--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At these repeated signs of decadence in a…" description: "\"“At these repeated signs of decadence in a society which had once been the object of his envy and his highest ambition, Webber's face had begun to take..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/308/thomas-wolfe-4237_cynical_at-these-repeated-signs-of-decadence-in_156953.png" --- # At these repeated signs of decadence in a society which… ![“At these repeated signs of decadence in a society which had once been the object of his envy and his highest ambition, Webber's face had begun to take on a look of scorn...Yes, all these people looked at one another with untelling eyes. Their speech was casual, quick, and witty. But they did not…” quote by Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/308/thomas-wolfe-4237_cynical_at-these-repeated-signs-of-decadence-in_156953.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/308/thomas-wolfe-4237_cynical_at-these-repeated-signs-of-decadence-in_156953.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/308/thomas-wolfe-4237_cynical_at-these-repeated-signs-of-decadence-in_156953.png) > ““At these repeated signs of decadence in a society which had once been the object of his envy and his highest ambition, Webber's face had begun to take on a look of scorn...Yes, all these people looked at one another with untelling eyes. Their speech was casual, quick, and witty. But they did not say the things they knew. And they knew everything. They had seen everything. They had accepted everything. And they received every new intelligence now with a cynical and amused look in their untelling eyes. Nothing shocked them anymore. It was the way things were. It was what they had come to expect of life...He himself had not yet come to that, he did not want to come to it.”” [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society’s decay leads to cynicism and acceptance of emptiness, leaving the observer detached. **In simple terms:** Cynicism grows when society declines. Key Takeaway Stay aware, avoid complacency. Themes cynicism decadence disillusionment Mood skeptical detached Type literary analytical When to use this quote - urban life - cultural analysis - personal alienation Key Concepts social critique existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How does cynicism affect your actions? - Can hope persist amid decay? A Different Perspective Cynicism can prevent meaningful change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cynical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cynical/) [Look Untelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look-untelling-1731681/) [Looked Untelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looked-untelling-1731679/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [People Looked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-looked-248481/) [Untelling Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/untelling-eyes-1731680/) ## Related quotes > [“You looked at them and wondered why the were so ugly; you looked closely and could not find the source. Then you realized that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/you-looked-at-them-and-wondered-why-the-were-so-ugly-you-looked/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [People looked up to us for our values and leadership. But today, they laugh as we are busy debating whether one of the seven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahul-gandhi/people-looked-up-to-us-for-our-values-and-leadership-but-today-they/) [Rahul Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahul-gandhi/) > [“I wonder how many people I have looked at all my life and never really seen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-wonder-how-many-people-i-have-looked-at-all-my-life-and-never/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [People looked to Kurt Cobain because his songs captured what they felt before they knew they felt it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-decurtis/people-looked-to-kurt-cobain-because-his-songs-captured-what-they/) [Anthony DeCurtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-decurtis/) > [“We all know the true beauty of people everywhere, because we have all looked into the eyes of children, and saw ourselves looking back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/we-all-know-the-true-beauty-of-people-everywhere-because-we-have-all/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [ By 2016, the people who had looked to \[Barack\] Obama for change were looking somewhere else. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/by-2016-the-people-who-had-looked-to-barack-obama-for-change-were/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [People looked at me as a carpetbagger coming over from pop to country. But it helped because it got me in the room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darius-rucker/people-looked-at-me-as-a-carpetbagger-coming-over-from-pop-to-country/) [Darius Rucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darius-rucker/) > [I think people looked at me as one of them - an ordinary girl from an ordinary family with a voice they could recognise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-lynn/i-think-people-looked-at-me-as-one-of-them-an-ordinary-girl-from-an/) [Vera Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-lynn/) > [I think if people looked at my body of work, they'd see a great breadth of work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spike-lee/i-think-if-people-looked-at-my-body-of-work-they-d-see-a-great/) [Spike Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spike-lee/) > [“People never looked up. They looked down, they looked from side to side, but almost never did they think to tilt their heads back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacia-kane/people-never-looked-up-they-looked-down-they-looked-from-side-to-side/) [Stacia Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacia-kane/) > [Unable to attribute misfortune to chance, unable to accept their ultimate insignificance within the greater scheme, the people looked for monsters in their