Attention Quote by Raymond Chandler
“Neither of the two people in the room paid any attention to the way I came in, although only one of them was dead.”
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Long Goodbye, Raymond Chandler, 1953
The narrator observes that only one of two people noticed his entrance, and that person was dead, highlighting obliviousness and mortality.
In simple terms: Only the dead noticed him.
Key Takeaway
Notice the unnoticed.
Themes
obliviousness
mortality
observation
Mood
dark
wry
Type
literary
detective
When to use this quote
- detective work
- social gatherings
- hospital scenes
Key Concepts
existential irony
social neglect
Questions to Reflect On
- Do we overlook the living?
- How does death change perception?
A Different Perspective
The line may exaggerate for dramatic effect.
![“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)
![“I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with [my wife] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and I just had such a strong reaction to the prayer. And I was really emotionally - I felt really grounded at that time. And so to be in this prayer and the imam is doing the prayer in…” quote by Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d31/mahershala-ali-6687_attention_i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with_3083.jpg)
