--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: With a little gasp he sees himself as…" description: "\"“With a little gasp he sees himself as merely a leaf blown by the wind through the streets of his village. He knows that in spite of all the stout talk..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d44/sherwood-anderson-2780_live-and-die_with-a-little-gasp-he-sees-himself-as-me_2950623.png" --- # With a little gasp he sees himself as merely a leaf blown… ![“With a little gasp he sees himself as merely a leaf blown by the wind through the streets of his village. He knows that in spite of all the stout talk of his fellows he must live and die in uncertainty, a thing blown by winds, a thing destined like corn to wilt in the sun.” quote by Sherwood Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d44/sherwood-anderson-2780_live-and-die_with-a-little-gasp-he-sees-himself-as-me_2950623.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d44/sherwood-anderson-2780_live-and-die_with-a-little-gasp-he-sees-himself-as-me_2950623.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d44/sherwood-anderson-2780_live-and-die_with-a-little-gasp-he-sees-himself-as-me_2950623.png) > ““With a little gasp he sees himself as merely a leaf blown by the wind through the streets of his village. He knows that in spite of all the stout talk of his fellows he must live and die in uncertainty, a thing blown by winds, a thing destined like corn to wilt in the sun.”” [Sherwood Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-anderson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A metaphor of a leaf blown by wind, acknowledging uncertainty and inevitable decline. **In simple terms:** Life is uncertain, like a leaf in wind. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty. Themes existence uncertainty impermanence Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal growth - creative writing - reflection Key Concepts philosophy literature Questions to Reflect On - How do you find meaning amid uncertainty? - What gives you strength against inevitable change? A Different Perspective May seem fatalistic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blown Wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blown-wind-528248/) [Blown Winds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blown-winds-4444688/) [Leaf Blown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaf-blown-433492/) [Like Corn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-corn-3707388/) [Live and die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-and-die/) [Village Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/village-knows-2420297/) ## Related quotes > [World has become a global village, but no one knows the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasneem-hameed/world-has-become-a-global-village-but-no-one-knows-the-other/) [Tasneem Hameed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasneem-hameed/) > [Do not go through life like leaf blown from here to there believing whatever you are told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/do-not-go-through-life-like-leaf-blown-from-here-to-there-believing/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [“Thick smoke like a herd of black horses was rising over the massive building and being blown around by the wind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ismail-kadar/thick-smoke-like-a-herd-of-black-horses-was-rising-over-the-massive/) [Ismail Kadare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ismail-kadar/) > [My first course came and I put down my book, and I just happened to put up my hand to scratch my head and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-jacobi/my-first-course-came-and-i-put-down-my-book-and-i-just-happened-to/) [Derek Jacobi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-jacobi/) > [I'd love to claim that what I have done in my life is of my doing, but it's not of my doing at all.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hurt/i-d-love-to-claim-that-what-i-have-done-in-my-life-is-of-my-doing-but/) [John Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hurt/) > [The person who strays away from the source is unroofed and is like dust blown about by the wind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molefi-kete-asante/the-person-who-strays-away-from-the-source-is-unroofed-and-is-like/) [Molefi Kete Asante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molefi-kete-asante/) > [“Fear is strange soil. Mainly it grows obedience like corn, which grows in rows and makes weeding easy. But sometimes it grows the potatoes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fear-is-strange-soil-mainly-it-grows-obedience-like-corn-which-grows/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Corn is the only food you hold like corn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gould/corn-is-the-only-food-you-hold-like-corn/) [Dana Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gould/) > [Life is like a corn maze...so many paths to choose...yet only one is the right one!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-messick/life-is-like-a-corn-maze-so-many-paths-to-choose-yet-only-one-is-the/) [Kevin Messick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-messick/) > [I have no hostility to nature, but a child's love to it. I expand and live in the warm day like corn and melons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-have-no-hostility-to-nature-but-a-child-s-love-to-it-i-expand-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“Instead of a motorcycle, why not ride a custom-engineered unicorn? The unicorn could be genetically grown like corn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/instead-of-a-motorcycle-why-not-ride-a-custom-engineered-unicorn-the/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Many people must live and die alone, even in Winesburg.