midst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-beckett/unable-to-attribute-misfortune-to-chance-unable-to-accept-their/) [Bernard Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-beckett/) > [“It happened to me. And I'll never forget it. Back when I was in the sixth grade, my whole family went out to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nagaru-tanigawa/it-happened-to-me-and-i-ll-never-forget-it-back-when-i-was-in-the/) [Nagaru Tanigawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nagaru-tanigawa/) > [I didn't really see why people should look at me. Plenty of people looked queerer than I did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-didn-t-really-see-why-people-should-look-at-me-plenty-of-people/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [When I was growing up, I didn't have too many people I looked up to that played soccer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ingram-ii/when-i-was-growing-up-i-didn-t-have-too-many-people-i-looked-up-to/) [Mark Ingram II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ingram-ii/) > [I looked at him like he was an idiot, but he didn’t notice. Or maybe he got it so often, he thought that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hocking/i-looked-at-him-like-he-was-an-idiot-but-he-didn-t-notice-or-maybe-he/) [Amanda Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hocking/) ## More by Thomas Wolfe > [“So all were gone at last, one by one, each swept out into the mighty flood tide of the city's life, there to prove,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/so-all-were-gone-at-last-one-by-one-each-swept-out-into-the-mighty/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [“A stick is not only wood but the negation of wood. It is the meeting in space of wood and no-wood. A stick is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/a-stick-is-not-only-wood-but-the-negation-of-wood-it-is-the-meeting/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [All things on earth point home in old October; sailors to sea, travellers to walls and fences, hunters to field and hollow and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/all-things-on-earth-point-home-in-old-october-sailors-to-sea/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [If a man has talent and can't use it, he's failed. If he uses only half of it, he has partly failed. If he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/if-a-man-has-talent-and-can-t-use-it-he-s-failed-if-he-uses-only-half/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [There came to him an image of man’s whole life upon the earth. It seemed to him that all man’s life was like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/there-came-to-him-an-image-of-man-s-whole-life-upon-the-earth-it/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [“He had learned some of the things that every man must find out for himself, and he had found out about them as one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/he-had-learned-some-of-the-things-that-every-man-must-find-out-for/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [What I had to face, the very bitter lesson that everyone who wants to write has got to learn, was that a thing may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/what-i-had-to-face-the-very-bitter-lesson-that-everyone-who-wants-to/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [The mountains were his masters. They rimmed in life. They were the cup of reality, beyond growth, beyond struggle and death. They were his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/the-mountains-were-his-masters-they-rimmed-in-life-they-were-the-cup/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [“For four years he lived in Brooklyn, and four years in Brooklyn are a geologic age -- a single stratum of grey time. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/for-four-years-he-lived-in-brooklyn-and-four-years-in-brooklyn-are-a/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [“Eugene looked with passionate devotion at that grand old head, calm, wise and comforting. In a moment of vision, he saw that, for him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/eugene-looked-with-passionate-devotion-at-that-grand-old-head-calm/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [Each moment is the fruit of forty thousand years. The minute-winning days, like flies, buzz home to death, and every moment is a window…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/each-moment-is-the-fruit-of-forty-thousand-years-the-minute-winning/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [“Among other things Jonestown was an example of a definition well known to sociologists of religion: a cult is a religion with no political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/among-other-things-jonestown-was-an-example-of-a-definition-well/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [“They clung together in that bright moment of wonder, there on the magic island, where the world was quiet, believing all they said. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/they-clung-together-in-that-bright-moment-of-wonder-there-on-the/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [Loneliness is and always has been the central and inevitable experience of every man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/loneliness-is-and-always-has-been-the-central-and-inevitable/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [“Come up into the hills, O my young love. Return! O lost, and by the wind grieved, ghost, come back again, as first I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/come-up-into-the-hills-o-my-young-love-return-o-lost-and-by-the-wind/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) [Explore all 109 Thomas Wolfe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) ## More Cynical quotes > [Broken by hardships, disappointments and tragedy, people can become discouraged and cynical. But lives can also be mended. Put back together well, they won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodier/broken-by-hardships-disappointments-and-tragedy-people-can-become/) [Steve Goodier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodier/) > [“Writers whose thoughts are expressed with clarity and precision are assumed by readers to be superficial. Where the meaning