--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the attic, a warhead no doubt burns…" description: "\"In the attic, a warhead no doubt burns. Everything is combustible. Faith burns. Trust burns. Everything burns to nothing and even nothing burns. . . . ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e47/tim-o-brien-1818_attics_in-the-attic-a-warhead-no-doubt-burns-ev_525498.png" --- # In the attic, a warhead no doubt burns. Everything is… ![“In the attic, a warhead no doubt burns. Everything is combustible. Faith burns. Trust burns. Everything burns to nothing and even nothing burns. . . . And when there is nothing, there is nothing worth dying for and when there is nothing worth dying for, there is only nothing.” quote by Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e47/tim-o-brien-1818_attics_in-the-attic-a-warhead-no-doubt-burns-ev_525498.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e47/tim-o-brien-1818_attics_in-the-attic-a-warhead-no-doubt-burns-ev_525498.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e47/tim-o-brien-1818_attics_in-the-attic-a-warhead-no-doubt-burns-ev_525498.png) > “In the attic, a warhead no doubt burns. Everything is combustible. Faith burns. Trust burns. Everything burns to nothing and even nothing burns. . . . And when there is nothing, there is nothing worth dying for and when there is nothing worth dying for, there is only nothing.” [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) ## 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 portrays a world where everything, including faith and trust, is consumed by fire, leading to nihilism and the loss of meaning. **In simple terms:** All is burning, leaving nothing worthwhile. Key Takeaway Recognize the danger of total nihilism. Themes nihilism despair existential crisis Mood somber reflective Type philosophical existential When to use this quote - war zones - personal crises - philosophical reflection Key Concepts entropy faith meaninglessness Questions to Reflect On - What can give purpose when everything feels empty? - How does one rebuild trust after total loss? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [“The chemistry between us is intense, bordering on combustible. I felt it the first time you looked at me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-lister/the-chemistry-between-us-is-intense-bordering-on-combustible-i-felt/) [Ann Lister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-lister/) > [“Rabies coevolved to live in the dog, and the dog coevolved to live with us - and this confluence, the three of us, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-wasik/rabies-coevolved-to-live-in-the-dog-and-the-dog-coevolved-to-live/) Bill Wasik > [“The lust for power is combustible thing”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/the-lust-for-power-is-combustible-thing/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“You and I together could be dangerous.” “Combustible, maybe,” she said. “But I doubt dangerous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-lister/you-and-i-together-could-be-dangerous-combustible-maybe-she-said-but/) [Ann Lister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-lister/) > [Patriotism. Combustible rubbish ready to the torch of any one ambitious to illuminate his name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/patriotism-combustible-rubbish-ready-to-the-torch-of-any-one/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [When a man the size of Martin becomes combustible, Oh, it's a dangerous situation! -Jase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duck-dynasty/when-a-man-the-size-of-martin-becomes-combustible-oh-it-s-a-dangerous/) [Duck Dynasty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duck-dynasty/) > [Some burn damp faggots, others may consume The entire combustible world in one small room As though dried straw, and if we turn about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/some-burn-damp-faggots-others-may-consume-the-entire-combustible-2/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [There are seaons when our passions have slept so long that we know not whether they still exist in us. 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If you didn't look for it, it wasn't there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/peace-never-bragged-if-you-didn-t-look-for-it-it-wasn-t-there/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) [Explore all 201 Tim O'Brien quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) ## More Attics quotes > [Like a child exploring the attic of an old house on a rainy day, discovering a trunk full of treasure and then calling all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/like-a-child-exploring-the-attic-of-an-old-house-on-a-rainy-day/) [Eugene H. 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In December, the wind wraps itself around bare trees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/when-the-cold-comes-to-new-england-it-arrives-in-sheets-of-sleet-and/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [American journalism's crazy old aunt in the attic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-thomas/american-journalism-s-crazy-old-aunt-in-the-attic/) [Helen Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-thomas/) > [In other countries, art and literature are left to a lot of shabby bums living in attics and feeding on booze and spaghetti, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/in-other-countries-art-and-literature-are-left-to-a-lot-of-shabby/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [I always kinda liked our attic ghost. When I was a kid, I used to go up there and read stories to it. Show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-gray/i-always-kinda-liked-our-attic-ghost-when-i-was-a-kid-i-used-to-go-up/) [Claudia Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-gray/) > [I find myself wanting to make music at the dining room table or in the bedroom - I'm kind of a mobile writer, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meshell-ndegeocello/i-find-myself-wanting-to-make-music-at-the-dining-room-table-or-in/) [Meshell Ndegeocello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meshell-ndegeocello/) > [“The attics of the mind hold onto their dusty secrets and free them at inappropriate moments.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-croome/the-attics-of-the-mind-hold-onto-their-dusty-secrets-and-free-them-at/) [Judy Croome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-croome/) > [I was a daughterless mother. I had nowhere to put the things a mother places on her daughter. 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