--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ghosts everywhere. Even the living were…" description: "\"“Ghosts everywhere. Even the living were only ghosts in the making. You learned to ration your commitment to them. This moment in this tent already had..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b6/pat-barker-12512_getting-old_ghosts-everywhere-even-the-living-were-o_2467392.jpg" --- # Ghosts everywhere. Even the living were only ghosts in the… ![“Ghosts everywhere. Even the living were only ghosts in the making. You learned to ration your commitment to them. This moment in this tent already had the quality of remembered experience. Or perhaps he was simply getting old. But then, after all, in trench time he was old. A generation lasted six…” quote by Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b6/pat-barker-12512_getting-old_ghosts-everywhere-even-the-living-were-o_2467392.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b6/pat-barker-12512_getting-old_ghosts-everywhere-even-the-living-were-o_2467392.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b6/pat-barker-12512_getting-old_ghosts-everywhere-even-the-living-were-o_2467392.jpg) > ““Ghosts everywhere. Even the living were only ghosts in the making. You learned to ration your commitment to them. This moment in this tent already had the quality of remembered experience. Or perhaps he was simply getting old. But then, after all, in trench time he was old. A generation lasted six months, less than that on the Somme, barely twelve weeks.”” [Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. War erodes identity, turning soldiers into fleeting shadows of themselves, while they cling to fleeting moments of humanity. **In simple terms:** War makes people feel like ghosts, yet they seek meaning. Key Takeaway Remember humanity amid conflict. Themes war identity memory trauma Mood somber reflective Type literary historical When to use this quote - combat - veteran support - historical education Key Concepts existential loss historical trauma Questions to Reflect On - How do individuals preserve self in war? - What rituals restore humanity after conflict? A Different Perspective War’s dehumanization can be overwhelming. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Getting old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting-old/) [Ghosts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghosts/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [All songs are living ghosts. And long for a living voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-kennelly/all-songs-are-living-ghosts-and-long-for-a-living-voice/) [Brendan Kennelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-kennelly/) > [“Sir, how many ghosts will be living here? Really, this isn’t a graveyard.” Harriet from To Love A London Ghost”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maeve-alpin/sir-how-many-ghosts-will-be-living-here-really-this-isn-t-a-graveyard/) Maeve Alpin > [“A train full of shadows. Of living ghosts. On a journey to nowhere.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-larkin/a-train-full-of-shadows-of-living-ghosts-on-a-journey-to-nowhere/) [John Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-larkin/) > [“He says you kill ghosts for a living. Like you’re a ghostbuster or something.” “I’m not a ghostbuster.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendare-blake/he-says-you-kill-ghosts-for-a-living-like-you-re-a-ghostbuster-or/) [Kendare Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendare-blake/) > [It occurred to me that if I were a ghost, this ambiance was what I'd miss most: the ordinary, day-to-day bustle of the living.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/it-occurred-to-me-that-if-i-were-a-ghost-this-ambiance-was-what-i-d/) [Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/) > [In my experience, ghosts are made up only of the living, people you know are out there but are forever out of range](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-johnson/in-my-experience-ghosts-are-made-up-only-of-the-living-people-you/) [Adam Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-johnson/) > [The way that I feel about my Jewish identity has been really radically changed by events in life. Like, becoming a writer is one.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/the-way-that-i-feel-about-my-jewish-identity-has-been-really/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [When I first started, I was really nervous. You could hear my voice quiver. So I started drinking a bit and that helped. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-mcgraw/when-i-first-started-i-was-really-nervous-you-could-hear-my-voice/) [Tim McGraw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-mcgraw/) > [Our souls are getting older and we're tired of doing things the same old way. We want to find some real solutions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/echo-bodine/our-souls-are-getting-older-and-we-re-tired-of-doing-things-the-same/) [Echo Bodine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/echo-bodine/) > [I'm getting back to my old roots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiger-woods/i-m-getting-back-to-my-old-roots/) [Tiger Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiger-woods/) > [I'm still the baddest expletive in the world. Yeah, I'm getting older, but Kareem got older. Hakeem got older. I don't need Earthlings' respect.