--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Was it home, the mercury-lit street? Was…" description: "\"“Was it home, the mercury-lit street? Was he returning like the elephant to his graveyard, to lie down and soon become ivory in whose bulk slept, laten..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/thomas-pynchon-533_quote_was-it-home-the-mercury-lit-street-was-h_1774352.jpg" --- # Was it home, the mercury-lit street? Was he returning like… ![“Was it home, the mercury-lit street? Was he returning like the elephant to his graveyard, to lie down and soon become ivory in whose bulk slept, latent, exquisite shapes of chessmen, backscratchers, hollow open-work Chinese spheres nested one inside the other?” quote by Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/thomas-pynchon-533_quote_was-it-home-the-mercury-lit-street-was-h_1774352.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/thomas-pynchon-533_quote_was-it-home-the-mercury-lit-street-was-h_1774352.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/thomas-pynchon-533_quote_was-it-home-the-mercury-lit-street-was-h_1774352.jpg) > ““Was it home, the mercury-lit street? Was he returning like the elephant to his graveyard, to lie down and soon become ivory in whose bulk slept, latent, exquisite shapes of chessmen, backscratchers, hollow open-work Chinese spheres nested one inside the other?”” [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 passage evokes a surreal, layered reality where ordinary scenes become mythic and objects transform into symbols of hidden complexity. **In simple terms:** Reality feels dreamlike and symbolic. Key Takeaway Embrace ambiguity and look for deeper patterns. Themes surrealism myth symbolism complexity Mood enigmatic reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - urban night - literary analysis - creative writing - interpretive discussion Key Concepts postmodernism metaphor intertextuality Questions to Reflect On - What hidden structures do you sense in everyday life? - How does myth reshape ordinary scenes? A Different Perspective The dense imagery may obscure meaning for some readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [I have a memory like an elephant. I remember every elephant I've ever met.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-caen/i-have-a-memory-like-an-elephant-i-remember-every-elephant-i-ve-ever/) [Herb Caen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-caen/) > [“It was like there was an elephant in the room. An elephant that expected us to have sex.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-matson/it-was-like-there-was-an-elephant-in-the-room-an-elephant-that/) [Morgan Matson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-matson/) > [I was called 'Dumbo,' like the elephant, as a child because I couldn't understand things at school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hopkins/i-was-called-dumbo-like-the-elephant-as-a-child-because-i-couldn-t/) [Anthony Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hopkins/) > [The pointes for girls, I always say, have to be like an elephant's trunk; strong and yet flexible and soft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-balanchine/the-pointes-for-girls-i-always-say-have-to-be-like-an-elephant-s/) [George Balanchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-balanchine/) > [There are some people the gestation period is like an elephant's and it's just years and years before they're ready.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-amaechi/there-are-some-people-the-gestation-period-is-like-an-elephant-s-and/) [John Amaechi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-amaechi/) > [We all have that one friend that is stick thin but eats like an elephant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-all-have-that-one-friend-that-is-stick-thin-but-eats-like-an/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm like an elephant, ok? If I walk into a room, it's like, OK, he's in there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aziz-ansari/i-m-like-an-elephant-ok-if-i-walk-into-a-room-it-s-like-ok-he-s-in/) [Aziz Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aziz-ansari/) > [“Amy, she’s got a memory like an elephant, and a body like a meow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/amy-she-s-got-a-memory-like-an-elephant-and-a-body-like-a-meow/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I have a memory like an elephant. In fact, elephants often consult me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-coward/i-have-a-memory-like-an-elephant-in-fact-elephants-often-consult-me/) [Noel Coward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-coward/) > [A true philosopher is like an elephant; he never puts the second foot down until the first one is solidly in place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-le-bovier-de-fontenelle/a-true-philosopher-is-like-an-elephant-he-never-puts-the-second-foot/) [Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-le-bovier-de-fontenelle/) > [“He's like an elephant with anger issues.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evens/he-s-like-an-elephant-with-anger-issues/) Richard Paul Evens > [Of course, there are times when I've stood next to models and felt like an elephant, but I'm adamant about the fact that I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daisy-lowe/of-course-there-are-times-when-i-ve-stood-next-to-models-and-felt/) [Daisy Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daisy-lowe/) > [I always think I look like the Elephant Man - I can't get used to my own image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-cox/i-always-think-i-look-like-the-elephant-man-i-can-t-get-used-to-my/) [Brian Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-cox/) > [“Love sounds like an elephant weighs. 