--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the next days it took little…" description: "\"“In the next days it took little provocation for us to flick the flint of our Zippo lighters. Thatched roofs take the flame quickly, and on bad days th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/187/tim-o-brien-1818_bad-day_in-the-next-days-it-took-little-provocat_2565886.png" --- # In the next days it took little provocation for us to… ![“In the next days it took little provocation for us to flick the flint of our Zippo lighters. Thatched roofs take the flame quickly, and on bad days the hamlets of Pinkville burned, taking our revenge in fire. It was good to walk from Pinkville and to see fire behind Alpha Company. It was good…” quote by Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/187/tim-o-brien-1818_bad-day_in-the-next-days-it-took-little-provocat_2565886.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/187/tim-o-brien-1818_bad-day_in-the-next-days-it-took-little-provocat_2565886.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/187/tim-o-brien-1818_bad-day_in-the-next-days-it-took-little-provocat_2565886.png) > ““In the next days it took little provocation for us to flick the flint of our Zippo lighters. Thatched roofs take the flame quickly, and on bad days the hamlets of Pinkville burned, taking our revenge in fire. It was good to walk from Pinkville and to see fire behind Alpha Company. It was good, just as pure hate is good.”” [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. Destruction becomes a twisted source of satisfaction and a way to express hatred. **In simple terms:** Violence can feel gratifying to some. Key Takeaway Recognize the darkness in revenge. Themes war revenge destruction Mood grim intense Type literary reflective When to use this quote - combat - civil unrest - personal vendettas Key Concepts psychology of aggression moral ambiguity Questions to Reflect On - What drives people to find pleasure in destruction? - How can societies prevent glorifying revenge? A Different Perspective Violence also causes trauma and loss. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-day/) [Bad days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-days/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Flint Zippo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flint-zippo-1647291/) [Lighters Thatched](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lighters-thatched-1647293/) [Pinkville Alpha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pinkville-alpha-1647290/) [Pinkville Burned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pinkville-burned-1647289/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Zippo Lighters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zippo-lighters-1647292/) ## Related quotes > [“When you have a bad day, a really bad day, try and treat the world better than it treated you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-stump/when-you-have-a-bad-day-a-really-bad-day-try-and-treat-the-world/) [Patrick Stump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-stump/) > [A bad day is just a bad day. 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Noise scared him, dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/yes-the-issue-was-courage-it-always-had-been-even-as-a-kid-things/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [It's very hard to articulate the things that are important about writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/it-s-very-hard-to-articulate-the-things-that-are-important-about/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [The thing about a story is that you dream it as you tell it, hoping that others might then dream along with you, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/the-thing-about-a-story-is-that-you-dream-it-as-you-tell-it-hoping/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [Fiction, maybe art in general, is a tentative, uncertain enterprise; it's not science, it's an exploration, but you never find much in the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/fiction-maybe-art-in-general-is-a-tentative-uncertain-enterprise-it-s/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“I learned that words make a difference. 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You could put fancy spin on it, you could make it dance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/on-occasions-the-war-was-like-a-ping-pong-ball-you-could-put-fancy/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“They were afraid of dying, but they were even more afraid to show it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/they-were-afraid-of-dying-but-they-were-even-more-afraid-to-show-it/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“Forty-three years old, and the war occurred half a lifetime ago, and yet the remembering makes it now. 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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 Bad day quotes > [“When you have a bad day, a really bad day, try and treat the world better than it treated you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-stump/when-you-have-a-bad-day-a-really-bad-day-try-and-treat-the-world/) [Patrick Stump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-stump/) > [Everybody has bad days, but how you respond to it is a testament to whether you are a winner or a loser.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-gordon/everybody-has-bad-days-but-how-you-respond-to-it-is-a-testament-to/) [Aaron Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-gordon/) > [“My mum always taught me the value of knowing, recognizing and acknowledging when you had a good day. There are so many bad days…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/my-mum-always-taught-me-the-value-of-knowing-recognizing-and/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [Today I will do my best.If I have a good day,i will be pruod of myself.If I have a bad day,I will not dwell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nix-mae/today-i-will-do-my-best-if-i-have-a-good-day-i-will-be-pruod-of/) [Nix Mae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nix-mae/) > [Inspiration comes from so many sources. Music, other fiction, the non-fiction I read, TV shows, films, news reports, people I know, stories I hear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudi-canavan/inspiration-comes-from-so-many-sources-music-other-fiction-the-non/) [Trudi Canavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudi-canavan/) > [If you're having a bad day already and everybody is just asking you petty questions, it drives people to the edge, or something really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-weixler/if-you-re-having-a-bad-day-already-and-everybody-is-just-asking-you/) [Jess Weixler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-weixler/) > [Remember, success is not measured by heights attained but by obstacles overcome. We're going to pass through many obstacles in our lives: good days,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-jenner/remember-success-is-not-measured-by-heights-attained-but-by-obstacles/) [Bruce Jenner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-jenner/) > [Let us learn to accept and appreciate things now, and we'll find more happiness in every moment we live. Happiness comes when we stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/let-us-learn-to-accept-and-appreciate-things-now-and-we-ll-find-more/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [The whole secret to mastering the game of golf - and this applies to the beginner as well as the pro - is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-palmer/the-whole-secret-to-mastering-the-game-of-golf-and-this-applies-to/) [Arnold Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-palmer/) > [“Thus in the bad days, in the dark swampy times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-russ/thus-in-the-bad-days-in-the-dark-swampy-times/) [Joanna Russ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-russ/) > [Take a deep breath. It,s just a bad day not a bad life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/take-a-deep-breath-it-s-just-a-bad-day-not-a-bad-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To be tested is good. 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Prayer is the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/if-you-have-a-bad-day-pray-if-you-have-a-good-day-pray-pray-for-the/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) [Browse all 1,054 Bad day quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-day/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In the next days it took little provocation for us to flick the flint of our Zippo lighters. Thatched roofs take the flame quickly, and on bad days the hamlets of Pinkville burned, taking our revenge in fire. It was good to walk from Pinkville and to see fire behind Alpha Company. 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