--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But should Bortz have exfoliated the mere…" description: "\"“But should Bortz have exfoliated the mere words so lushly, into such unnatural roses, under which whose red, scented dusk, dark history slithered unse..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b3/thomas-pynchon-533_flowers_but-should-bortz-have-exfoliated-the-mer_2559583.jpg" --- # But should Bortz have exfoliated the mere words so lushly… ![“But should Bortz have exfoliated the mere words so lushly, into such unnatural roses, under which whose red, scented dusk, dark history slithered unseen?” quote by Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b3/thomas-pynchon-533_flowers_but-should-bortz-have-exfoliated-the-mer_2559583.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b3/thomas-pynchon-533_flowers_but-should-bortz-have-exfoliated-the-mer_2559583.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b3/thomas-pynchon-533_flowers_but-should-bortz-have-exfoliated-the-mer_2559583.jpg) > ““But should Bortz have exfoliated the mere words so lushly, into such unnatural roses, under which whose red, scented dusk, dark history slithered unseen?”” [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The line critiques ornate language that masks harsh realities, suggesting beauty can conceal truth. **In simple terms:** Flowery language can hide dark history. Key Takeaway Beware of style that obscures meaning. Themes language truth history artifice Mood reflective critical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - literary analysis - political discourse - media criticism Key Concepts postmodernism symbolism critique Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape perception? - When does ornamentation become deception? A Different Perspective Style may alienate readers seeking clarity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Flowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flowers/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ## Related quotes > [Every country has a dark side of their history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miyavi/every-country-has-a-dark-side-of-their-history/) [Miyavi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miyavi/) > [“He is dark as history, origin of the word native: the weight of blood”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-trethewey/he-is-dark-as-history-origin-of-the-word-native-the-weight-of-blood/) [Natasha Trethewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-trethewey/) > [I'm playing dark history. It's beyond black. I'm dealing with the dark things of the cosmos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-ra/i-m-playing-dark-history-it-s-beyond-black-i-m-dealing-with-the-dark/) [Sun Ra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-ra/) > [The sun, a red wheel, was sinking slowly in the west. Besides being spectacularly beautiful, the early-summer sunset was exceedingly soft and gentle: black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-yan/the-sun-a-red-wheel-was-sinking-slowly-in-the-west-besides-being/) [Mo Yan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-yan/) > [Now that the lilacs are in bloom She has a bowl of lilacs in her room](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/now-that-the-lilacs-are-in-bloom-she-has-a-bowl-of-lilacs-in-her-room/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“They basked in the sweet-scented breeze, and felt the sunshine warming their bare heads. 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As if something trembled below its surface, waiting to burst through.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/how-strange-tonight-this-city-as-if-something-trembled-below-its/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“It was one of those great iron afternoons in London: the yellow sun being teased apart by a thoasand chimneys breathing, fawning upward without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/it-was-one-of-those-great-iron-afternoons-in-london-the-yellow-sun/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Surely for as long as there have been nights as bad as this one---something to raise the possibility of another night that could actually,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/surely-for-as-long-as-there-have-been-nights-as-bad-as-this-one/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Death glided by, shadowless, among the empties on the grass.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/death-glided-by-shadowless-among-the-empties-on-the-grass/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“People read what news they wanted to and each accordingly built his own rathouse of history's rags and straws.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/people-read-what-news-they-wanted-to-and-each-accordingly-built-his/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Out of that night and day of unconditional wrath, folks would've expected to see any city, if it survived, all newly reborn, purified by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/out-of-that-night-and-day-of-unconditional-wrath-folks-would-ve/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“As spread thighs are to the libertine...so was the letter V to young Stencil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/as-spread-thighs-are-to-the-libertine-so-was-the-letter-v-to-young/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Oedipa wondered whether, at the end of this (if it were supposed to end), she too might not be left with only compiled memories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/oedipa-wondered-whether-at-the-end-of-this-if-it-were-supposed-to-end/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/if-they-can-get-you-asking-the-wrong-questions-they-don-t-have-to/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“remember didn't you sneak away from camp to have a moment alone with What you felt stirring across the land . . . it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/remember-didn-t-you-sneak-away-from-camp-to-have-a-moment-alone-with/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Through rain...then through dreaming glass, green with the evening. 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