--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Language, when it finally comes, has the…" description: "\"“Language, when it finally comes, has the vigor of a felon pardoned after twenty-one years on hold. Sudden, raw, stripped to its underwear.”\" — Toni Mo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/925/toni-morrison-271_language_language-when-it-finally-comes-has-the-v_990023.jpg" --- # Language, when it finally comes, has the vigor of a felon… ![“Language, when it finally comes, has the vigor of a felon pardoned after twenty-one years on hold. Sudden, raw, stripped to its underwear.” quote by Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/925/toni-morrison-271_language_language-when-it-finally-comes-has-the-v_990023.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/925/toni-morrison-271_language_language-when-it-finally-comes-has-the-v_990023.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/925/toni-morrison-271_language_language-when-it-finally-comes-has-the-v_990023.jpg) > ““Language, when it finally comes, has the vigor of a felon pardoned after twenty-one years on hold. Sudden, raw, stripped to its underwear.”” [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When language finally emerges, it feels liberating yet raw, like a long‑imprisoned felon released. **In simple terms:** Language after waiting feels raw and freeing. Key Takeaway Value the power of finally speaking. Themes expression liberation authenticity Mood reflective intense Type literary psychological When to use this quote - Writing workshops - therapy sessions - public speaking Key Concepts Narrative voice psychology Questions to Reflect On - What does “stripped to its underwear” symbolize? - How does delayed expression affect identity? A Different Perspective May romantic the struggle of those without language. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Felon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felon/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Pardoned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pardoned/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) ## Related quotes > [“When the war is over, if we’ve won, Peeta will be pardoned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/when-the-war-is-over-if-we-ve-won-peeta-will-be-pardoned/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“All of this was understood, and if not condoned, at least pardoned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/all-of-this-was-understood-and-if-not-condoned-at-least-pardoned/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [All men ought to think of Christ because of the office Christ fills between God and man. He is the eternal Son of God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/all-men-ought-to-think-of-christ-because-of-the-office-christ-fills/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Allegations that President Clinton pardoned Marc Rich partly in return for donations to his presidential library have raised questions about the value of such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dallek/allegations-that-president-clinton-pardoned-marc-rich-partly-in/) [Robert Dallek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dallek/) > [“A soldier is a killer pardoned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-soldier-is-a-killer-pardoned/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-in-pardoning-that-we-are-pardoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Therefore, (and the difficult thing was not to lose sight of all the reasoning that went into this “therefore”), I had to accept the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/therefore-and-the-difficult-thing-was-not-to-lose-sight-of-all-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“The full and free pardon granted by President Buchanan was received resentfully by most of the Mormons, who still felt that the sending of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juanita-brooks/the-full-and-free-pardon-granted-by-president-buchanan-was-received/) [Juanita Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juanita-brooks/) > [What we talked about will have to remain a secret between him and me. I spoke to him as a brother whom I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/what-we-talked-about-will-have-to-remain-a-secret-between-him-and-me/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [I know I will go to hell, because I pardoned Richard Nixon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-r-ford/i-know-i-will-go-to-hell-because-i-pardoned-richard-nixon/) [Gerald R. Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-r-ford/) > [I'm not sure, if I were President Clinton, I wouldn't want to be pardoned for something that I believed that I didn't do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/i-m-not-sure-if-i-were-president-clinton-i-wouldn-t-want-to-be/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [“I hope they pardoned them. The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that i wish it to be always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-hope-they-pardoned-them-the-spirit-of-resistance-to-government-is/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [If you ever feel relax from your enemy... Then just close your eyes, and starts thinking about than damn person who hurts you a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohit-padhra/if-you-ever-feel-relax-from-your-enemy-then-just-close-your-eyes-and/) [ROHIT PADHRA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohit-padhra/) > [A sin concealed is half-pardoned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italian-proverb/a-sin-concealed-is-half-pardoned/) Italian Proverb > [The question of whether I, as a whistleblower, should be pardoned, is not for me to answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/the-question-of-whether-i-as-a-whistleblower-should-be-pardoned-is/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) ## More by Toni Morrison > [Perhaps that's what all human relationships boiled down to: Would you save my life? or would you take it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/perhaps-that-s-what-all-human-relationships-boiled-down-to-would-you/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [In times of dread, artists must never choose to remain silent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/in-times-of-dread-artists-must-never-choose-to-remain-silent/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“Not know it was hard;knowing it was harder”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/not-know-it-was-hard-knowing-it-was-harder/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“Didn’t everything on God’s earth have or acquire defense?