--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I see a shipwreck, I like to know…" description: "\"When I see a shipwreck, I like to know what caused the disaster...I learned nothing but the glow that wrapped her face when the soup came. That's the s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/o-henry-3281_disaster_when-i-see-a-shipwreck-i-like-to-know-wh_2721084.jpg" --- # When I see a shipwreck, I like to know what caused the… ![“When I see a shipwreck, I like to know what caused the disaster...I learned nothing but the glow that wrapped her face when the soup came. That's the story.” quote by O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/o-henry-3281_disaster_when-i-see-a-shipwreck-i-like-to-know-wh_2721084.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/o-henry-3281_disaster_when-i-see-a-shipwreck-i-like-to-know-wh_2721084.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/o-henry-3281_disaster_when-i-see-a-shipwreck-i-like-to-know-wh_2721084.jpg) > “When I see a shipwreck, I like to know what caused the disaster...I learned nothing but the glow that wrapped her face when the soup came. That's the story.” [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator observes a shipwreck, focusing on the visual glow rather than the cause, suggesting fascination with tragedy’s aesthetics. **In simple terms:** Focus on visual drama, not cause. Key Takeaway Notice aesthetic details in tragic events. Themes tragedy observation beauty Mood melancholic curious Type literary reflective When to use this quote - disaster reporting - artistic description - historical analysis Key Concepts aesthetic appreciation human curiosity Questions to Reflect On - Why are we drawn to tragic visuals? - How does aesthetic focus affect empathy? A Different Perspective Ignoring cause may impede learning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Caused Disaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caused-disaster-2881545/) [Disaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disaster/) [Disaster Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disaster-learned-2881547/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Know Caused](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-caused-2881548/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Shipwreck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shipwreck/) [Shipwreck Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shipwreck-like-2881546/) [Soup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soup/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) ## Related quotes > [“There were some things it was better not to know. They caused "metaphysical" anguish, for which there was as yet no remedy. 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Depressions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/all-depressions-are-caused-by-government-interference-and-the-cure-is/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Voyaging begins when one burns one's boats, adventures begin with a shipwreck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-serres/voyaging-begins-when-one-burns-one-s-boats-adventures-begin-with-a/) [Michel Serres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-serres/) > [My story starts at sea, a perilous voyage to an unknown land. A shipwreck. The wild waters roar and heave. The brave vessel is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/my-story-starts-at-sea-a-perilous-voyage-to-an-unknown-land-a/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [The Westerly Wind asserting his sway from the south-west quarter is often like a monarch gone mad, driving forth with wild imprecations the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-westerly-wind-asserting-his-sway-from-the-south-west-quarter-is/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [Now the night's breath responds to the sea, which I can scarcely hear from here, as it reminisces about its shipwrecks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-bousquet/now-the-night-s-breath-responds-to-the-sea-which-i-can-scarcely-hear/) [Joë Bousquet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-bousquet/) > [If you see the fury and hear the howling of the tempest, or read of shipwrecks, think of the storm of human passions causing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-kronstadt/if-you-see-the-fury-and-hear-the-howling-of-the-tempest-or-read-of/) [John of Kronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-kronstadt/) > [Erie, and Ontario, and Huron, and Superior, and Michigan possess an ocean-like expansiveness, with many of the ocean's noblest traits... they are swept by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/erie-and-ontario-and-huron-and-superior-and-michigan-possess-an-ocean/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Every gazette brings accounts of the untutored freaks of the wind,--shipwrecks and hurricanes which the mariner and planter acceptas special or general providences; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/every-gazette-brings-accounts-of-the-untutored-freaks-of-the-wind/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“So exquisitely perfect was the darkness of the heavens above that one would have difficulty believing it was a prison to the passengers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micheal-rivers/so-exquisitely-perfect-was-the-darkness-of-the-heavens-above-that-one/) [Micheal Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/micheal-rivers/) > [They make glorious shipwreck who are lost in seeking worlds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gotthold-ephraim-lessing/they-make-glorious-shipwreck-who-are-lost-in-seeking-worlds/) [Gotthold Ephraim Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gotthold-ephraim-lessing/) > [Salvation is not some felicitous state to which we can lift ourselves by our own bootstraps after the contemplation of sufficiently good examples. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-farrar-capon/salvation-is-not-some-felicitous-state-to-which-we-can-lift-ourselves/) [Robert Farrar Capon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-farrar-capon/) > [Have you ever considered, beloved other, how invisible we are to each other? We look at each other without seeing. We listen to each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/have-you-ever-considered-beloved-other-how-invisible-we-are-to-each/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Laws are not made like lime-twigs or nets, to catch everything that toucheth them; but rather like sea-marks, to guide from shipwreck the ignorant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-sidney/laws-are-not-made-like-lime-twigs-or-nets-to-catch-everything-that/) [Philip Sidney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-sidney/) ## More by O. Henry > [He seemed to be made of sunshine and blood-red tissue and clear weather.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/he-seemed-to-be-made-of-sunshine-and-blood-red-tissue-and-clear/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [My advice to you, if you should ever be in a hold up, is to line up with the cowards and save your bravery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/my-advice-to-you-if-you-should-ever-be-in-a-hold-up-is-to-line-up/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [“It did not exactly beggar description, but it certainly had that word on the lookout for the mendicancy squad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/it-did-not-exactly-beggar-description-but-it-certainly-had-that-word/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [Fortune is a prize to be won. Adventure is the road to it. Chance is what may lurk in the shadows at the roadside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/fortune-is-a-prize-to-be-won-adventure-is-the-road-to-it-chance-is/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [She plucked from my lapel the invisible strand of lint (the universal act of woman to proclaim ownership).