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-m-still-the-baddest-expletive-in-the-world-yeah-i-m-getting-older/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [“Pretty girls lie at the centre of straight culture, dyke culture, fag culture. They sell everything, they buy everything, they ruin great men and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/pretty-girls-lie-at-the-centre-of-straight-culture-dyke-culture-fag/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“I walked over to her. She took my hand. “You’re a fine kid, Frank. There’s something wild and hard inside you that needs gentling,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-robbins/i-walked-over-to-her-she-took-my-hand-you-re-a-fine-kid-frank-there-s/) [Harold Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-robbins/) > [Getting older doesn't help you in the fact that you might have covered some of this ground before. So you're listening to a song…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-brooks/getting-older-doesn-t-help-you-in-the-fact-that-you-might-have/) [Garth Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-brooks/) > [I feel excited about getting older as an actress, too. I think there are some amazing opportunities around the corner and I don't need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sutton-foster/i-feel-excited-about-getting-older-as-an-actress-too-i-think-there/) [Sutton Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sutton-foster/) ## More by Pat Barker > [“But I shot the dog myself. I took him into the barn holding on to his collar. He knew something bad was going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/but-i-shot-the-dog-myself-i-took-him-into-the-barn-holding-on-to-his/) [Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/) > [When I'm writing the first draft, I'm writing in a very slovenly way: anything to get the outline of the story on paper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/when-i-m-writing-the-first-draft-i-m-writing-in-a-very-slovenly-way/) [Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/) > [When writing about historical characters I try to be as accurate as possible, and in particular not to misrepresent the view they held. With…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/when-writing-about-historical-characters-i-try-to-be-as-accurate-as/) [Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/) > [That balance between involvement and detachment is what novelists do. It's the ideal relationship between a novelist and a character, I think, total involvement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/that-balance-between-involvement-and-detachment-is-what-novelists-do/) [Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/) > [Murder is only killing in the wrong place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/murder-is-only-killing-in-the-wrong-place/) [Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/) > [The sky darkened, the air grew colder, but he didn't mind. It didn't occur to him to move. This was the right place. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/the-sky-darkened-the-air-grew-colder-but-he-didn-t-mind-it-didn-t/) [Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/) > ['Undertones of War' by Edmund Blunden seems to get less attention than the memoirs of Siegfried Sassoon and Robert Graves, but it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/undertones-of-war-by-edmund-blunden-seems-to-get-less-attention-than/) [Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/) > [I don't think it's possible to c-call yourself a C-Christian and... and j-just leave out the awkward bits.' -Wilfred Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/i-don-t-think-it-s-possible-to-c-call-yourself-a-c-christian-and-and/) [Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/) > [The way I see it, when you put the uniform on, in effect you sign a contract. And you don't back out of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/the-way-i-see-it-when-you-put-the-uniform-on-in-effect-you-sign-a/) [Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/) > [“Half the world's work's done by hopeless neurotics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/half-the-world-s-work-s-done-by-hopeless-neurotics/) [Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/) > [Culturally, the First World War is the war that stands in for other wars,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/culturally-the-first-world-war-is-the-war-that-stands-in-for-other/) [Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/) > [Fiction should be about moral dilemmas that are so bloody difficult that the author doesn't know the answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/fiction-should-be-about-moral-dilemmas-that-are-so-bloody-difficult/) [Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/) > [My grandmother's first husband was a spiritualist medium. What fascinates me about that is the balance between conviction and sincerity and trickery, which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/my-grandmother-s-first-husband-was-a-spiritualist-medium-what/) [Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/) > [“It was... the Great White God de-throned, I suppose. Because we did, we quite unselfconsciously assumed we were the measure of all things. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/it-was-the-great-white-god-de-throned-i-suppose-because-we-did-we/) [Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/) > [Sometimes, in the trenches, you get the sense of something, ancient. One trench we held, it had skulls in the side, embedded, like mushrooms.