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/many-people-must-live-and-die-alone-even-in-winesburg/) [Sherwood Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-anderson/) > [“There is a time in the life of every boy when he for the first time takes the backward view of life. Perhaps that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/there-is-a-time-in-the-life-of-every-boy-when-he-for-the-first-time/) [Sherwood Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-anderson/) > [“1. Who is a Death Warrior? Anyone can be a Death Warrior, not just someone who is terminally ill. We are all terminally ill.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-x-stork/1-who-is-a-death-warrior-anyone-can-be-a-death-warrior-not-just/) [Francisco X. Stork](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-x-stork/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) ## More by Sherwood Anderson > [You must not become a mere peddler of words. The thing to learn is to know what people are thinking about, not what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/you-must-not-become-a-mere-peddler-of-words-the-thing-to-learn-is-to/) [Sherwood Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-anderson/) > [“Doctor Parcival began to plead with George Willard. 'You must pay attention to me,' he urged. 'If something happens you will be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/doctor-parcival-began-to-plead-with-george-willard-you-must-pay/) [Sherwood Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-anderson/) > [It has long been my desire to be a little worm in the fair apple of Progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/it-has-long-been-my-desire-to-be-a-little-worm-in-the-fair-apple-of/) [Sherwood Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-anderson/) > [What's wrong with this egotism? If a man doesn't delight in himself and the force in him and feel that he and it are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/what-s-wrong-with-this-egotism-if-a-man-doesn-t-delight-in-himself/) [Sherwood Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-anderson/) > [“You see it is likely that, when my brother told the story, that night when we got home and my mother and sister sat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/you-see-it-is-likely-that-when-my-brother-told-the-story-that-night/) [Sherwood Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-anderson/) > [“It might be that women who have been nurses should not marry physicians. They have too much respect for physicians, are taught to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/it-might-be-that-women-who-have-been-nurses-should-not-marry/) [Sherwood Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-anderson/) > [There is a note that comes into the human voice by which you may know real weariness. It comes when one has been trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/there-is-a-note-that-comes-into-the-human-voice-by-which-you-may-know/) [Sherwood Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-anderson/) > [All of the people of my time were bound with chains. They had forgotten the long fields and the standing corn. They had forgotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/all-of-the-people-of-my-time-were-bound-with-chains-they-had/) [Sherwood Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-anderson/) > [It might be that women who have beennurses should not marry physicians. They have too much respect for physicians, are taughtto have too much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/it-might-be-that-women-who-have-beennurses-should-not-marry/) [Sherwood Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-anderson/) > [“He was almost a poet in his old age and his notion of what happened took a poetic turn. 'I had come to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/he-was-almost-a-poet-in-his-old-age-and-his-notion-of-what-happened/) [Sherwood Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-anderson/) > [“It did not seem to them that anything that could happen in the future could blot out the wonder and beauty of the thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/it-did-not-seem-to-them-that-anything-that-could-happen-in-the-future/) [Sherwood Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-anderson/) > [The life of reality is confused, disorderly, almost always without apparent purpose, whereas in the artist's imaginative life there is purpose. There is determination…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/the-life-of-reality-is-confused-disorderly-almost-always-without/) [Sherwood Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-anderson/) > [“Helen ran down a flight of stairs at the back of the house and into the garden. In the darkness she stopped and stood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/helen-ran-down-a-flight-of-stairs-at-the-back-of-the-house-and-into/) [Sherwood Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/in-middle-america-men-are-awakening-like-awkward-and-untrained-boys/) [Sherwood Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-anderson/) > [In that high place in the darkness the two oddly sensitive human atoms held each other tightly and waited. In the mind of each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/in-that-high-place-in-the-darkness-the-two-oddly-sensitive-human/) [Sherwood Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-anderson/) [Explore all 150 Sherwood Anderson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-anderson/) ## More Live and die quotes > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [“1. Who is a Death Warrior? Anyone can be a Death Warrior, not just someone who is terminally ill. We are all terminally ill.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-x-stork/1-who-is-a-death-warrior-anyone-can-be-a-death-warrior-not-just/) [Francisco X. Stork](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-x-stork/) > [We live and die; Christ died and lived!