--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am further back, surrounded on all…" description: "\"I am further back, surrounded on all sides by wailing men, their faces shiny with tears. Uncle Al promised three dollars and a bottle of Canadian whisk..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a09/sara-gruen-3385_als_i-am-further-back-surrounded-on-all-side_2359454.jpg" --- # I am further back, surrounded on all sides by wailing men… ![“I am further back, surrounded on all sides by wailing men, their faces shiny with tears. Uncle Al promised three dollars and a bottle of Canadian whiskey to the man who puts on the best show. You've never seen such grief-- even the dogs were howling.” quote by Sara Gruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a09/sara-gruen-3385_als_i-am-further-back-surrounded-on-all-side_2359454.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a09/sara-gruen-3385_als_i-am-further-back-surrounded-on-all-side_2359454.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a09/sara-gruen-3385_als_i-am-further-back-surrounded-on-all-side_2359454.jpg) > “I am further back, surrounded on all sides by wailing men, their faces shiny with tears. Uncle Al promised three dollars and a bottle of Canadian whiskey to the man who puts on the best show. You've never seen such grief-- even the dogs were howling.” [Sara Gruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gruen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A scene of deep sorrow where everyone, even animals, mourns intensely, highlighting collective grief and desperation. **In simple terms:** Everyone is grieving deeply. Key Takeaway Recognize shared suffering. Themes grief despair humanity Mood somber melancholy Type narrative descriptive When to use this quote - circus life - war - personal loss - animal behavior Key Concepts empathy collective sorrow Questions to Reflect On - How does shared sorrow affect community resilience? - What role do animals play in reflecting human emotions? A Different Perspective Grief can be overwhelming and paralyzing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog/) [Dollars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dollars/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Tears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tears/) [Whiskey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whiskey/) ## Related quotes > [Now I had seen the grief of the two strongest people I knew. And somehow, Daddy's and Edie's crying made them seem even stronger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silas-house/now-i-had-seen-the-grief-of-the-two-strongest-people-i-knew-and/) [Silas House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silas-house/) > [I have seen that grief can be very different for different people. While the range of emotions experienced is similar, the way we deal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meghan-o-rourke/i-have-seen-that-grief-can-be-very-different-for-different-people/) [Meghan O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meghan-o-rourke/) > [Hey! Shouts Camel. There ain't no woman in the world worth two bottles of whiskey!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gruen/hey-shouts-camel-there-ain-t-no-woman-in-the-world-worth-two-bottles/) [Sara Gruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gruen/) > [All right. Let's give you something to tell your grandkids about. Or great-grandkids. Or great-great-grandkids." I snort with glee, delirious with excitement. Charlie winks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gruen/all-right-let-s-give-you-something-to-tell-your-grandkids-about-or/) [Sara Gruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gruen/) > [“I'm glad has promised three dollars and a bottle of Canadian whiskey to the man who puts on the best show. You've never seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gruen/i-m-glad-has-promised-three-dollars-and-a-bottle-of-canadian-whiskey/) [Sara Gruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gruen/) > [Saturday night at my house, I often trot out classic movies and force the urchins to watch them. There is much wailing and gnashing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/saturday-night-at-my-house-i-often-trot-out-classic-movies-and-force/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [The melancholy days are come, the saddest of the year, Of wailing winds, and naked woods and meadows brown and sear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/the-melancholy-days-are-come-the-saddest-of-the-year-of-wailing-winds/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [There sighs, lamentations and loud wailings resounded through the starless air, so that at first it made me weep; strange tongues, horrible language, words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/there-sighs-lamentations-and-loud-wailings-resounded-through-the/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [Do one of three things. One, go and find a wailing wall and feel sorry for yourselves. Two, go psycho and start bombing --…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-one-of-three-things-one-go-and-find-a-wailing-wall-and-feel-sorry/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My neighbor Alice Pierce is fond of singing folk music to her garden plants. Thinks it makes them grow or something. The Major had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-simonson/my-neighbor-alice-pierce-is-fond-of-singing-folk-music-to-her-garden/) [Helen Simonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-simonson/) > [But as in wailing there's nought availing, And Death unfailing will strike the blow, Then for that reason, and for a season, Let us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-philpot-curran/but-as-in-wailing-there-s-nought-availing-and-death-unfailing-will/) [John Philpot Curran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-philpot-curran/) > [Everyone knows that quote because of the Doors." Jace looked at her blankly. "The Doors. They were a band." "If you say so," he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/everyone-knows-that-quote-because-of-the-doors-jace-looked-at-her/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Hungry wailing standeth not aloof.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hungry-wailing-standeth-not-aloof/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [These tears I'm wailing, I spill not without reason. Remove them, my dearest love. Take me to the place I've been dreaming of, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/these-tears-i-m-wailing-i-spill-not-without-reason-remove-them-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The wailing of the newborn infant is mingled with the dirge for the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/the-wailing-of-the-newborn-infant-is-mingled-with-the-dirge-for-the/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) ## More by Sara Gruen > [So what if I'm ninety-three? So what if I'm ancient and cranky and my body's a wreck? If they're willing to accept me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gruen/so-what-if-i-m-ninety-three-so-what-if-i-m-ancient-and-cranky-and-my/) [Sara Gruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gruen/) > [The sky the sky- same as it always was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gruen/the-sky-the-sky-same-as-it-always-was/) [Sara Gruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gruen/) > [Don't want to get tipsy and break a hip.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gruen/don-t-want-to-get-tipsy-and-break-a-hip/) [Sara Gruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gruen/) > [When two people are meant to be together, they will be together. It's fate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gruen/when-two-people-are-meant-to-be-together-they-will-be-together-it-s/) [Sara Gruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gruen/) > [“So what if I'm ninety-three? So what if I'm ancient and cranky and my body's a wreck? 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As I close it, her long arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gruen/i-open-the-orangutan-s-door-and-set-a-pan-of-fruits-vegetables-and/) [Sara Gruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gruen/) > [Being the survivor stinks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gruen/being-the-survivor-stinks/) [Sara Gruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gruen/) > [“He whispers in her ear, and she basks in his attention, trumpeting happily at the sight of him. Doesn't she remember?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gruen/he-whispers-in-her-ear-and-she-basks-in-his-attention-trumpeting/) [Sara Gruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gruen/) > [... a gaggle of old ladies is glued to the window at the end of the hall like children or jailbirds. 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