--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Can it be, I thought, can it actually be?…" description: "\"“Can it be, I thought, can it actually be? …could he be all of them: Rine the runner and Rine the gambler and Rine the briber and Rine the lover and Ri..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af8/ralph-ellison-2676_existentialism_can-it-be-i-thought-can-it-actually-be-c_537513.png" --- # Can it be, I thought, can it actually be? …could he be all… ![“Can it be, I thought, can it actually be? …could he be all of them: Rine the runner and Rine the gambler and Rine the briber and Rine the lover and Rinehart the Reverend? Could he himself be both rind and heart? …Rinehart the rounder. It was true as I was true. His world was possibility and he…” quote by Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af8/ralph-ellison-2676_existentialism_can-it-be-i-thought-can-it-actually-be-c_537513.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af8/ralph-ellison-2676_existentialism_can-it-be-i-thought-can-it-actually-be-c_537513.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af8/ralph-ellison-2676_existentialism_can-it-be-i-thought-can-it-actually-be-c_537513.png) > ““Can it be, I thought, can it actually be? …could he be all of them: Rine the runner and Rine the gambler and Rine the briber and Rine the lover and Rinehart the Reverend? Could he himself be both rind and heart? …Rinehart the rounder. It was true as I was true. His world was possibility and he knew it. He was years ahead of me and I was a fool. I must have been crazy and blind. The world in which we lived was without boundaries...All boundaries down, freedom was not only the recognition of necessity, it was the recognition of possibility. And sitting there trembling I caught a brief glimpse of the possibilities posed by Rinehart’s multiple personalities…”” [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage explores how embracing multiple facets of identity expands perception of freedom and possibility, breaking societal limits. **In simple terms:** Seeing many sides of yourself opens new freedoms. Key Takeaway Embrace your many selves. Themes identity freedom possibility self‑discovery Mood reflective hopeful introspective Type literary philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - creative writing - therapy - social activism Key Concepts multifaceted self psychology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How do multiple roles shape your choices? - What limits arise when boundaries dissolve? A Different Perspective The view may overlook the chaos of fragmented identity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Existentialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existentialism/) [Possibilities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibilities/) [Possibilities Posed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibilities-posed-4502304/) [Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility/) [Possibility Knew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility-knew-4502303/) [World Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-possibility-472190/) ## Related quotes > [“And he saw now that it wasn't real. That it had never been real. He could feel that other life shrinking and losing its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/and-he-saw-now-that-it-wasn-t-real-that-it-had-never-been-real-he/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [The world is a possibility if only you'll discover it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/the-world-is-a-possibility-if-only-you-ll-discover-it/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [We're in a new world. We're in a world in which the possibility of terrorism, married up with technology, could make us very, very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/we-re-in-a-new-world-we-re-in-a-world-in-which-the-possibility-of/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [I want world leaders to choose books over bullets...We can afford to give every girl 12 years of free education. It is absolutely in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malala-yousafzai/i-want-world-leaders-to-choose-books-over-bullets-we-can-afford-to/) [Malala Yousafzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malala-yousafzai/) > [I feel like there’s a space of personal freedom for me where my art-making happens. When I go to that space, I’m completely in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-owens/i-feel-like-there-s-a-space-of-personal-freedom-for-me-where-my-art/) [Laura Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-owens/) > [I believe it is quite possible for us to obtain an outer peace at the present time. Historically speaking, when human beings are faced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peace-pilgrim/i-believe-it-is-quite-possible-for-us-to-obtain-an-outer-peace-at-the/) [Peace Pilgrim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peace-pilgrim/) > [To actually be possessed or possess someone in a way that is unimaginable when you're a young person struggling about your body and whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-hollibaugh/to-actually-be-possessed-or-possess-someone-in-a-way-that-is/) [Amber Hollibaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-hollibaugh/) > [Together we have given the world the possibility of one day living on a truly mine-free planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jody-williams/together-we-have-given-the-world-the-possibility-of-one-day-living-on/) [Jody Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jody-williams/) > [A lot of our assumptions of the world are fairly cynical, fairly negative, and assume the worst. What our reading tastes show - in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-harkness/a-lot-of-our-assumptions-of-the-world-are-fairly-cynical-fairly/) [Deborah Harkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-harkness/) > [In a just world, there would be no possibility of 'charity'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/in-a-just-world-there-would-be-no-possibility-of-charity/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“He lifted himself out of the darkness of his fears, into a bright new world of possibility.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-stabile/he-lifted-himself-out-of-the-darkness-of-his-fears-into-a-bright-new/) [Scott Stabile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-stabile/) > [I live in a world of possibility and opportunity. You look for the light. There's darkness everywhere but you look for that spot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lennox/i-live-in-a-world-of-possibility-and-opportunity-you-look-for-the/) [Annie Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lennox/) > [“I knew that it was better to live out one’s own absurdity than to die for that of others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/i-knew-that-it-was-better-to-live-out-one-s-own-absurdity-than-to-die/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [When it comes to explaining human thought and behavior, the possibility that heredity plays any role at all still has the power to shock.