---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He found it so easy and so pleasant to…"
description: "\"“He found it so easy and so pleasant to cry that he didn't try to stop for a while, until he realized he was forcing his sobs a little, exaggerating th..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/919/richard-yates-2840_grief_he-found-it-so-easy-and-so-pleasant-to-c_2505512.jpg"
---

#  He found it so easy and so pleasant to cry that he didn't…

![“He found it so easy and so pleasant to cry that he didn't try to stop for a while, until he realized he was forcing his sobs a little, exaggerating their depth with unnecessary shudders. Then, ashamed of himself, he bent over and carefully set his drink on the grass, go out his handkerchief and…” quote by Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/919/richard-yates-2840_grief_he-found-it-so-easy-and-so-pleasant-to-c_2505512.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/919/richard-yates-2840_grief_he-found-it-so-easy-and-so-pleasant-to-c_2505512.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/919/richard-yates-2840_grief_he-found-it-so-easy-and-so-pleasant-to-c_2505512.jpg)

> ““He found it so easy and so pleasant to cry that he didn't try to stop for a while, until he realized he was forcing his sobs a little, exaggerating their depth with unnecessary shudders. Then, ashamed of himself, he bent over and carefully set his drink on the grass, go out his handkerchief and blew his nose. The whole point of crying was to quit before you cornied it up. The whole point of grief was to cut it out while it was still honest, while it still meant something. Because the thing was so easily corrupted: let yourself go and you started embellishing your own sobs, or you started telling about the Wheelers with a sad, sentimental smile and saying Frank was courageous, and then what the hell did you have?””

[Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Crying can become performative, losing authenticity when we force emotion or dramatize grief.

**In simple terms:** Forced tears become fake.

Key Takeaway

Allow genuine feeling without over‑dramatising.

Themes

authenticity grief self‑awareness

Mood

sad introspective

Type

literary psychological

When to use this quote

- therapy sessions
- personal loss
- artistic expression
- public speaking

Key Concepts

emotional honesty performance psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- When have you noticed you were exaggerating emotion?
- How can you honor grief without self‑decoration?

A Different Perspective

Over‑expressing can mask true pain.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/)

## Related quotes

> [He found it so easy and so pleasant to cry that he didn’t try to stop for a while, until he realized he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/he-found-it-so-easy-and-so-pleasant-to-cry-that-he-didn-t-try-to-stop/)

[Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/)

> [“The whole point of crying was to quit before you cornied it up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/the-whole-point-of-crying-was-to-quit-before-you-cornied-it-up/)

[Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/)

> [“The whole point of crying was to quit before you cornied it up. The whole point of grief itself was to cut it out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/the-whole-point-of-crying-was-to-quit-before-you-cornied-it-up-the-2/)

[Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/)

> [“The whole point of crying was to quit before you cornied it up. The whole point of grief itself was to cut it out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/the-whole-point-of-crying-was-to-quit-before-you-cornied-it-up-the/)

[Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/)

> [“I don't really understand the point of crying. Also, I feel that crying is almost- like, aside from deaths of relatives or whatever- totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-don-t-really-understand-the-point-of-crying-also-i-feel-that-crying/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [The point of crying when someone you love left you, is to bring back the pain and face it. Then leave it behind and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-m/the-point-of-crying-when-someone-you-love-left-you-is-to-bring-back/)

[Jordan M](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-m/)

> [“What was the point in crying when there was no one to comfort you? And what was worse, when you couldn't even comfort yourself?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/what-was-the-point-in-crying-when-there-was-no-one-to-comfort-you-and/)

[Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/)

> [“What's the point of crying if you can't even see the tears?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-benway/what-s-the-point-of-crying-if-you-can-t-even-see-the-tears/)

[Robin Benway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-benway/)

> [“Because what was the point in crying when there was no one there to comfort you? And what was worse, when you couldn’t even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/because-what-was-the-point-in-crying-when-there-was-no-one-there-to/)

[Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/)

> [When we can't laugh again and again on the same joke... there's no point crying again and again for the same pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-we-can-t-laugh-again-and-again-on-the-same-joke-there-s-no-point/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [People keep telling me its okay to cry, but whats the point in crying over someone that wasted you time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooklyn-collins/people-keep-telling-me-its-okay-to-cry-but-whats-the-point-in-crying/)

Brooklyn Collins

> [There's no point crying over spilled milk. Let it be and move on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-no-point-crying-over-spilled-milk-let-it-be-and-move-on/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“I wonder how we got to the point where he's still crying over us, and I'm still just mad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nyrae-dawn/i-wonder-how-we-got-to-the-point-where-he-s-still-crying-over-us-and/)

[Nyrae Dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nyrae-dawn/)

> [“No point crying over spilled milk”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrissie-manby/no-point-crying-over-spilled-milk/)

[Chrissie Manby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrissie-manby/)

> [Maybe that was why she couldn't cry, she realized, staring dry-eyed at the ceiling. Because what was the point in crying when there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/maybe-that-was-why-she-couldn-t-cry-she-realized-staring-dry-eyed-at/)

[Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/)

## More by Richard Yates

> [“Rachel was a girl who depended on small, recurrent rituals - that was one of the things he'd come to know about her, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/rachel-was-a-girl-who-depended-on-small-recurrent-rituals-that-was/)

[Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/)

> [“In the East, he then believed, a man went to college not for vocational training but in disciplined search for wisdom and beauty, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/in-the-east-he-then-believed-a-man-went-to-college-not-for-vocational/)

[Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/)

> [God knows there certainly ought to be a window around here somewhere, for all of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/god-knows-there-certainly-ought-to-be-a-window-around-here-somewhere/)

[Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/)

> [“And you know what else I used to love? I loved to watch you get into your car and drive away - just because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/and-you-know-what-else-i-used-to-love-i-loved-to-watch-you-get-into/)

[Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/)

> [if you don’t try at anything, you can’t fail… it takes back bone to lead the life you want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/if-you-don-t-try-at-anything-you-can-t-fail-it-takes-back-bone-to/)

[Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/)

> [“The movies were wonderful because they took you out of yourself, and at the same time they gave you a sense of being whole.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/the-movies-were-wonderful-because-they-took-you-out-of-yourself-and/)

[Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/)

> [Do you know what the definition of insane is? Yes. It’s the inability to relate to another human being. It’s the inability to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/do-you-know-what-the-definition-of-insane-is-yes-it-s-the-inability/)

[Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/)

> [“It had been easy to decide in favor of love on Bethune Street, in favor of walking proud and naked on the grass rug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/it-had-been-easy-to-decide-in-favor-of-love-on-bethune-street-in/)

[Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/)

> [Anybody's marriage might benefit from an occasional embargo on talk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/anybody-s-marriage-might-benefit-from-an-occasional-embargo-on-talk/)

[Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/)

> [“Sometimes in dreams there are visions of the past. For that reason Alice Prentice had always welcomed sleep, but she suffered an insomniac's dread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/sometimes-in-dreams-there-are-visions-of-the-past-for-that-reason/)

[Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/)

> [“There she was, lying on a single bed in a room so small that there wasn't even space for a chair, and the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/there-she-was-lying-on-a-single-bed-in-a-room-so-small-that-there/)

[Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/)

> [“I grandi libri, come i grandi amici, devono essere condivisi.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/i-grandi-libri-come-i-grandi-amici-devono-essere-condivisi/)

[Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/)

> [People did change, and a change could be a bloom as well as a withering...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/people-did-change-and-a-change-could-be-a-bloom-as-well-as-a-withering/)

[Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/)

> [Hard work, is the best medicine yet devised for all the ills of man- and of woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/hard-work-is-the-best-medicine-yet-devised-for-all-the-ills-of-man/)

[Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/)

