that to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-stanhope/they-say-life-is-precious-to-who-to-you-when-you-re-young-and-you-ve/) [Doug Stanhope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-stanhope/) > [You can’t bring an unwritten place to life without losing something substantial. Manila is the cradle, the graveyard, the memory. The Mecca, the Cathedral,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-syjuco/you-can-t-bring-an-unwritten-place-to-life-without-losing-something/) [Miguel Syjuco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-syjuco/) > [“Some people die and you realize that the only mark they left on earth are the tomb stones under which they lie. The impacts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/some-people-die-and-you-realize-that-the-only-mark-they-left-on-earth/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [“What is the present if not the graveyard of the past where, for each of our deeds we dig a grave. Everything we do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mladen-or-evi/what-is-the-present-if-not-the-graveyard-of-the-past-where-for-each/) [Mladen Đorđević](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mladen-or-evi/) > [“Us in the graveyard, we wants you to stay alive. We wants you to surprise us and disappoint us and impress us and amaze…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/us-in-the-graveyard-we-wants-you-to-stay-alive-we-wants-you-to/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I sort of tried to get a basketball scholarship out of high school, but that didn't happen. 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