America Quote by Sherwood Anderson
“In Middle America men are awakening. Like awkward and untrained boys we begin to turn toward maturity and with our awakening we hunger for song. But in our towns and fields there are few memory haunted places. Here we stand in roaring city streets, on steaming coal heaps, in the shadow of factories from which come only the grinding roar of machines. We do not sing but mutter in the darkness. Our lips are cracked with dust and with the heat of furnaces. We but mutter and feel our way toward the promise of song.”
About This Quote
Source Short Story Collection: Winesburg, Ohio, 1919
A community of laborers feels a yearning for artistic expression amid industrial harshness, yet remains silent and exhausted.
In simple terms: Workers crave song but are stuck in gritty, noisy life.
Key Takeaway
Find ways to create and share art despite hardship.
Themes
industrialization
art
longing
silence
community
Mood
melancholic
reflective
hopeful
Type
literary
social commentary
When to use this quote
- factory workers
- miners
- town gatherings
- personal reflection
Key Concepts
existential yearning
social critique
cultural memory
Questions to Reflect On
- How can art emerge in oppressive environments?
- What does “song” symbolize for the working class?
A Different Perspective
The quote romanticizes hardship, overlooking systemic oppression that limits artistic freedom.
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