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-live-and-die-christ-died-and-lived/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You're a musician and you live and die by people responding to your music. It's a business just like anything else and if people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-martel/you-re-a-musician-and-you-live-and-die-by-people-responding-to-your/) [Marc Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-martel/) > [The only dream worth having, I told her, is to dream that you will live while you're alive and die only when you're dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/the-only-dream-worth-having-i-told-her-is-to-dream-that-you-will-live/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Passion, that thing of beauty, that flowering without roots, has to be born, live and die without reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgette-leblanc/passion-that-thing-of-beauty-that-flowering-without-roots-has-to-be/) [Georgette Leblanc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgette-leblanc/) > [Japanese of my generation try to get through life without stepping on anyone's toes; in some ways that's unnatural and stressful. The yakuza are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/takashi-miike/japanese-of-my-generation-try-to-get-through-life-without-stepping-on/) [Takashi Miike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/takashi-miike/) > [Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/night-gathers-and-now-my-watch-begins-it-shall-not-end-until-my-death/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you die of cancer with only openness and softness in your heart, you will live and die integrating your self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/if-you-die-of-cancer-with-only-openness-and-softness-in-your-heart/) [John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/) > [“...when President Clinton, on the anniversary of his election, spoke in the church in Tennessee where Martin Luther King, Jr., had delivered his last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-himmelfarb/when-president-clinton-on-the-anniversary-of-his-election-spoke-in/) [Gertrude Himmelfarb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-himmelfarb/) > [“The people who say, “Preach the gospel, and use words if necessary,” seem to forget that the very essence of the gospel is words.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-altrogge/the-people-who-say-preach-the-gospel-and-use-words-if-necessary-seem/) [Stephen Altrogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-altrogge/) > [One should live and die where one was born... I've been bored everywhere I went. What was the point of leaving Coasta Boacu?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-cioran/one-should-live-and-die-where-one-was-born-i-ve-been-bored-everywhere/) [Emil Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-cioran/) > [Out of our first century of national life we evolved the ethical principle that it was not right or just that an honest and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-perkins/out-of-our-first-century-of-national-life-we-evolved-the-ethical/) [Frances Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-perkins/) > [When you're a stand-up comic, you live and die by what you say on stage. There's no director or writer or producer who can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maz-jobrani/when-you-re-a-stand-up-comic-you-live-and-die-by-what-you-say-on/) [Maz Jobrani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maz-jobrani/) > [Black prophetic fire is the hypersensitivity to the suffering of others that generates a righteous indignation that results in the willingness to live and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/black-prophetic-fire-is-the-hypersensitivity-to-the-suffering-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Browse all 316 Live and die quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-and-die/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“With a little gasp he sees himself as merely a leaf blown by the wind through the streets of his village. He knows that in spite of all the stout talk of his fellows he must live and die in uncertainty, a thing blown by winds, a thing destined like corn to wilt in the sun.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sherwood Anderson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/with-a-little-gasp-he-sees-himself-as-merely-a-leaf-blown-by-the-wind/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Live and die" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/with-a-little-gasp-he-sees-himself-as-merely-a-leaf-blown-by-the-wind/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d44/sherwood-anderson-2780_live-and-die_with-a-little-gasp-he-sees-himself-as-me_2950623.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d44/sherwood-anderson-2780_live-and-die_with-a-little-gasp-he-sees-himself-as-me_2950623.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d44/sherwood-anderson-2780_live-and-die_with-a-little-gasp-he-sees-himself-as-me_2950623.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“With a little gasp he sees himself as merely a leaf blown by the wind through the streets of his village. He…” — Sherwood Anderson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Sherwood Anderson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-anderson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“With a little gasp he sees...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/with-a-little-gasp-he-sees-himself-as-merely-a-leaf-blown-by-the-wind/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/with-a-little-gasp-he-sees-himself-as-merely-a-leaf-blown-by-the-wind/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```