Becoming Quote by Susan Sontag
“Though collecting quotations could be considered as merely an ironic mimetism -- victimless collecting, as it were... in a world that is well on its way to becoming one vast quarry, the collector becomes someone engaged in a pious work of salvage. The course of modern history having already sapped the traditions and shattered the living wholes in which precious objects once found their place, the collector may now in good conscience go about excavating the choicer, more emblematic fragments.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: On Photography, Susan Sontag, 1977
Collecting quotes is a rescue mission, salvaging meaningful fragments from a culture that discards them.
In simple terms: Quote collecting saves valuable ideas from being lost.
Key Takeaway
Preserve and share the best ideas.
Themes
preservation
culture
meaning
salvage
Mood
reflective
thoughtful
Type
analytical
philosophical
When to use this quote
- academic research
- curation
- personal reflection
- archival work
Key Concepts
postmodernism
memory
fragmentation
Questions to Reflect On
- What fragments do you deem worth saving?
- How does salvaging change their impact?
A Different Perspective
The act may prioritize fragments over context, risking misinterpretation.
![“Anthropology has always struggled with an intense, fascinated repulsion towards its subject… [The anthropologist] submits himself to the exotic to confirm his own inner alienation as an urban intellectual.” quote by Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/fe1/susan-sontag-332_alienation_anthropology-has-always-struggled-with-a_15322.jpg)
