Agency Quote by Neil Gaiman
“There was something about being in the vicinity of Grahame Coats that always made Fat Charlie (a) speak in cliches and (b) begin to daydream about huge black helicopters first opening fire upon, then dropping buckets of flaming napalm onto the offices of the Grahame Coats agency. Fat Charlie would not be in the office in those daydreams. He would be sitting in a chair outside a little cafe on the other side of Aldwych, sipping a frothy coffee and occasionally cheering at an exceptionally well-flung bucket of napalm.”
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Sandman, Volume 5: Brief Lives, 1992
The presence of a powerful figure triggers both cliché speech and violent daydreams about destructive power, contrasting with a desire for calm observation outside the chaos.
In simple terms: Powerful people can provoke extreme thoughts while we long for peace.
Key Takeaway
Recognize how influence shapes imagination.
Themes
influence
imagination
violence
calm
observation
Mood
reflective
ironic
darkly humorous
Type
literary
character analysis
psychological
When to use this quote
- creative writing
- character study
- mental health
- stress relief
Key Concepts
psychology
power dynamics
daydreaming
Questions to Reflect On
- How does authority affect your thoughts?
- What calm spaces help you reset?
A Different Perspective
The daydreams are fantastical and not a call to actual violence.
![“Ms. Wormwood: Calvin, can you tell us what Lewis and Clark did? Calvin: No, but I can recite the secret superhero origin of each member of Captain Napalm's Thermonuclear League of Liberty. Ms. Wormwood: See me after class, Calvin. Calvin: [retrospectively] I'm not dumb. I just have a command of…” quote by Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/3eb/bill-watterson-728_captains_ms-wormwood-calvin-can-you-tell-us-what_699320.jpg)
![“[T]hey could not help being amused every time another little human believed itself the center of its world, as each of us does.” quote by Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/19e/neil-gaiman-29_amused_t-hey-could-not-help-being-amused-every_4551.jpg)
![“We have no clear ideas of the agency of [demonic] spirits, nor is it necessary. The Scripture says little to satisfy our curiosity; but tells us plainly that he is always watching us, and desiring to sift us as wheat. I believe we give him no more than his due, when we charge him with having a…” quote by John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c75/john-newton-6629_abundance_we-have-no-clear-ideas-of-the-agency-of_2907.jpg)
