--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A son who will never be older than his…" description: "\"“A son who will never be older than his motherland - neither older nor younger. There shall be two heads – but you will only see one – there will be kn..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cd/salman-rushdie-153_sons_a-son-who-will-never-be-older-than-his-m_2607521.jpg" --- # A son who will never be older than his motherland… ![“A son who will never be older than his motherland - neither older nor younger. There shall be two heads – but you will only see one – there will be knees and a nose, a nose and knees. Newspaper praises him, two mothers raise him! Bicycles love him – but crowds will shove him! Sisters will weep…” quote by Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cd/salman-rushdie-153_sons_a-son-who-will-never-be-older-than-his-m_2607521.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cd/salman-rushdie-153_sons_a-son-who-will-never-be-older-than-his-m_2607521.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cd/salman-rushdie-153_sons_a-son-who-will-never-be-older-than-his-m_2607521.jpg) > ““A son who will never be older than his motherland - neither older nor younger. There shall be two heads – but you will only see one – there will be knees and a nose, a nose and knees. Newspaper praises him, two mothers raise him! Bicycles love him – but crowds will shove him! Sisters will weep, cobras will creep… Washing will hide him – voices will guide him! Friends will mutilate him – blood will betray him! Spittoons will brain him – doctors will drain him – jungle will claim him – wizards reclaim him! Soldiers will try him – tyrants will fry him… He will have sons without having sons! He will be old before he is old! And he will die before he is dead!”” [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A surreal allegory describing a figure caught between identity, oppression, and destiny, reflecting societal turmoil and personal sacrifice. **In simple terms:** A symbolic figure faces conflict and destiny. Key Takeaway Reflect on power and identity. Themes identity oppression destiny Mood thoughtful poetic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - literary analysis - artistic workshops - social discussions Key Concepts surrealism political allegory cultural critique Questions to Reflect On - What does the figure represent? - How does the allegory comment on modern society? A Different Perspective May be too cryptic for some readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Sons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sons/) ## Related quotes > [Fathers have a lot to do to make up for having sons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/fathers-have-a-lot-to-do-to-make-up-for-having-sons/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Anyone who reads my work will see that there are often difficult relationships between fathers and sons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/anyone-who-reads-my-work-will-see-that-there-are-often-difficult/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“Mothers are inscrutable beings to their sons, always. ("The Higgler")”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-coppard/mothers-are-inscrutable-beings-to-their-sons-always-the-higgler/) [A.E. Coppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-coppard/) > [Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-children-are-not-your-children-they-are-the-sons-and-daughters/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is not imitation that makes sons. It is sonship that make imitators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/it-is-not-imitation-that-makes-sons-it-is-sonship-that-make-imitators/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [“many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” Rom 8:14   You are not even considered a son of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-houge/many-as-are-led-by-the-spirit-of-god-these-are-sons-of-god-rom-8-14/) [Adam Houge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-houge/) > [It always seems to me so odd that when a man dies, he takes out with him all the knowledge that he has got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baden-powell/it-always-seems-to-me-so-odd-that-when-a-man-dies-he-takes-out-with/) [Robert Baden-Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baden-powell/) > [“I live in a binary star system, my two suns being my two sons.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corrado-ghinamo/i-live-in-a-binary-star-system-my-two-suns-being-my-two-sons/) Corrado Ghinamo > [The stag tells him that he is the eldest of the sons - the father's favorite - and he warns the father that if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-solti/the-stag-tells-him-that-he-is-the-eldest-of-the-sons-the-father-s/) [Georg Solti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-solti/) > [“You can know a thing to death and be for all purposes completely ignorant of it. A man can know his father, or his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/you-can-know-a-thing-to-death-and-be-for-all-purposes-completely/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [I write at a desk. I have a room of my own where I can have my computer. I write in there, usually directly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-bunting/i-write-at-a-desk-i-have-a-room-of-my-own-where-i-can-have-my/) [Eve Bunting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-bunting/) > [It is not the imitation that makes sons; it is sonship that makes imitators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/it-is-not-the-imitation-that-makes-sons-it-is-sonship-that-makes/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [Having kids is the deal-breaker on shyness! Once you have a baby, you learn to speak up loud and clear to protect them, defend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-foster/having-kids-is-the-deal-breaker-on-shyness-once-you-have-a-baby-you/) [Lori Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-foster/) > [So far I'm still standing on 'Sons of Anarchy' but all the rest of the people on the show have me in their crosshairs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-pileggi/so-far-i-m-still-standing-on-sons-of-anarchy-but-all-the-rest-of-the/) Mitch Pileggi > [“Few sons are like their fathers--most are worse, few better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/few-sons-are-like-their-fathers-most-are-worse-few-better/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) ## More by Salman Rushdie > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [It's a terrible thing that your life turns into a good story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/it-s-a-terrible-thing-that-your-life-turns-into-a-good-story/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Sometimes by a woodland stream he watched the water rush over the pebbled bed, its tiny modulations of bounce and flow. A woman's body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/sometimes-by-a-woodland-stream-he-watched-the-water-rush-over-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I want to write novels. I want to write stories. I want to do the stuff that I became a writer to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-want-to-write-novels-i-want-to-write-stories-i-want-to-do-the-stuff/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If you want to be a serious writer, then you have to write what there is to write about. If you're going to pull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-you-want-to-be-a-serious-writer-then-you-have-to-write-what-there/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“Después