--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was not an exclamation so much, I…" description: "\"“It was not an exclamation so much, I think, as it was a warding off, an exertion of language upon ignorance and disorder.”\" — N. Scott Momaday" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c71/n-scott-momaday-12844_exclamation_it-was-not-an-exclamation-so-much-i-thin_1930624.png" --- # It was not an exclamation so much, I think, as it was a… ![“It was not an exclamation so much, I think, as it was a warding off, an exertion of language upon ignorance and disorder.” quote by N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c71/n-scott-momaday-12844_exclamation_it-was-not-an-exclamation-so-much-i-thin_1930624.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c71/n-scott-momaday-12844_exclamation_it-was-not-an-exclamation-so-much-i-thin_1930624.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c71/n-scott-momaday-12844_exclamation_it-was-not-an-exclamation-so-much-i-thin_1930624.png) > ““It was not an exclamation so much, I think, as it was a warding off, an exertion of language upon ignorance and disorder.”” [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Language can be used to push back against ignorance and chaos, acting as a protective force. **In simple terms:** Words fight disorder. Key Takeaway Use precise language to clarify. Themes language ignorance order communication Mood thoughtful analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - debates - teaching - writing - conflict resolution Key Concepts philosophy literary analysis Questions to Reflect On - How can you phrase ideas to reduce misunderstanding? - When does silence serve better than speech? A Different Perspective Words alone may not change entrenched ignorance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Exclamation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exclamation/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) ## Related quotes > [“Which one is the right way?" "Huh? You're asking me that ? How should I know?" "Mortals call you Buddha." "That is only because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/which-one-is-the-right-way-huh-you-re-asking-me-that-how-should-i/) [Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/) > [I am used to being places where I don't speak the language. What I am not used to is being in a part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-gibbs/i-am-used-to-being-places-where-i-don-t-speak-the-language-what-i-am/) [Lauren Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-gibbs/) > [“(I know, multiple exclamation marks are the sign of a deranged mind, but I’ve reached the age where I no longer care.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-maxfield/i-know-multiple-exclamation-marks-are-the-sign-of-a-deranged-mind-but/) Clive Maxfield > [How shall I ever tell Aunt Shaw?' she whispered, after some time of delicious silence. 'Let me speak to her.' 'Oh, no! I owe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/how-shall-i-ever-tell-aunt-shaw-she-whispered-after-some-time-of/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [I love to accent movement. The eye goes to where the white is - you know, the glove. And the feet, if you're dancing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/i-love-to-accent-movement-the-eye-goes-to-where-the-white-is-you-know/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [Numbersign questionmark you" and "Asterisk exclamation point the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/numbersign-questionmark-you-and-asterisk-exclamation-point-the-world/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [Five exclamation marks, the sure sign of an insane mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/five-exclamation-marks-the-sure-sign-of-an-insane-mind/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Ellipses," according to Henry, are "fucking excellent." The exclamation mark is just a weird guy who talks too loudly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-crowley/ellipses-according-to-henry-are-fucking-excellent-the-exclamation/) [Cath Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-crowley/) > [I want to change my punctuation. I long for exclamation marks, but I'm drowning in ellipses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/i-want-to-change-my-punctuation-i-long-for-exclamation-marks-but-i-m/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [Charlotte slammed the paper down onto her desk with an exclamation of rage. “Aloysius Starkweather is the most stubborn, hypocritical, obstinate, degenerate—” She broke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/charlotte-slammed-the-paper-down-onto-her-desk-with-an-exclamation-of/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [And all those exclamation marks, you notice? Five? A sure sign of someone who wears his underpants on his head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/and-all-those-exclamation-marks-you-notice-five-a-sure-sign-of/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Do we want blanks, asterisks and exclamation marks which people can fill in with their own imaginations, or are we prepared and strong enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/do-we-want-blanks-asterisks-and-exclamation-marks-which-people-can/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [No parent can consistently teach faith in Christ who profanes the name of Deity. Profanity is never heard in the well-ordered home. Swearing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-o-mckay/no-parent-can-consistently-teach-faith-in-christ-who-profanes-the/) [David O. McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-o-mckay/) > [I think President Barack Obama has been an extraordinarily successful president, and that this period will record that with a bunch of exclamation points.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cass-sunstein/i-think-president-barack-obama-has-been-an-extraordinarily-successful/) [Cass Sunstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cass-sunstein/) > [The night is falling down around us. Meteors rain like fireworks, quick rips in the seam of the dark... Every second, another streak of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-night-is-falling-down-around-us-meteors-rain-like-fireworks-quick/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) ## More by N. Scott Momaday > [It is here that I can concentrate my mind upon the Remembered Earth. It is here that I am most conscious of being, here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/it-is-here-that-i-can-concentrate-my-mind-upon-the-remembered-earth/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [“He wondered what his sorrow was and could not remember.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/he-wondered-what-his-sorrow-was-and-could-not-remember/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [I wonder if, in the dark night of the sea, the octopus dreams of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/i-wonder-if-in-the-dark-night-of-the-sea-the-octopus-dreams-of-me/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [Sometimes, I think the best kind of poem is one in which there is an acute balance between what is humorous and that which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/sometimes-i-think-the-best-kind-of-poem-is-one-in-which-there-is-an/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [Once in his life a man ought to concentrate his mind upon the remembered earth. He ought to give himself up to a particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/once-in-his-life-a-man-ought-to-concentrate-his-mind-upon-the/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [My father was a painter and he taught art. He once said to me, 'I never knew an Indian child who could not draw.