Civilization Quote by Raymond Chandler
“It is not funny that a man should be killed, but it is sometimes funny that he should be killed for so little, and that his death should be the coin of what we call civilization.”
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler, 1939
Violence often appears absurd when the stakes are trivial, exposing civilization’s hypocrisy.
In simple terms: Trivial causes lead to absurd deaths.
Key Takeaway
Question the value placed on life.
Themes
morality
violence
civilization
irony
Mood
cynical
critical
Type
literary
philosophical
When to use this quote
- war
- capital punishment
- media sensationalism
- legal injustice
Key Concepts
existential critique
social commentary
Questions to Reflect On
- Why do societies deem some deaths insignificant?
- How does this perspective affect justice?
A Different Perspective
The quote may generalize without nuance.
![“Hammett was the ace performer... He is said to have lacked heart; yet the story he himself thought the most of [The Glass Key] is the record of a man's devotion to a friend. He was spare, frugal, hard-boiled, but he did over and over again what only the best writers can ever do at all. He wrote…” quote by Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/882/raymond-chandler-629_dashiel-hammett_hammett-was-the-ace-performer-he-is-said_20171.jpg)
![“He [James Cain] is every kind of writer I detest...a Proust in greasy overalls, a dirty little boy with a piece of chalk and a board fence and nobody looking.” quote by Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/614/raymond-chandler-629_cain_he-james-cain-is-every-kind-of-writer-i_41185.jpg)