de exigir mi marcha, ya no posees jurisdicción en lo concerniente a mi salud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/despu-s-de-exigir-mi-marcha-ya-no-posees-jurisdicci-n-en-lo/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If there is a choice between absolute safety and freedom, then freedom must always prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-there-is-a-choice-between-absolute-safety-and-freedom-then-freedom/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'm not a prophet, but I always thought it was natural for dictatorships to fall. I remember in 1989, two months before the fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-not-a-prophet-but-i-always-thought-it-was-natural-for/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'd wanted to create a storm so that I could become more famous and richer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-d-wanted-to-create-a-storm-so-that-i-could-become-more-famous-and/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Who what am I? My answer: I am the sum total of everything that went before me, of all I have been seen done,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/who-what-am-i-my-answer-i-am-the-sum-total-of-everything-that-went/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“...proving once again that there was no escape from recurrence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/proving-once-again-that-there-was-no-escape-from-recurrence/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“information, in a stream-of-consciousness soliloquy that revealed the extent to which he had internalised the adversarial fragmentation of American culture and made it a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/information-in-a-stream-of-consciousness-soliloquy-that-revealed-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [A little bit of one story joins onto an idea from another, and hey presto, . . . not old tales but new ones.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/a-little-bit-of-one-story-joins-onto-an-idea-from-another-and-hey/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'm a novelist. Fortunately I don't have to rule the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-a-novelist-fortunately-i-don-t-have-to-rule-the-world/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [The First Amendment defends all forms of speech including hate speech, which is why groups like Ku Klux Klan are allowed to utter their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-first-amendment-defends-all-forms-of-speech-including-hate-speech/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) [Explore all 1,087 Salman Rushdie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## More Sons quotes > [“Few sons are like their fathers--most are worse, few better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/few-sons-are-like-their-fathers-most-are-worse-few-better/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [So far I'm still standing on 'Sons of Anarchy' but all the rest of the people on the show have me in their crosshairs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-pileggi/so-far-i-m-still-standing-on-sons-of-anarchy-but-all-the-rest-of-the/) Mitch Pileggi > [Having kids is the deal-breaker on shyness! Once you have a baby, you learn to speak up loud and clear to protect them, defend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-foster/having-kids-is-the-deal-breaker-on-shyness-once-you-have-a-baby-you/) [Lori Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-foster/) > [It is not the imitation that makes sons; it is sonship that makes imitators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/it-is-not-the-imitation-that-makes-sons-it-is-sonship-that-makes/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [I write at a desk. I have a room of my own where I can have my computer. I write in there, usually directly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-bunting/i-write-at-a-desk-i-have-a-room-of-my-own-where-i-can-have-my/) [Eve Bunting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-bunting/) > [“You can know a thing to death and be for all purposes completely ignorant of it. A man can know his father, or his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/you-can-know-a-thing-to-death-and-be-for-all-purposes-completely/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [The stag tells him that he is the eldest of the sons - the father's favorite - and he warns the father that if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-solti/the-stag-tells-him-that-he-is-the-eldest-of-the-sons-the-father-s/) [Georg Solti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-solti/) > [“I live in a binary star system, my two suns being my two sons.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corrado-ghinamo/i-live-in-a-binary-star-system-my-two-suns-being-my-two-sons/) Corrado Ghinamo > [It always seems to me so odd that when a man dies, he takes out with him all the knowledge that he has got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baden-powell/it-always-seems-to-me-so-odd-that-when-a-man-dies-he-takes-out-with/) [Robert Baden-Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baden-powell/) > [“many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” Rom 8:14   You are not even considered a son of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-houge/many-as-are-led-by-the-spirit-of-god-these-are-sons-of-god-rom-8-14/) [Adam Houge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-houge/) > [It is not imitation that makes sons. It is sonship that make imitators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/it-is-not-imitation-that-makes-sons-it-is-sonship-that-make-imitators/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-children-are-not-your-children-they-are-the-sons-and-daughters/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Mothers are inscrutable beings to their sons, always. ("The Higgler")”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-coppard/mothers-are-inscrutable-beings-to-their-sons-always-the-higgler/) [A.E. Coppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-coppard/) > [Both of my sons used to coach high school football. When they started, I'd say things I shouldn't have. So I learned my lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-madden/both-of-my-sons-used-to-coach-high-school-football-when-they-started/) [John Madden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-madden/) > [I love 'Modern Family; I think that is a great show. I don't get to watch tons of TV, but when I do, 'Sons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-tisdale/i-love-modern-family-i-think-that-is-a-great-show-i-don-t-get-to/) [Ashley Tisdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-tisdale/) [Browse all 418 Sons quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sons/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A son who will never be older than his motherland - neither older nor younger. There shall be two heads – but you will only see one – there will be knees and a nose, a nose and knees. Newspaper praises him, two mothers raise him! Bicycles love him – but crowds will shove him! Sisters will weep, cobras will creep… Washing will hide him – voices will guide him! Friends will mutilate him – blood will betray him! Spittoons will brain him – doctors will drain him – jungle will claim him – wizards reclaim him! Soldiers will try him – tyrants will fry him… He will have sons without having sons! He will be old before he is old! 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