--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ... Oceanic malaise. I never saw anyone…" description: "\"... Oceanic malaise. I never saw anyone reading anything more demanding than a comic book. I never heard any youth express an interest in science or ar..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/paul-theroux-913_art_oceanic-malaise-i-never-saw-anyone-readi_2862929.jpg" --- # ... Oceanic malaise. I never saw anyone reading anything… ![“... Oceanic malaise. I never saw anyone reading anything more demanding than a comic book. I never heard any youth express an interest in science or art. No one even talked politics. It was all idleness, and whenever I asked someone a question, no matter how simple, no matter how well the person…” quote by Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/paul-theroux-913_art_oceanic-malaise-i-never-saw-anyone-readi_2862929.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/paul-theroux-913_art_oceanic-malaise-i-never-saw-anyone-readi_2862929.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/paul-theroux-913_art_oceanic-malaise-i-never-saw-anyone-readi_2862929.jpg) > “... Oceanic malaise. I never saw anyone reading anything more demanding than a comic book. I never heard any youth express an interest in science or art. No one even talked politics. It was all idleness, and whenever I asked someone a question, no matter how simple, no matter how well the person spoke English, there was always a long pause before I got a reply, and I found these Pacific pauses maddening. And there was giggling but no humor - no wit. It was just foolery.” [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Youth disengagement from intellectual pursuits signals cultural stagnation **In simple terms:** Young people lack interest in deeper topics Key Takeaway Encourage curiosity and critical thinking in youth Themes culture education apathy Mood somber concerned Type observational critical When to use this quote - school curricula - community programs - media literacy Key Concepts sociology media studies Questions to Reflect On - What drives youth apathy toward arts and science? - How can we inspire meaningful engagement? A Different Perspective Changing media habits may be hard to reverse ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Comic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comic/) [Comic book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comic-book/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Foolery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foolery/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Idleness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idleness/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Maddening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maddening/) [Malaise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/malaise/) [Pacific](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pacific/) [Pauses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pauses/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Wit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wit/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [Home is always the impossible subject, multilayered and maddening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/home-is-always-the-impossible-subject-multilayered-and-maddening/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [If a man ordered a beer milkshake he'd better do it in a town where he wasn't known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/if-a-man-ordered-a-beer-milkshake-he-d-better-do-it-in-a-town-where/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [The small amount of foolery wise men have makes a great show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/the-small-amount-of-foolery-wise-men-have-makes-a-great-show/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Let me say no more. Words do no justice to the hidden meaning. Everything immediately becomes slightly different when it is expressed in words,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/let-me-say-no-more-words-do-no-justice-to-the-hidden-meaning/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [You never see animals going through the absurd and often horrible fooleries of magic and religion. . . . Dogs do not ritually urinate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/you-never-see-animals-going-through-the-absurd-and-often-horrible-2/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“Utter foolery shouldn't be delegated”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsay-buroker/utter-foolery-shouldn-t-be-delegated/) [Lindsay Buroker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsay-buroker/) > [“Manhood is called foolery when it stands / Against a falling fabric.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/manhood-is-called-foolery-when-it-stands-against-a-falling-fabric/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [If there be no eternal life, still the enjoyment of spiritual thoughts as ideals is keener and makes a man happier, whilst the foolery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/if-there-be-no-eternal-life-still-the-enjoyment-of-spiritual-thoughts/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [That we should establish ourselves in a sense of GOD’s Presence, by continually conversing with Him. That it was a shameful thing to quit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brother-lawrence/that-we-should-establish-ourselves-in-a-sense-of-god-s-presence-by-2/) [Brother Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brother-lawrence/) > [“The 'fool' is an innocent, a simpleton, but truths issue from his mouth that are not simply tolerated but adopted, by virtue of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lacan/the-fool-is-an-innocent-a-simpleton-but-truths-issue-from-his-mouth/) [Jacques Lacan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lacan/) > [“High Lord of Prythian indeed. High Lord of Foolery was more like it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/high-lord-of-prythian-indeed-high-lord-of-foolery-was-more-like-it/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [Whoever wants music instead of noise, joy instead of pleasure, soul instead of gold, creative work instead of business, passion instead of foolery, finds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/whoever-wants-music-instead-of-noise-joy-instead-of-pleasure-soul/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Foolery, sir, does walk about the orb like the sun; it shines everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/foolery-sir-does-walk-about-the-orb-like-the-sun-it-shines-everywhere/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [My soul, never laugh at sin's fooleries, lest thou come to smile at sin itself. It is thine enemy, and thy Lord's enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-soul-never-laugh-at-sin-s-fooleries-lest-thou-come-to-smile-at-sin/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Thou little thinkest what a little foolery governs the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-selden/thou-little-thinkest-what-a-little-foolery-governs-the-world/) [John Selden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-selden/) ## More by Paul Theroux > [I feel as if my mission is to write, to see, to observe, and I feel lazy if I'm not reaching conclusions. I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/i-feel-as-if-my-mission-is-to-write-to-see-to-observe-and-i-feel-lazy/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [The larger an English industry was, the more likely it was to go bankrupt, because the English were not naturally corporate people; they disliked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-larger-an-english-industry-was-the-more-likely-it-was-to-go/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [Maine out of season is unmistakably a great destination: hospitable, good-humored, plenty of elbow room, short days, dark nights of crackling ice crystals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/maine-out-of-season-is-unmistakably-a-great-destination-hospitable/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [You can't write about a friend, you can only write about a former friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/you-can-t-write-about-a-friend-you-can-only-write-about-a-former/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [“sightseeing, an activity that delights the truly idle because it seems so much like scholarship, gawping and eavesdropping on antiquity, flattering oneself with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/sightseeing-an-activity-that-delights-the-truly-idle-because-it-seems/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [The Australian Book of Etiquette is a very slim volume.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-australian-book-of-etiquette-is-a-very-slim-volume/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [Tourists who go to Africa have more of a traditional experience than Africans do. A tourist goes on safari; Africans don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/tourists-who-go-to-africa-have-more-of-a-traditional-experience-than/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [In a way, Che Guevara's fate was far worse than Simon Bolivar's. Guevara's collapse was complete: his intentions were forgotten, but his style was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/in-a-way-che-guevara-s-fate-was-far-worse-than-simon-bolivar-s/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [It is the simplest fact of Indian life: there are too many Indians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/it-is-the-simplest-fact-of-indian-life-there-are-too-many-indians/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [Pain does not create a long-lasting memory, but the memory of luxury exerts itself for ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/pain-does-not-create-a-long-lasting-memory-but-the-memory-of-luxury/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [When I began to make some money, I really wanted to have a home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/when-i-began-to-make-some-money-i-really-wanted-to-have-a-home/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [Men in their late 50s often make very bad decisions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/men-in-their-late-50s-often-make-very-bad-decisions/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [The wish to disappear sends many travelers away. If you are thoroughly sick of being kept waiting at home or at work, travel is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-wish-to-disappear-sends-many-travelers-away-if-you-are-thoroughly/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [To a lot of Africans, seeing an animal is a something of a rarity. So it's a paradox of this sort of parallel life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/to-a-lot-of-africans-seeing-an-animal-is-a-something-of-a-rarity-so/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [The wish to travel seems to me characteristically human: the desire to move, to satisfy your curiosity or ease your fears, to change the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-wish-to-travel-seems-to-me-characteristically-human-the-desire-to/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) [Explore all 328 Paul Theroux quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "... Oceanic malaise. I never saw anyone reading anything more demanding than a comic book. I never heard any youth express an interest in science or art. No one even talked politics. It was all idleness, and whenever I asked someone a question, no matter how simple, no matter how well the person spoke English, there was always a long pause before I got a reply, and I found these Pacific pauses maddening. And there was giggling but no humor - no wit. It was just foolery.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Theroux" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/oceanic-malaise-i-never-saw-anyone-reading-anything-more-demanding/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/oceanic-malaise-i-never-saw-anyone-reading-anything-more-demanding/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/paul-theroux-913_art_oceanic-malaise-i-never-saw-anyone-readi_2862929.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/paul-theroux-913_art_oceanic-malaise-i-never-saw-anyone-readi_2862929.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/paul-theroux-913_art_oceanic-malaise-i-never-saw-anyone-readi_2862929.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“... Oceanic malaise. I never saw anyone reading anything more demanding than a comic book. I never heard any…” — Paul Theroux", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Paul Theroux", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "... Oceanic malaise. I never saw...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/oceanic-malaise-i-never-saw-anyone-reading-anything-more-demanding/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/oceanic-malaise-i-never-saw-anyone-reading-anything-more-demanding/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```