--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But it is not only at these outward forms…" description: "\"“But it is not only at these outward forms that we must look to find the evidence of a nation's hurt. We must look as well at the heart of guilt that b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f87/thomas-wolfe-4237_look-eyes_but-it-is-not-only-at-these-outward-form_3149483.jpg" --- # But it is not only at these outward forms that we must… ![“But it is not only at these outward forms that we must look to find the evidence of a nation's hurt. We must look as well at the heart of guilt that beats in each of us, for there the cause lies. We must look, and with our own eyes see, the central core of defeat and shame and failure which we…” quote by Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f87/thomas-wolfe-4237_look-eyes_but-it-is-not-only-at-these-outward-form_3149483.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f87/thomas-wolfe-4237_look-eyes_but-it-is-not-only-at-these-outward-form_3149483.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f87/thomas-wolfe-4237_look-eyes_but-it-is-not-only-at-these-outward-form_3149483.jpg) > ““But it is not only at these outward forms that we must look to find the evidence of a nation's hurt. We must look as well at the heart of guilt that beats in each of us, for there the cause lies. We must look, and with our own eyes see, the central core of defeat and shame and failure which we have wrought in the lives of even the least of these, our brothers. And why must we look? Because we must probe to the bottom of our collective wound. As men, as Americans, we can no longer cringe away and lie. Are we not all warmed by the same sun, frozen by the same cold, shone on by the same lights of time and terror here in America? Yes, and if we do not look and see it, we shall all be damned together.”” [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. The quote urges confronting collective guilt and societal wounds rather than ignoring them, emphasizing shared responsibility for a nation's failures. **In simple terms:** Face shared guilt and societal wounds. Key Takeaway Acknowledge and act on collective failures. Themes responsibility guilt national identity truth healing Mood somber reflective Type philosophical political When to use this quote - political discourse - community building - education - policy reform Key Concepts collective trauma social conscience moral accountability Questions to Reflect On - What personal actions can you take to address collective wounds? - How does acknowledging shared guilt change societal outcomes? A Different Perspective Ignoring pain deepens division and hampers healing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brothers Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brothers-look-2135573/) [Hurt Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurt-look-293711/) [Look Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look-eyes-240043/) [Look Shall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look-shall-3289978/) [Nation Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nation-hurt-5647905/) ## Related quotes > [The man that put that hurt look in your eyes, could be worth everything, or nothing at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/the-man-that-put-that-hurt-look-in-your-eyes-could-be-worth/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [If you saw how much you hurt her, you'd never look in her eyes again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mee/if-you-saw-how-much-you-hurt-her-you-d-never-look-in-her-eyes-again/) [Mee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mee/) > [If I could show you how much you hurt me you could NEVER look me in the eyes again!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-i-could-show-you-how-much-you-hurt-me-you-could-never-look-me-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If you see us among scores of women, will you look upon us? We shall look upon you, Liberty 5-3000, if we see you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/if-you-see-us-among-scores-of-women-will-you-look-upon-us-we-shall/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [And at home by the fire, whenever you look up there I shall be— and whenever I look up, there will be you. -Gabriel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/and-at-home-by-the-fire-whenever-you-look-up-there-i-shall-be-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [We're brothers and we all look after each other. 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We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/you-re-the-woman-in-my-life-he-said-another-thing-about-me-and-my/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [My two brothers and myself never had to look outside of our house in search of a hero. We got to witness one up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mccourty/my-two-brothers-and-myself-never-had-to-look-outside-of-our-house-in/) [Jason McCourty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mccourty/) > [If I'm created in God's image, why does it hurt to look in the mirror..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carissa-aydaa/if-i-m-created-in-god-s-image-why-does-it-hurt-to-look-in-the-mirror/) [Carissa Aydaa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carissa-aydaa/) > [My father had spent years fighting cancer of the head and neck. He had numerous operations, and he was reduced and reduced and reduced.