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Life Quote by Sherwood Anderson

“There is something memorable in the experience to be had by going into a fair ground that stands at the edge of a Middle Western town on a night after the annual fair has been held. The sensation is one never to be forgotten. On all sides are ghosts, not of the dead, but of living people. Here…” quote by Sherwood Anderson
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““There is something memorable in the experience to be had by going into a fair ground that stands at the edge of a Middle Western town on a night after the annual fair has been held. The sensation is one never to be forgotten. On all sides are ghosts, not of the dead, but of living people. Here, during the day just passed, have come the people from hundreds of little frame houses have gathered within these board walls. Young girls have laughed and men with beards have talked of the affairs of their lives. The place has been filled to overflowing with life. It has itched and squirmed with life and now it is night and the life has all gone away. The silence is almost terrifying. One conceals oneself standing silently beside the trunk of a tree and what there is of a reflective tendency in his nature is intensified. One shudders at the thought of the meaninglessness of life while at the same instant, and if the people of the town are his people, one loves life so intensely that tears come into the eyes.””

Sherwood Anderson

About This Quote

Source Short Story: “The Triumph of the Egg” by Sherwood Anderson, 1921

The narrator reflects on the haunting emptiness of a fairground after crowds leave, feeling both dread and a renewed love for life.

In simple terms: Empty fairground sparks fear and love of life.

Key Takeaway

Embrace life's fleeting moments.

Themes

existential nostalgia reflection life death

Mood

melancholic contemplative intense

Type

literary philosophical reflective

When to use this quote

  • nighttime solitude
  • post-fair reflection
  • personal contemplation
  • grief processing

Key Concepts

impermanence meaninglessness introspection

Questions to Reflect On

  • What does the silence reveal about your own life?
  • How can emptiness inspire appreciation?
A Different Perspective

The feeling may be amplified by personal loss, not just setting.

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