--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the evening I came home and read about…" description: "\"“In the evening I came home and read about the Messina earthquake, and how the relief ships arrived, and the wretched survivors crowded down to the wat..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3f/upton-sinclair-4341_crowds_in-the-evening-i-came-home-and-read-abou_2921366.jpg" --- # In the evening I came home and read about the Messina… ![“In the evening I came home and read about the Messina earthquake, and how the relief ships arrived, and the wretched survivors crowded down to the water's edge and tore each other like wild beasts in their rage of hunger. The paper set forth, in horrified language, that some of them had been…” quote by Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3f/upton-sinclair-4341_crowds_in-the-evening-i-came-home-and-read-abou_2921366.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3f/upton-sinclair-4341_crowds_in-the-evening-i-came-home-and-read-abou_2921366.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3f/upton-sinclair-4341_crowds_in-the-evening-i-came-home-and-read-abou_2921366.jpg) > ““In the evening I came home and read about the Messina earthquake, and how the relief ships arrived, and the wretched survivors crowded down to the water's edge and tore each other like wild beasts in their rage of hunger. The paper set forth, in horrified language, that some of them had been seventy-two hours without food. I, as I read, had also been seventy-two hours without food; and the difference was simply that they thought they were starving.”” [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Starvation can blur reality, making desperate people act violently, yet perception of hunger is subjective. **In simple terms:** Hunger distorts perception and behavior. Key Takeaway Recognize the power of mindset. Themes hunger survival perception violence psychology Mood reflective somber Type analytical critical When to use this quote - disaster relief - mental health support - community aid Key Concepts human behavior psychological resilience social crisis subjective experience Questions to Reflect On - How does perception shape suffering? - What can change the narrative of hunger? A Different Perspective May overlook systemic causes of famine. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Crowds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crowds/) [Fasting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fasting/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Human stupidity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-stupidity/) [Hunger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunger/) [Hunger Paper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunger-paper-4258879/) [Madness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/madness/) [Read Messina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-messina-4258880/) [Starvation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starvation/) [Starving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starving/) [Stoicism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stoicism/) [Thought Starving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-starving-3792643/) [Wild beast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wild-beast/) ## Related quotes > [I eat eight bags of chips in one sitting, and then nothing for a day or two. I learned that my body thought it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whoopi-goldberg/i-eat-eight-bags-of-chips-in-one-sitting-and-then-nothing-for-a-day/) [Whoopi Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whoopi-goldberg/) > [“...and the wild beast rose up within him and screamed, as it had screamed in the Jungle from the dawn of time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/and-the-wild-beast-rose-up-within-him-and-screamed-as-it-had-screamed/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [“It was piecework, and she was apt to have a family to keep alive; and stern and ruthless economic laws had arranged it that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/it-was-piecework-and-she-was-apt-to-have-a-family-to-keep-alive-and/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [“I had written the sentence, 'You mustn't think that the evolution that gave rise to us was the only evolutionary possibility on this planet.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karel-capek/i-had-written-the-sentence-you-mustn-t-think-that-the-evolution-that/) [Karel Capek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karel-capek/) > [Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/only-two-things-are-infinite-the-universe-and-human-stupidity-and-i-m/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“By the time the Somnambulist had set her creaking bones to rest on their assigned landing pad, Holden had lost all patience with human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-s-a-corey/by-the-time-the-somnambulist-had-set-her-creaking-bones-to-rest-on/) [James S.A. Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-s-a-corey/) > [ “\[On Dr. Strangelove \]: My idea of doing it as a nightmare comedy came in the early weeks of working on the screenplay. \[...