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/didn-t-everything-on-god-s-earth-have-or-acquire-defense/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [If you can't count, they can cheat you. If you can't read, they can beat you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/if-you-can-t-count-they-can-cheat-you-if-you-can-t-read-they-can-beat/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“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/) > [All she saw, down in the cellar well beneath the stoop, was a light yellow feather with a tip of green. And she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/all-she-saw-down-in-the-cellar-well-beneath-the-stoop-was-a-light/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [For me, Art is the restoration of order. It may discuss all sort of terrible things, but there must be satisfaction at the end.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/for-me-art-is-the-restoration-of-order-it-may-discuss-all-sort-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“To Sethe, the future was a matter of keeping the past at bay”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/to-sethe-the-future-was-a-matter-of-keeping-the-past-at-bay/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“Hate does that. Burns off everything but itself, so whatever your grievance is, your face looks just like your enemy's.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/hate-does-that-burns-off-everything-but-itself-so-whatever-your/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“You know how a star is supposed to twinkle? We say twinkle because that is how it looks, but when a star feels itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/you-know-how-a-star-is-supposed-to-twinkle-we-say-twinkle-because/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“There is no bad luck in the world but whitefolks”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-is-no-bad-luck-in-the-world-but-whitefolks/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [My father saw two black men lynched on his street in Cartersville, as a child. And I think seeing two black businessmen - not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/my-father-saw-two-black-men-lynched-on-his-street-in-cartersville-as/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“She was fierce in the presence of death, heroic even, as she was at no other time. Its threat gave her direction, clarity, audacity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/she-was-fierce-in-the-presence-of-death-heroic-even-as-she-was-at-no/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) [Explore all 774 Toni Morrison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) ## More Felon quotes > [If violent crime is to be curbed, it is only the intended victim who can do it. 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Now that I had spilled the beans I could take on the laid-back, mildly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/wait-are-you-saying-what-i-think-you-re-saying-ye-es-now-that-i-had/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [In the USA, it's harder for a black man with no criminal record to find a job than a white man with a criminal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-jealous/in-the-usa-it-s-harder-for-a-black-man-with-no-criminal-record-to/) [Benjamin Jealous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-jealous/) > [If a person who indulges in gluttony is a glutton, and a person who commits a felony is a felon, then God is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spider-robinson/if-a-person-who-indulges-in-gluttony-is-a-glutton-and-a-person-who/) [Spider Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spider-robinson/) > [ Gator \[ McKlusky from White Lightning\] was a criminal and a felon, but he had a good heart - he's probably a cousin to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burt-reynolds/gator-mcklusky-from-white-lightning-was-a-criminal-and-a-felon-but-he/) [Burt Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burt-reynolds/) > [All the old forms of discrimination, the forms of discrimination we supposedly left behind, are now perfectly legal once you've been labeled a felon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/all-the-old-forms-of-discrimination-the-forms-of-discrimination-we/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Such a shame that I didn’t get to say good-bye to my fellow inmates,” he said sarcastically. “Actually, Puchalski was the only guy I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-james/such-a-shame-that-i-didn-t-get-to-say-good-bye-to-my-fellow-inmates/) [Julie James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-james/) > [On September 11, 2015, only hours before my mother passed away, I learned that the man I planned to build a life with was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenifer-lewis/on-september-11-2015-only-hours-before-my-mother-passed-away-i/) [Jenifer Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenifer-lewis/) [Browse all 36 Felon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Language, when it finally comes, has the vigor of a felon pardoned after twenty-one years on hold. 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