--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Papa had always told Justine that guns…" description: "\"“Papa had always told Justine that guns had a remarkable capacity to focus the mind. She couldn’t say with any confidence that her actions had cleared ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0c/vanessa-kelly-74461_focus_papa-had-always-told-justine-that-guns-h_711446.jpg" --- # Papa had always told Justine that guns had a remarkable… ![“Papa had always told Justine that guns had a remarkable capacity to focus the mind. She couldn’t say with any confidence that her actions had cleared the minds of the drunken louts before her, but she’d sharpened their attention. They gaped at her, slack-mouth and stupefied, trying to make sense…” quote by Vanessa Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0c/vanessa-kelly-74461_focus_papa-had-always-told-justine-that-guns-h_711446.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0c/vanessa-kelly-74461_focus_papa-had-always-told-justine-that-guns-h_711446.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0c/vanessa-kelly-74461_focus_papa-had-always-told-justine-that-guns-h_711446.jpg) > ““Papa had always told Justine that guns had a remarkable capacity to focus the mind. She couldn’t say with any confidence that her actions had cleared the minds of the drunken louts before her, but she’d sharpened their attention. They gaped at her, slack-mouth and stupefied, trying to make sense of what their bleary eyes told them.”” Vanessa Kelly ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Violence can command attention, but it also blinds and dehumanizes both observer and observed. **In simple terms:** Guns focus minds but distort reality. Key Takeaway Beware of using force to gain attention. Themes power attention violence Mood critical somber Type narrative cautionary When to use this quote - street confrontation - political protest - law enforcement encounters Key Concepts psychology social control Questions to Reflect On - Is attention gained through intimidation sustainable? - What alternatives exist for capturing focus? A Different Perspective Force may create temporary focus but erodes trust. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Historical-romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historical-romance/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Regency-romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regency-romance/) ## Related quotes > [“No one can tell you what your path is," she had told Justine. 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Has anyone told you you have the maturity level of a four-year-old?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kagawa/i-rolled-my-eyes-has-anyone-told-you-you-have-the-maturity-level-of-a/) [Julie Kagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kagawa/) > [She looked up at him and said,"What did you say?" "You have beautiful eyes." "You told my father that he has beautiful eyes?" He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-maclean/she-looked-up-at-him-and-said-what-did-you-say-you-have-beautiful/) [Sarah MacLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-maclean/) > [“He had tears in his eyes even as he told her not to cry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamila-shamsie/he-had-tears-in-his-eyes-even-as-he-told-her-not-to-cry/) [Kamila Shamsie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamila-shamsie/) > [“When she reached the other two overseers, she let them see her, let them try to draw their blades. She knew it wasn’t the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/when-she-reached-the-other-two-overseers-she-let-them-see-her-let/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [“When we opened our eyes and he stared down at me, smoothing my hair back and tucking a piece behind my ear, his eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-sheridan/when-we-opened-our-eyes-and-he-stared-down-at-me-smoothing-my-hair/) [Mia Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-sheridan/) > [“My eyes would have told you everything you wanted to know in the parlor ... You would never have spouted that drivel about how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eloisa-james/my-eyes-would-have-told-you-everything-you-wanted-to-know-in-the/) [Eloisa James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eloisa-james/) ## More by Vanessa Kelly > [“Aden St. George managed to avoid having to kill the guard stationed outside his quarry’s crypt-like cell, although the thug outside the caves hadn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-kelly/aden-st-george-managed-to-avoid-having-to-kill-the-guard-stationed/) Vanessa Kelly > [“Linnet’s thudding heart raced blood through her veins, sending a flush of embarrassing heat to her face. She had been avoiding him, but she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-kelly/linnet-s-thudding-heart-raced-blood-through-her-veins-sending-a-flush/) Vanessa Kelly Explore all 3 Vanessa Kelly quotes ## More Focus quotes > [If you take your eye off the ball or lose focus for even a minute you can lose a game against any team.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felipe-anderson/if-you-take-your-eye-off-the-ball-or-lose-focus-for-even-a-minute-you/) [Felipe Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felipe-anderson/) > [Music is a job, but I figured out ways to get my mind into a place where I could be creative. I actually discovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flume/music-is-a-job-but-i-figured-out-ways-to-get-my-mind-into-a-place/) [Flume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flume/) > [“If you're focused, you can't get bored.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alin-sav/if-you-re-focused-you-can-t-get-bored/) [Alin Sav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alin-sav/) > [There are more important things to focus on in life than how you look.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arden-cho/there-are-more-important-things-to-focus-on-in-life-than-how-you-look/) [Arden Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arden-cho/) > [Focus on becoming more to achieve more while doing less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/focus-on-becoming-more-to-achieve-more-while-doing-less/) [Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/) > [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/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [“This is Galileo,” said Aristotle. “He advocates understanding the world through observation and experiment. He is an unimaginative thinker, but his results demand our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-cixin/this-is-galileo-said-aristotle-he-advocates-understanding-the-world/) [Liu Cixin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liu-cixin/) > [Too many times we flitter our energy into too many goals and in the process don't achieve much. Focus is very important in life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaishali-kasture/too-many-times-we-flitter-our-energy-into-too-many-goals-and-in-the/) [Vaishali Kasture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaishali-kasture/) > [If you ask another competitor, they may tell you they felt very competitive towards me. But I can tell you that my biggest competition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-kwan/if-you-ask-another-competitor-they-may-tell-you-they-felt-very/) [Michelle Kwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-kwan/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [All I'm focused on is playing my game. Everything else will take care of itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grigor-dimitrov/all-i-m-focused-on-is-playing-my-game-everything-else-will-take-care/) [Grigor Dimitrov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grigor-dimitrov/) > [Focus on being productive instead of busy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-ferriss/focus-on-being-productive-instead-of-busy/) [Tim Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-ferriss/) [Browse all 11,734 Focus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Papa had always told Justine that guns had a remarkable capacity to focus the mind. She couldn’t say with any confidence that her actions had cleared the minds of the drunken louts before her, but she’d sharpened their attention. 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