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/sometimes-in-the-trenches-you-get-the-sense-of-something-ancient-one/) [Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/) [Explore all 54 Pat Barker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/) ## More Getting old quotes > [I feel excited about getting older as an actress, too. I think there are some amazing opportunities around the corner and I don't need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sutton-foster/i-feel-excited-about-getting-older-as-an-actress-too-i-think-there/) [Sutton Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sutton-foster/) > [Getting older doesn't help you in the fact that you might have covered some of this ground before. So you're listening to a song…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-brooks/getting-older-doesn-t-help-you-in-the-fact-that-you-might-have/) [Garth Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-brooks/) > [“I walked over to her. She took my hand. “You’re a fine kid, Frank. There’s something wild and hard inside you that needs gentling,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-robbins/i-walked-over-to-her-she-took-my-hand-you-re-a-fine-kid-frank-there-s/) [Harold Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-robbins/) > [“Pretty girls lie at the centre of straight culture, dyke culture, fag culture. They sell everything, they buy everything, they ruin great men and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/pretty-girls-lie-at-the-centre-of-straight-culture-dyke-culture-fag/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [I'm still the baddest expletive in the world. Yeah, I'm getting older, but Kareem got older. Hakeem got older. I don't need Earthlings' respect.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-m-still-the-baddest-expletive-in-the-world-yeah-i-m-getting-older/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [I'm getting back to my old roots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiger-woods/i-m-getting-back-to-my-old-roots/) [Tiger Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiger-woods/) > [Our souls are getting older and we're tired of doing things the same old way. We want to find some real solutions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/echo-bodine/our-souls-are-getting-older-and-we-re-tired-of-doing-things-the-same/) [Echo Bodine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/echo-bodine/) > [When I first started, I was really nervous. You could hear my voice quiver. So I started drinking a bit and that helped. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-mcgraw/when-i-first-started-i-was-really-nervous-you-could-hear-my-voice/) [Tim McGraw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-mcgraw/) > [The way that I feel about my Jewish identity has been really radically changed by events in life. Like, becoming a writer is one.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/the-way-that-i-feel-about-my-jewish-identity-has-been-really/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [Everything runs its course. We had told a lot of stories that happened in our life. My kid was getting older, and we were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howie-mandel/everything-runs-its-course-we-had-told-a-lot-of-stories-that-happened/) [Howie Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howie-mandel/) > [“I'm 68 years old, and somebody asked if I'm retired. I told him, "No, I'll still be writing long after I'm dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-brackin/i-m-68-years-old-and-somebody-asked-if-i-m-retired-i-told-him-no-i-ll/) [Ron Brackin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-brackin/) > [Most famous people get younger and younger. I sometimes ask myself that question: 'How come I'm the only person who's getting older?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-beckham/most-famous-people-get-younger-and-younger-i-sometimes-ask-myself/) [Victoria Beckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-beckham/) > [“I'm getting old, thought Eileen Calder. Old and worn out and cynical. And being cynical is a lot worse than being old or worn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sheffield/i-m-getting-old-thought-eileen-calder-old-and-worn-out-and-cynical/) [Charles Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sheffield/) > [I'm not bothered by the idea of getting old, or I guess you could say by having arrived at old. I was 10 when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/i-m-not-bothered-by-the-idea-of-getting-old-or-i-guess-you-could-say/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Germany's population is getting older and older and smaller and smaller. To be able to finance our welfare system over the long term, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-achleitner/germany-s-population-is-getting-older-and-older-and-smaller-and/) [Paul Achleitner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-achleitner/) [Browse all 600 Getting old quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting-old/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Ghosts everywhere. Even the living were only ghosts in the making. You learned to ration your commitment to them. This moment in this tent already had the quality of remembered experience. Or perhaps he was simply getting old. But then, after all, in trench time he was old. 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