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/when-it-comes-to-explaining-human-thought-and-behavior-the/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Desire is this absurdity that holds open the infinity of possibility. Ever optimistic, ever resourceful, desire tells us what it sees as it speeds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-farley/desire-is-this-absurdity-that-holds-open-the-infinity-of-possibility/) [Wendy Farley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-farley/) ## More by Ralph Ellison > [“Civil wars...are the best wars for the writer...because they have a way of continuing long afterwl wars between nations are resolved; because, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/civil-wars-are-the-best-wars-for-the-writer-because-they-have-a-way/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [“But what a feeling can come over a man just from seeing the things he believes in and hopes for symbolized in the concrete…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/but-what-a-feeling-can-come-over-a-man-just-from-seeing-the-things-he/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [I suspect that all the agony that goes into writing is borne precisely because the writer longs for acceptance-but it must be acceptance on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/i-suspect-that-all-the-agony-that-goes-into-writing-is-borne/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [Everywhere I've turned somebody has wanted to sacrifice me for my own good—only /they/ were the ones who benefited. And now we start on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/everywhere-i-ve-turned-somebody-has-wanted-to-sacrifice-me-for-my-own/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [Power, for the writer…lies in his ability to reveal if only a little bit more about the complexity of humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/power-for-the-writer-lies-in-his-ability-to-reveal-if-only-a-little/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [...and yet I am what they think I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/and-yet-i-am-what-they-think-i-am/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [And while the ice was melting to form a flood in which I threatened to drown I awoke one afternoon to find that my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/and-while-the-ice-was-melting-to-form-a-flood-in-which-i-threatened/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [“Do they come to bury the others or to be entombed to give life or to receive it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/do-they-come-to-bury-the-others-or-to-be-entombed-to-give-life-or-to/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [“They could laugh at him but they couldn't ignore him”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/they-could-laugh-at-him-but-they-couldn-t-ignore-him/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [Commercial rock 'n' roll music is a brutalization of the stream of contemporary Negro church music an obscene looting of a cultural expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/commercial-rock-n-roll-music-is-a-brutalization-of-the-stream-of/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [“All dreamers and sleepwalkers must pay the price, and even the invisible victim is responsible for the fate of all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/all-dreamers-and-sleepwalkers-must-pay-the-price-and-even-the/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [“Those two spots are among the darkest of our whole civilization--pardon me, our whole culture (an important distinction, I've heard)--which might sound like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/those-two-spots-are-among-the-darkest-of-our-whole-civilization/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [“Above the decorous walking around me, sounds of footsteps leaving the verandas of far-flung buildings and moving toward the walks and over the walks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/above-the-decorous-walking-around-me-sounds-of-footsteps-leaving-the/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [And my problem was that I always tried to go in everyone's way but my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/and-my-problem-was-that-i-always-tried-to-go-in-everyone-s-way-but-my/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [I am one of the most irresponsible beings that ever lived. Irresponsibility is part of my invisibility; any way you face it, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/i-am-one-of-the-most-irresponsible-beings-that-ever-lived/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) [Explore all 154 Ralph Ellison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) ## More Existentialism quotes > [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/even-though-you-can-t-expect-to-defeat-the-absurdity-of-the-world-you/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [The Only cure for nihilism is for liberal democratic societies - their electorates, their judiciary, and their political leadership- to insist that force is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/the-only-cure-for-nihilism-is-for-liberal-democratic-societies-their/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [“The mission is, not to replace old world mindlessness with new world mindlessness, but to put an end to all forms of brainless authoritarianism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-mission-is-not-to-replace-old-world-mindlessness-with-new-world/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [No shepherd and one herd! Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/no-shepherd-and-one-herd-everybody-wants-the-same-everybody-is-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [If critics and fanboys weren't suckers for simplistic nihilism and high-pressure marketing, Afterlife would be universally acclaimed as a visionary feat, superior to Inception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armond-white/if-critics-and-fanboys-weren-t-suckers-for-simplistic-nihilism-and/) [Armond White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armond-white/) > [“People may have to die, but morbidity will live forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mara-wilson/people-may-have-to-die-but-morbidity-will-live-forever/) [Mara Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mara-wilson/) > [“There are no greater or truer lords, gods, fathers, sons or holy spirits, than the humans. Humans are the highest beings on earth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/there-are-no-greater-or-truer-lords-gods-fathers-sons-or-holy-spirits/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“To seek out the upright. No fall but preceded by a declination. He took great marching steps into the nothingness, counting them against his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/to-seek-out-the-upright-no-fall-but-preceded-by-a-declination-he-took/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“An atheist is someone who is disappointed in his search of god. He is a man who strongly needed god but couldn't find him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/an-atheist-is-someone-who-is-disappointed-in-his-search-of-god-he-is/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [What are we doing here, that is the question. And we are blessed in this, that we happen to know the answer. Yes, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/what-are-we-doing-here-that-is-the-question-and-we-are-blessed-in/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“If we are unable to tolerate ourselves when we are alone, how can we expect anyone else to be enriched by our company? Before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-corey/if-we-are-unable-to-tolerate-ourselves-when-we-are-alone-how-can-we/) [Gerald Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-corey/) > [Desire is this absurdity that holds open the infinity of possibility. 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