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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. And herself in chair, old-fashioned, bonneted, looking west over the deck of Earth, inferno red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/through-rain-then-through-dreaming-glass-green-with-the-evening-and/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“She knew instinctively: he will be fine as the fraternity boy just out of an Ivy League school who knows he will never stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/she-knew-instinctively-he-will-be-fine-as-the-fraternity-boy-just-out/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Lovely morning, World War Two.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/lovely-morning-world-war-two/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Listen to anything and take it apart again. Spectrum analysis, in my head. I can break down chords, and timbres, and words too into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/listen-to-anything-and-take-it-apart-again-spectrum-analysis-in-my/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [A screaming comes across the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/a-screaming-comes-across-the-sky/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) [Explore all 483 Thomas Pynchon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) ## More Like Elephant quotes > [I have a memory like an elephant. I remember every elephant I've ever met.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-caen/i-have-a-memory-like-an-elephant-i-remember-every-elephant-i-ve-ever/) [Herb Caen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-caen/) > [“Love sounds like an elephant weighs. I know, because I’ve seen it with my own two nostrils. I’ve grown fat on the scent of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/love-sounds-like-an-elephant-weighs-i-know-because-i-ve-seen-it-with/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I always think I look like the Elephant Man - I can't get used to my own image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-cox/i-always-think-i-look-like-the-elephant-man-i-can-t-get-used-to-my/) [Brian Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-cox/) > [Of course, there are times when I've stood next to models and felt like an elephant, but I'm adamant about the fact that I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daisy-lowe/of-course-there-are-times-when-i-ve-stood-next-to-models-and-felt/) [Daisy Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daisy-lowe/) > [“He's like an elephant with anger issues.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evens/he-s-like-an-elephant-with-anger-issues/) Richard Paul Evens > [A true philosopher is like an elephant; he never puts the second foot down until the first one is solidly in place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-le-bovier-de-fontenelle/a-true-philosopher-is-like-an-elephant-he-never-puts-the-second-foot/) [Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-le-bovier-de-fontenelle/) > [I have a memory like an elephant. In fact, elephants often consult me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-coward/i-have-a-memory-like-an-elephant-in-fact-elephants-often-consult-me/) [Noel Coward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-coward/) > [“Amy, she’s got a memory like an elephant, and a body like a meow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/amy-she-s-got-a-memory-like-an-elephant-and-a-body-like-a-meow/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I'm like an elephant, ok? If I walk into a room, it's like, OK, he's in there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aziz-ansari/i-m-like-an-elephant-ok-if-i-walk-into-a-room-it-s-like-ok-he-s-in/) [Aziz Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aziz-ansari/) > [We all have that one friend that is stick thin but eats like an elephant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-all-have-that-one-friend-that-is-stick-thin-but-eats-like-an/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are some people the gestation period is like an elephant's and it's just years and years before they're ready.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-amaechi/there-are-some-people-the-gestation-period-is-like-an-elephant-s-and/) [John Amaechi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-amaechi/) > [The pointes for girls, I always say, have to be like an elephant's trunk; strong and yet flexible and soft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-balanchine/the-pointes-for-girls-i-always-say-have-to-be-like-an-elephant-s/) [George Balanchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-balanchine/) > [I was called 'Dumbo,' like the elephant, as a child because I couldn't understand things at school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hopkins/i-was-called-dumbo-like-the-elephant-as-a-child-because-i-couldn-t/) [Anthony Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hopkins/) > [“It was like there was an elephant in the room. An elephant that expected us to have sex.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-matson/it-was-like-there-was-an-elephant-in-the-room-an-elephant-that/) [Morgan Matson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-matson/) > [There is no such thing as a perfect leader either in the past or present, in China or elsewhere. If there is one, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-shaoqi/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-perfect-leader-either-in-the-past-or/) Liu Shaoqi Browse all 28 Like Elephant quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Was it home, the mercury-lit street? 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