--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The baking wind tore at his hat and he…" description: "\"“The baking wind tore at his hat and he held it by the brim with one hand. It relieved him to look at it, for the great river was like a long tale, of ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ac/paulette-jiles-13252_rivers_the-baking-wind-tore-at-his-hat-and-he-h_1164882.jpg" --- # The baking wind tore at his hat and he held it by the brim… ![“The baking wind tore at his hat and he held it by the brim with one hand. It relieved him to look at it, for the great river was like a long tale, of both great joy and great woe. And it seemed to be a story road that a person could take, and it would take him to some place where he could free his…” quote by Paulette Jiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ac/paulette-jiles-13252_rivers_the-baking-wind-tore-at-his-hat-and-he-h_1164882.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ac/paulette-jiles-13252_rivers_the-baking-wind-tore-at-his-hat-and-he-h_1164882.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ac/paulette-jiles-13252_rivers_the-baking-wind-tore-at-his-hat-and-he-h_1164882.jpg) > ““The baking wind tore at his hat and he held it by the brim with one hand. It relieved him to look at it, for the great river was like a long tale, of both great joy and great woe. And it seemed to be a story road that a person could take, and it would take him to some place where he could free his mind. Men had striven against one another to control the unreeling river-road, battling at New Madrid and Island Number Ten, at Baton Rouge and Vicksburg, in the heat of the summer and the humid choking air of the malarial swamps. But the river carried away men and guns and the garbage of war, covering it over, washing itself clean again as if they had never been. ”” [Paulette Jiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulette-jiles/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The river symbolizes history’s relentless flow, washing away conflict and offering a path to mental freedom. **In simple terms:** Rivers erase war and give peace. Key Takeaway Seek calm amid chaos. Themes history conflict renewal psychology nature Mood reflective melancholic hopeful Type literary philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - battlefields - personal reflection - post‑war recovery Key Concepts river as metaphor war trauma healing journey Questions to Reflect On - How can we find personal peace after collective trauma? - What does the river represent in your life? A Different Perspective The river’s cleansing is idealistic; human suffering often persists. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Baton rouge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baton-rouge/) [River](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/river/) [Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers/) ## Related quotes > [“Kasida hit the hard-packed red sand and gained speed, faster and faster. Celaena had a sudden moment of clarity then, as her hair ripped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/kasida-hit-the-hard-packed-red-sand-and-gained-speed-faster-and/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [Fain would I glide down a gentle river, but I am carried away by a torrent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-de-montesquieu/fain-would-i-glide-down-a-gentle-river-but-i-am-carried-away-by-a/) [Baron de Montesquieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-de-montesquieu/) > [Time was a face on the water, and like the great river before them, it did nothing but flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/time-was-a-face-on-the-water-and-like-the-great-river-before-them-it/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Be still like a mountain and flow like a great river.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/be-still-like-a-mountain-and-flow-like-a-great-river/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [In this sometimes turbulent world, the river is a cosmic symbol of durability and destiny; awesome, but steadfast. In this period of deep national…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hayes/in-this-sometimes-turbulent-world-the-river-is-a-cosmic-symbol-of/) [Helen Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hayes/) > [Just as a drop of water in the ocean cannot avail much; but if a great river runneth into it, that maketh a great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-bohme/just-as-a-drop-of-water-in-the-ocean-cannot-avail-much-but-if-a-great/) [Jakob Bohme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-bohme/) > [“On and on the Great River rolls, racing east. 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Our boats...are chafing each other, as they are tossed by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley-powell/we-are-now-ready-to-start-on-our-way-down-the-great-unknown-our-boats/) [John Wesley Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley-powell/) > [To connect with the great river we all need a path, but when you get down there there's only one river.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/to-connect-with-the-great-river-we-all-need-a-path-but-when-you-get/) [Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/) > [The great river-courses which have shaped the lives of men have hardly changed; and those other streams, the life-currents that ebb and flow in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/the-great-river-courses-which-have-shaped-the-lives-of-men-have/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“If you are open to receiving the essential nature of life, its intelligence will flow through you like a great river.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/if-you-are-open-to-receiving-the-essential-nature-of-life-its/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [In a great River great fish are found, but take heede, lest you bee drowned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/in-a-great-river-great-fish-are-found-but-take-heede-lest-you-bee/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) ## More by Paulette Jiles > [“No matter what side you were on, if you had survived Gettysburg you were to be congratulated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulette-jiles/no-matter-what-side-you-were-on-if-you-had-survived-gettysburg-you/) [Paulette Jiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulette-jiles/) > [“At the age he had attained with his life span short before him he had begun to look upon the human world with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulette-jiles/at-the-age-he-had-attained-with-his-life-span-short-before-him-he-had/) [Paulette Jiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulette-jiles/) > [“He wrote down, in a neat list, all the obligations of a sergeant because written information was what mattered in this world,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulette-jiles/he-wrote-down-in-a-neat-list-all-the-obligations-of-a-sergeant/) [Paulette Jiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulette-jiles/) > [“The world was in truth made of jackstraws. 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Laughter is good for the soul and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulette-jiles/he-saw-her-bright-fierce-little-face-break-into-laughter-when-the/) [Paulette Jiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulette-jiles/) > [“In the famine children saw their parents die and then went to live with the people on the other side. In their minds they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulette-jiles/in-the-famine-children-saw-their-parents-die-and-then-went-to-live/) [Paulette Jiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulette-jiles/) [Explore all 51 Paulette Jiles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulette-jiles/) ## More Baton rouge quotes > [Baton Rouge is small, so when somebody like me blowup, who they used to chase around the neighborhood, who was a wild little kid,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boosie/baton-rouge-is-small-so-when-somebody-like-me-blowup-who-they-used-to/) [Boosie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boosie/) > [I absolutely love doing games in Baton Rouge. 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