is obscured, then readers give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/writers-whose-thoughts-are-expressed-with-clarity-and-precision-are/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I would say most comedians have a very cynical worldview of the way the world can work. It's almost like if you didn't, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-quinn/i-would-say-most-comedians-have-a-very-cynical-worldview-of-the-way/) [Colin Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-quinn/) > [Sure, I’m dramatic and sloppily semi-cynical and semi-sentimental. But, in leisure years I could grow and choose my way. Now I am living on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/sure-i-m-dramatic-and-sloppily-semi-cynical-and-semi-sentimental-but/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [We're so immaturely cynical as a culture. We're not wise enough to look at an institution like marriage and to really things about what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-peterson/we-re-so-immaturely-cynical-as-a-culture-we-re-not-wise-enough-to/) [Jordan Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-peterson/) > [I'm not cynical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/i-m-not-cynical/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [A well governed people are generally a people who do not think much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-siegfried/a-well-governed-people-are-generally-a-people-who-do-not-think-much/) [Andre Siegfried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-siegfried/) > [I love writers who are insightful enough to be cynical but choose not to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-d-mclaren/i-love-writers-who-are-insightful-enough-to-be-cynical-but-choose-not/) [Brian D. McLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-d-mclaren/) > [It is a very cynical, skeptical, foolish person that suggests Israel does not need a peace process to have a growing economy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-quest/it-is-a-very-cynical-skeptical-foolish-person-that-suggests-israel/) [Richard Quest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-quest/) > [Songwriters might write cynical, world-wise lyrics and constantly talk about money, but most of us are downright naive when it comes to business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-nelson/songwriters-might-write-cynical-world-wise-lyrics-and-constantly-talk/) [Willie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-nelson/) > [No one more cynical than an idealist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/no-one-more-cynical-than-an-idealist/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [I've actually always wanted to write like a one-person show that was sort of a romantic comedy - a show that was kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-birbiglia/i-ve-actually-always-wanted-to-write-like-a-one-person-show-that-was/) [Mike Birbiglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-birbiglia/) > [“That's what I've never been able to get about religion: that charmless combination of altruism and insanity. Give me a cynical, self-interested bastard any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-carey/that-s-what-i-ve-never-been-able-to-get-about-religion-that-charmless/) [Mike Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-carey/) > [As the rain falls and the sun shines, they grow, grow, grow; minds so open, they go through life aware and accepting, seeing light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecelia-ahern/as-the-rain-falls-and-the-sun-shines-they-grow-grow-grow-minds-so/) [Cecelia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecelia-ahern/) > [One of the weirdest things that happened to artists and art criticism was this moment when everyone got cynical and stopped believing in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/one-of-the-weirdest-things-that-happened-to-artists-and-art-criticism/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) [Browse all 968 Cynical quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cynical/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“At these repeated signs of decadence in a society which had once been the object of his envy and his highest ambition, Webber's face had begun to take on a look of scorn...Yes, all these people looked at one another with untelling eyes. Their speech was casual, quick, and witty. But they did not say the things they knew. And they knew everything. They had seen everything. They had accepted everything. And they received every new intelligence now with a cynical and amused look in their untelling eyes. Nothing shocked them anymore. It was the way things were. It was what they had come to expect of life...He himself had not yet come to that, he did not want to come to it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Wolfe" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/at-these-repeated-signs-of-decadence-in-a-society-which-had-once-been/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cynical" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/at-these-repeated-signs-of-decadence-in-a-society-which-had-once-been/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/308/thomas-wolfe-4237_cynical_at-these-repeated-signs-of-decadence-in_156953.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/308/thomas-wolfe-4237_cynical_at-these-repeated-signs-of-decadence-in_156953.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/308/thomas-wolfe-4237_cynical_at-these-repeated-signs-of-decadence-in_156953.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“At these repeated signs of decadence in a society which had once been the object of his envy and his highest…” — Thomas Wolfe", "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": "Thomas Wolfe", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“At these repeated signs of decadence...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/at-these-repeated-signs-of-decadence-in-a-society-which-had-once-been/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/at-these-repeated-signs-of-decadence-in-a-society-which-had-once-been/#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 } } ] } ```