\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-kubrick/on-dr-strangelove-my-idea-of-doing-it-as-a-nightmare-comedy-came-in/) [Stanley Kubrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-kubrick/) > [Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/never-attribute-to-malice-that-which-can-be-adequately-explained-by-2/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“By studying human history, we can realize how much of human stupidity has fallen on fertile ground. Is gravity guilty for such an occurrence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eraldo-banovac/by-studying-human-history-we-can-realize-how-much-of-human-stupidity/) [Eraldo Banovac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eraldo-banovac/) > [He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/he-who-joyfully-marches-to-music-in-rank-and-file-has-already-earned/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Never underestimate human stupidity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pittacus-lore/never-underestimate-human-stupidity/) [Pittacus Lore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pittacus-lore/) > [Religious and racial persecution is moronic at all times, perhaps the most idiotic of human stupidities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/religious-and-racial-persecution-is-moronic-at-all-times-perhaps-the/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/never-underestimate-the-power-of-human-stupidity/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“I've said this before: a lot of people think they're artists because they feel things deeply. You know, we're in a culture now and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-schneider/i-ve-said-this-before-a-lot-of-people-think-they-re-artists-because/) [Dan Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-schneider/) > [“...the endless labour of rolling human stupidity up the steep hill of understanding.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/the-endless-labour-of-rolling-human-stupidity-up-the-steep-hill-of/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) ## More by Upton Sinclair > [Turn over the pages of history and read the damning record of the church's opposition to every advance in every field of science. . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/turn-over-the-pages-of-history-and-read-the-damning-record-of-the/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [You don't have to be satisfied with America as you find it. You can change it. I didn't like the way I found America…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/you-don-t-have-to-be-satisfied-with-america-as-you-find-it-you-can/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [“A wonderful privilege it was to be thus admitted into the soul of a man of genius, to be allowed to share the ecstasies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/a-wonderful-privilege-it-was-to-be-thus-admitted-into-the-soul-of-a/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [“...the souls of none of them were dead, but only sleeping; now and then they would waken, and these were cruel times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/the-souls-of-none-of-them-were-dead-but-only-sleeping-now-and-then/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [“He learned that love is not all pleasure, but can be agony and heartache, martyrdom and sacrifice. He learned what the clergyman was talking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/he-learned-that-love-is-not-all-pleasure-but-can-be-agony-and/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [I am sustained by a sense of the worthwhileness of what I am doing; a trust in the good faith of the process which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/i-am-sustained-by-a-sense-of-the-worthwhileness-of-what-i-am-doing-a/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [“We have a flabby public opinion which would wring its hands in anguish if we took the labor leader by the scruff of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/we-have-a-flabby-public-opinion-which-would-wring-its-hands-in/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [“He seemed to be growing conservative, allying himself with Göring’s friends, the great industrialists, and forgetting the promises he had made to the common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/he-seemed-to-be-growing-conservative-allying-himself-with-g-ring-s/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [The first thing brought forth by the study of any religion, ancient or modern, is that it is based upon Fear, born of it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/the-first-thing-brought-forth-by-the-study-of-any-religion-ancient-or/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [American journalism is a class institution, serving the rich and spurning the poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/american-journalism-is-a-class-institution-serving-the-rich-and/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [“Now I ask you: could any muck-raker in a rage make up a list of titles more completely expressive of vulgarity, commercialism and general…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/now-i-ask-you-could-any-muck-raker-in-a-rage-make-up-a-list-of-titles/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [“In that country, rich or poor, a man was free... So America was a place of which lovers and young people dreamed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/in-that-country-rich-or-poor-a-man-was-free-so-america-was-a-place-of/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [“Study and think and improve your mind, and keep it clear of all this fog of hatred and propaganda”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/study-and-think-and-improve-your-mind-and-keep-it-clear-of-all-this/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [The private control of credit is the modern form of slavery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/the-private-control-of-credit-is-the-modern-form-of-slavery/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [“When one comes to the ultra-modern profession of advertising," responded Schliemann—"the science of persuading people to buy what they do not want—he is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/when-one-comes-to-the-ultra-modern-profession-of-advertising/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) [Explore all 112 Upton Sinclair quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) ## More Crowds quotes > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [I don't think about the press or the crowds or the other leaders of the race. The focus is only on myself. As soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magdalena-neuner/i-don-t-think-about-the-press-or-the-crowds-or-the-other-leaders-of/) [Magdalena Neuner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magdalena-neuner/) > [A man has a right to use a saw, an axe, a plane, separately; may he not combine their uses on the same piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-man-has-a-right-to-use-a-saw-an-axe-a-plane-separately-may-he-not/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [Your aunt and uncle will be proud, though, won't they?" said Hermione as they got off the train and joined the crowd thronging toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-aunt-and-uncle-will-be-proud-though-won-t-they-said-hermione-as/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Never belong to a crowd; Never belong to a nation; Never belong to a religion; Never belong to a race. Belong to the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/never-belong-to-a-crowd-never-belong-to-a-nation-never-belong-to-a/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [It's been really fun to see with each album when I change to see the fans of the show emulate my style and with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avril-lavigne/it-s-been-really-fun-to-see-with-each-album-when-i-change-to-see-the/) [Avril Lavigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avril-lavigne/) > [When the American people saw the LA riots and crowds of Blacks cheering O.J. Simpson (who was acquitted by the almost all Black jury),…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-duke/when-the-american-people-saw-the-la-riots-and-crowds-of-blacks/) [David Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-duke/) > [I'm neurotic in the sense that I can have a crowd of 300 people cheering you, applauding you, standing O, but one guy come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-white/i-m-neurotic-in-the-sense-that-i-can-have-a-crowd-of-300-people/) [Wayne White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-white/) > [Cease speaking of enemies when an achievement can kindle a great light. Solitude will transmit the message better than the murmurs of crowds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-roerich/cease-speaking-of-enemies-when-an-achievement-can-kindle-a-great/) [Nicholas Roerich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-roerich/) > [I want people to just be paying attention even if they're not necessarily laughing at something, or if it takes them a while to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-want-people-to-just-be-paying-attention-even-if-they-re-not/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [I am rarely bored alone; I am often bored in groups and crowds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/i-am-rarely-bored-alone-i-am-often-bored-in-groups-and-crowds/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [It might be lonelier Without the Loneliness - I’m so accustomed to my Fate - Perhaps the Other - Peace - Would interrupt the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/it-might-be-lonelier-without-the-loneliness-i-m-so-accustomed-to-my/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [I've always said about 50% of what happens at a concert has to do with the audience. If you play for a dead audience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-joel/i-ve-always-said-about-50-of-what-happens-at-a-concert-has-to-do-with/) [Billy Joel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-joel/) > [The New England spirit does not seek solutions in a crowd; raw light and solitariness are less dreaded than welcomed as enhancers of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-new-england-spirit-does-not-seek-solutions-in-a-crowd-raw-light/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) [Browse all 2,078 Crowds quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crowds/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In the evening I came home and read about the Messina earthquake, and how the relief ships arrived, and the wretched survivors crowded down to the water's edge and tore each other like wild beasts in their rage of hunger. The paper set forth, in horrified language, that some of them had been seventy-two hours without food. I, as I read, had also been seventy-two hours without food; and the difference was simply that they thought they were starving.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Upton Sinclair" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/in-the-evening-i-came-home-and-read-about-the-messina-earthquake-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Crowds" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/in-the-evening-i-came-home-and-read-about-the-messina-earthquake-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3f/upton-sinclair-4341_crowds_in-the-evening-i-came-home-and-read-abou_2921366.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3f/upton-sinclair-4341_crowds_in-the-evening-i-came-home-and-read-abou_2921366.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3f/upton-sinclair-4341_crowds_in-the-evening-i-came-home-and-read-abou_2921366.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In the evening I came home and read about the Messina earthquake, and how the relief ships arrived, and the…” — Upton Sinclair", "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": "Upton Sinclair", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“In the evening I came home...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/in-the-evening-i-came-home-and-read-about-the-messina-earthquake-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/in-the-evening-i-came-home-and-read-about-the-messina-earthquake-and/#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 } } ] } ```