Country Quote by Robert Penn Warren
““So I pulled the sun screen down and squinted and put the throttle to the floor. And kept on moving west. For West is where we all plan to go some day. It is where you go when the land gives out and the oldfield pines encroach. It is where you go when you get the letter saying: Flee, all is discovered. IT is where you go when you look down at the blade in your hand and see the blood on it. It is where you go when you are told that you are a bubble on the tide of empire. It is where you go when you hear that thar's gold in them-thar hills. It is where you go to grow up with the country. It is where you go to spend your old age. Or it is just where you go.””
About This Quote
Source Poem: “West” (excerpt) from The Collected Poems of Robert Penn Warren, 1970
West symbolizes a destination of hope, escape, and destiny, yet also a place of danger and inevitability.
In simple terms: West is both a promise and a peril.
Key Takeaway
Recognize the dual nature of aspirations.
Themes
hope
destiny
danger
journey
Mood
reflective
poetic
Type
philosophical
inspirational
When to use this quote
- travel planning
- career decisions
- life transitions
- creative writing
Key Concepts
mythic geography
existential longing
human migration
Questions to Reflect On
- What does “West” represent in your life?
- How do you balance optimism with realism?
A Different Perspective
The romanticized view may ignore practical hardships.
![“[A]nd soon now we shall go out of the house and go into the convulsion of the world, out of history into history and the awful responsibility of Time.” quote by Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/857/robert-penn-warren-2118_awful_a-nd-soon-now-we-shall-go-out-of-the-hou_158285.jpg)
![“That country [Carthage] was rapidly sinking into the state of barbarism from whence it had been raised by the Phoenician colonies and Roman laws; and every step of intestine discord was marked by some deplorable victory of savage man over civilized society.” quote by Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/70c/edward-gibbon-710_barbarism_that-country-carthage-was-rapidly-sinkin_393.jpg)