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/she-plucked-from-my-lapel-the-invisible-strand-of-lint-the-universal/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [There is no well defined boundary line between honesty and dishonesty. The frontiers of one blend with the outside limits of the other, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/there-is-no-well-defined-boundary-line-between-honesty-and-dishonesty/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [All great men have declared that they owe their sucess to the aid and encouragement of some brilliant woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/all-great-men-have-declared-that-they-owe-their-sucess-to-the-aid-and/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [Those whom we first love we seldom marry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/those-whom-we-first-love-we-seldom-marry/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [Young artists must pave their way to Art by drawing pictures for magazine stories that young authors write to pave their way to Literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/young-artists-must-pave-their-way-to-art-by-drawing-pictures-for/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [A good story is like a bitter pill, with the sugar coating inside of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/a-good-story-is-like-a-bitter-pill-with-the-sugar-coating-inside-of-it/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [I've got some of my best yarns from park benches, lamp posts and newspaper stands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/i-ve-got-some-of-my-best-yarns-from-park-benches-lamp-posts-and/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [There are stories in everything. I've got some of my best yarns from park benches, lampposts, and newspaper stands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/there-are-stories-in-everything-i-ve-got-some-of-my-best-yarns-from/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [I never have time to read now. I did all my reading before I was twenty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/i-never-have-time-to-read-now-i-did-all-my-reading-before-i-was-twenty/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [Bride knoweth bride at the glance of an eye. And between them swiftly passes comfort and meaning in a language that man and widows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/bride-knoweth-bride-at-the-glance-of-an-eye-and-between-them-swiftly/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [No friendship is an accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/no-friendship-is-an-accident/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) [Explore all 135 O. Henry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) ## More Disaster quotes > [Public infrastructure around the world is facing unprecedented stress, with hurricanes, cyclones, floods and forest fires all increasing in frequency and intensity. It's easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/public-infrastructure-around-the-world-is-facing-unprecedented-stress/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [One of the undervalued contributors to Trump's stunning 2016 victory was the masterful performance Pence had in his debate against Hillary Clinton running mate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mollie-hemingway/one-of-the-undervalued-contributors-to-trump-s-stunning-2016-victory/) [Mollie Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mollie-hemingway/) > [You know, we can't beat ISIS. We can't do anything. We can't take care of our vets. We can't have good health care. "Obama…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/you-know-we-can-t-beat-isis-we-can-t-do-anything-we-can-t-take-care/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [My mind shrank from the menace sweeping down on us, as children's do from belief in death and misfortune, vainly clinging to the fancy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-pankhurst/my-mind-shrank-from-the-menace-sweeping-down-on-us-as-children-s-do/) [Sylvia Pankhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-pankhurst/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [You can't have people making decisions about the future of the world who are scientifically illiterate. 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And I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/you-can-t-have-people-making-decisions-about-the-future-of-the-world/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“She was—of course—perfectly normal— quiet and polite and reasonably intelligent and...normal and self destructive and lonely and terrified of every thing And she loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tah-the-trickster/she-was-of-course-perfectly-normal-quiet-and-polite-and-reasonably/) [Tah the Trickster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tah-the-trickster/) > [Obviously, it's my goal to be the top scorer in the Bundesliga, but it wouldn't be a disaster if I didn't achieve that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-gomez/obviously-it-s-my-goal-to-be-the-top-scorer-in-the-bundesliga-but-it/) [Mario Gomez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-gomez/) > [Yes, life in Chechnya so far looks more like a life after a natural disaster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/yes-life-in-chechnya-so-far-looks-more-like-a-life-after-a-natural/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [Even disasters -- there are always disasters when you travel -- can be turned into adventures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-french/even-disasters-there-are-always-disasters-when-you-travel-can-be/) [Marilyn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-french/) > [We are always just one successful terrorist attack away from a nuclear disaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-thompson/we-are-always-just-one-successful-terrorist-attack-away-from-a/) [Fred Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-thompson/) > [WHANGDEPOOTENAWAH, n. In the Ojibwa tongue, disaster; an unexpected affliction that strikes hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/whangdepootenawah-n-in-the-ojibwa-tongue-disaster-an-unexpected/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Architects mostly work for privileged people, people who have money and power, Power and money are invisible, so people hire us to visualize their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shigeru-ban/architects-mostly-work-for-privileged-people-people-who-have-money/) [Shigeru Ban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shigeru-ban/) > [The only aspect of our travels that is interesting to others is disaster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-gellmanmartha-gellman/the-only-aspect-of-our-travels-that-is-interesting-to-others-is/) [Martha GellmanMartha Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-gellmanmartha-gellman/) [Browse all 2,239 Disaster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disaster/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I see a shipwreck, I like to know what caused the disaster...I learned nothing but the glow that wrapped her face when the soup came. 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