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-joyce/my-father-had-spent-years-fighting-cancer-of-the-head-and-neck-he-had/) [Rachel Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-joyce/) > [“What was with this family, that all the sons were so freaking handsome it hurt to look at them”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kagawa/what-was-with-this-family-that-all-the-sons-were-so-freaking-handsome/) [Julie Kagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kagawa/) > [She's the type of girl that can be so hurt but can still look at you and smile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/she-s-the-type-of-girl-that-can-be-so-hurt-but-can-still-look-at-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im the type of girl who can be so hurt but still look at you & smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-the-type-of-girl-who-can-be-so-hurt-but-still-look-at-you-smile/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## 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/) > [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/at-these-repeated-signs-of-decadence-in-a-society-which-had-once-been/) [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/) [Explore all 109 Thomas Wolfe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) ## More Look Eyes quotes > [Look with all your eyes, look.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/look-with-all-your-eyes-look/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) > [“The little man gave the big one a look. One of his eyes was green, one was black, and both were cool.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/the-little-man-gave-the-big-one-a-look-one-of-his-eyes-was-green-one/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [Look into my eyes what do you see... Look into my face what did you realize...can't you see a true love burning and expressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-hmangte/look-into-my-eyes-what-do-you-see-look-into-my-face-what-did-you/) [Steven Hmangte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-hmangte/) > [Sometimes when you look in his eyes you get the feeling that someone else is driving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/sometimes-when-you-look-in-his-eyes-you-get-the-feeling-that-someone/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [It hurts me so much to look you in the eyes now knowing that I used no never want to look away from them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tailaskie/it-hurts-me-so-much-to-look-you-in-the-eyes-now-knowing-that-i-used/) [Tailaskie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tailaskie/) > [Kiss you from your neck to your thighs, Grab me with your legs, look me in the eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/kiss-you-from-your-neck-to-your-thighs-grab-me-with-your-legs-look-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [This is more than goodbye,when I look into your eyes,you're not even there...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maroon-5/this-is-more-than-goodbye-when-i-look-into-your-eyes-you-re-not-even/) [Maroon 5](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maroon-5/) > [Look through someone else's eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-woodley/look-through-someone-else-s-eyes/) [Freya Woodley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-woodley/) > [“But you don't come right out there and let somebody hear you say you think they're OK. When it's a girl you're just trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/but-you-don-t-come-right-out-there-and-let-somebody-hear-you-say-you/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Even though that I was strong The look in your eyes always wanna turn me on](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paperboi/even-though-that-i-was-strong-the-look-in-your-eyes-always-wanna-turn/) [Paperboi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paperboi/) > [“Look beyond someone's eyes and to truly see their beauty ~ Hear beyond their words and listen to their heart ~ Feel beyond their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-corday/look-beyond-someone-s-eyes-and-to-truly-see-their-beauty-hear-beyond/) [Adrian Corday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-corday/) > [Hold the hand of your best friend, look into their eyes. Then watch them drift away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mudvayne/hold-the-hand-of-your-best-friend-look-into-their-eyes-then-watch/) [Mudvayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mudvayne/) > [“Everyone should get at least one good look at the eyes of a man who finds himself rising toward what he wants to pull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/everyone-should-get-at-least-one-good-look-at-the-eyes-of-a-man-who/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Every time I look into your eyes, I see the sun come up. It makes me start to wonder why it never has before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jerzak/every-time-i-look-into-your-eyes-i-see-the-sun-come-up-it-makes-me/) [Stephen Jerzak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jerzak/) > [“When i look into your eyes i know what you are thinking what you are feeling and that your love for me has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-trevitz/when-i-look-into-your-eyes-i-know-what-you-are-thinking-what-you-are/) [matt Trevitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-trevitz/) [Browse all 371 Look Eyes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look-eyes-240043/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But it is not only at these outward forms that we must look to find the evidence of a nation's hurt. We must look as well at the heart of guilt that beats in each of us, for there the cause lies. 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