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/my-father-was-a-painter-and-he-taught-art-he-once-said-to-me-i-never/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [“If coupling should but make us whole / And of the selfsame mind and soul, / Then couple let's in celebration; / We have contained the population.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/if-coupling-should-but-make-us-whole-and-of-the-selfsame-mind-and/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [In the beginning was the word, and it was spoken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/in-the-beginning-was-the-word-and-it-was-spoken/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [The Kiowas reckoned their stature by the distance they could see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/the-kiowas-reckoned-their-stature-by-the-distance-they-could-see/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [“Once in his life a man ought to concentrate his mind upon the remembered earth. He ought to give himself up to a particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/once-in-his-life-a-man-ought-to-concentrate-his-mind-upon-the-2/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [Indians are marvelous storytellers. In some ways, that oral tradition is stronger than the written tradition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/indians-are-marvelous-storytellers-in-some-ways-that-oral-tradition/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [Your imagination comes to life, and this, you think, is where Creation was begun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/your-imagination-comes-to-life-and-this-you-think-is-where-creation/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [As far as I am concerned, poetry is a statement concerning the human condition, composed in verse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/as-far-as-i-am-concerned-poetry-is-a-statement-concerning-the-human/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [It's a landscape that has to be seen to be believed. And as I say on occasion, it may have to be believed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/it-s-a-landscape-that-has-to-be-seen-to-be-believed-and-as-i-say-on/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [There was only the dark infinity in which nothing was. And something happened. At the distance of a star something happened, and everything began.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/there-was-only-the-dark-infinity-in-which-nothing-was-and-something/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) [Explore all 53 N. Scott Momaday quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) ## More Exclamation quotes > [The night is falling down around us. Meteors rain like fireworks, quick rips in the seam of the dark... Every second, another streak of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-night-is-falling-down-around-us-meteors-rain-like-fireworks-quick/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [I think President Barack Obama has been an extraordinarily successful president, and that this period will record that with a bunch of exclamation points.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cass-sunstein/i-think-president-barack-obama-has-been-an-extraordinarily-successful/) [Cass Sunstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cass-sunstein/) > [No parent can consistently teach faith in Christ who profanes the name of Deity. Profanity is never heard in the well-ordered home. Swearing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-o-mckay/no-parent-can-consistently-teach-faith-in-christ-who-profanes-the/) [David O. McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-o-mckay/) > [Do we want blanks, asterisks and exclamation marks which people can fill in with their own imaginations, or are we prepared and strong enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/do-we-want-blanks-asterisks-and-exclamation-marks-which-people-can/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [And all those exclamation marks, you notice? Five? A sure sign of someone who wears his underpants on his head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/and-all-those-exclamation-marks-you-notice-five-a-sure-sign-of/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Charlotte slammed the paper down onto her desk with an exclamation of rage. “Aloysius Starkweather is the most stubborn, hypocritical, obstinate, degenerate—” She broke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/charlotte-slammed-the-paper-down-onto-her-desk-with-an-exclamation-of/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I want to change my punctuation. I long for exclamation marks, but I'm drowning in ellipses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/i-want-to-change-my-punctuation-i-long-for-exclamation-marks-but-i-m/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [“Ellipses," according to Henry, are "fucking excellent." The exclamation mark is just a weird guy who talks too loudly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-crowley/ellipses-according-to-henry-are-fucking-excellent-the-exclamation/) [Cath Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-crowley/) > [Five exclamation marks, the sure sign of an insane mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/five-exclamation-marks-the-sure-sign-of-an-insane-mind/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Numbersign questionmark you" and "Asterisk exclamation point the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/numbersign-questionmark-you-and-asterisk-exclamation-point-the-world/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [I love to accent movement. The eye goes to where the white is - you know, the glove. And the feet, if you're dancing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/i-love-to-accent-movement-the-eye-goes-to-where-the-white-is-you-know/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [How shall I ever tell Aunt Shaw?' she whispered, after some time of delicious silence. 'Let me speak to her.' 'Oh, no! I owe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/how-shall-i-ever-tell-aunt-shaw-she-whispered-after-some-time-of/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [“(I know, multiple exclamation marks are the sign of a deranged mind, but I’ve reached the age where I no longer care.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-maxfield/i-know-multiple-exclamation-marks-are-the-sign-of-a-deranged-mind-but/) Clive Maxfield > [“I like you, period." "I like you, exclamation point.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-cunning/i-like-you-period-i-like-you-exclamation-point/) [Olivia Cunning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-cunning/) > [20 or 30 exclamation points can go a long way to making the tone of your email excited and cheerful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-cooper/20-or-30-exclamation-points-can-go-a-long-way-to-making-the-tone-of/) [Sarah Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-cooper/) [Browse all 121 Exclamation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exclamation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It was not an exclamation so much, I think, as it was a warding off, an exertion of language upon ignorance and disorder.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "N. 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