> [“You still felt that life was passing you by? Sort of. I still had this idea that there was a whole world of marvelous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/you-still-felt-that-life-was-passing-you-by-sort-of-i-still-had-this/)

[Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/)

[Explore all 140 Richard Yates quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/)

## More Grief quotes

> [“...they had lived, they'd lived intensely. But no matter how deeply you live, it comes to this in the end: one of you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-morton/they-had-lived-they-d-lived-intensely-but-no-matter-how-deeply-you/)

[Brian Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-morton/)

> [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/)

[Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/)

> [You felt a deep sorrow, the kind of melancholy you feel when you're in a beautiful place and the sun is going down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/you-felt-a-deep-sorrow-the-kind-of-melancholy-you-feel-when-you-re-in/)

[Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/)

> [... how much of our inner substance is it good for us to give to public griefs? The whole modern tendency to agonize over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/how-much-of-our-inner-substance-is-it-good-for-us-to-give-to-public/)

[Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/)

> [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/)

[Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/)

> [“When we learn to attribute meaning to the events in our lives, we connect with our Higher Purpose, Higher Wisdom, or Source; we become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-barbara-apollon/when-we-learn-to-attribute-meaning-to-the-events-in-our-lives-we/)

[Susan Barbara Apollon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-barbara-apollon/)

> [Only to have a grief equal to all these tears!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/only-to-have-a-grief-equal-to-all-these-tears/)

[Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/)

> [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/)

[Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/)

> [Suppressed grief suffocates, it rages within the breast, and is forced to multiply its strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/suppressed-grief-suffocates-it-rages-within-the-breast-and-is-forced/)

[Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/)

> [That Woman is in love with her own grief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/that-woman-is-in-love-with-her-own-grief/)

[Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/)

> [Short time seems long in sorrow's sharp sustaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/short-time-seems-long-in-sorrow-s-sharp-sustaining/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [These days grief seems like walking on a frozen river; most of the time he feels safe enough, but there is always that danger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/these-days-grief-seems-like-walking-on-a-frozen-river-most-of-the/)

[David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/)

> [“You've been my beacon of light in my storm of grief, and I don't know if I could live without you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-ashley/you-ve-been-my-beacon-of-light-in-my-storm-of-grief-and-i-don-t-know/)

[Katie Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-ashley/)

> [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/)

[Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/)

> [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/)

[Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/)

[Browse all 8,012 Grief quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“He found it so easy and so pleasant to cry that he didn't try to stop for a while, until he realized he was forcing his sobs a little, exaggerating their depth with unnecessary shudders. Then, ashamed of himself, he bent over and carefully set his drink on the grass, go out his handkerchief and blew his nose. The whole point of crying was to quit before you cornied it up. The whole point of grief was to cut it out while it was still honest, while it still meant something. Because the thing was so easily corrupted: let yourself go and you started embellishing your own sobs, or you started telling about the Wheelers with a sad, sentimental smile and saying Frank was courageous, and then what the hell did you have?”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Richard Yates"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/he-found-it-so-easy-and-so-pleasant-to-cry-that-he-didn-t-try-to-stop-2/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Grief"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/he-found-it-so-easy-and-so-pleasant-to-cry-that-he-didn-t-try-to-stop-2/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/919/richard-yates-2840_grief_he-found-it-so-easy-and-so-pleasant-to-c_2505512.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/919/richard-yates-2840_grief_he-found-it-so-easy-and-so-pleasant-to-c_2505512.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/919/richard-yates-2840_grief_he-found-it-so-easy-and-so-pleasant-to-c_2505512.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“He found it so easy and so pleasant to cry that he didn't try to stop for a while, until he realized he was…” — Richard Yates",
                "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": "Richard Yates",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“He found it so easy and...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/he-found-it-so-easy-and-so-pleasant-to-cry-that-he-didn-t-try-to-stop-2/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/he-found-it-so-easy-and-so-pleasant-to-cry-that-he-didn-t-try-to-stop-2/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
