--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...he was dimly aware that if you wish to…" description: "\"“...he was dimly aware that if you wish to remain a human being under Fascism, there is an easier option than survival -- death.”\" — Vasily Grossman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d4/vasily-grossman-4608_death_he-was-dimly-aware-that-if-you-wish-to-r_1730076.jpg" --- # ...he was dimly aware that if you wish to remain a human… ![“...he was dimly aware that if you wish to remain a human being under Fascism, there is an easier option than survival -- death.” quote by Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d4/vasily-grossman-4608_death_he-was-dimly-aware-that-if-you-wish-to-r_1730076.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d4/vasily-grossman-4608_death_he-was-dimly-aware-that-if-you-wish-to-r_1730076.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d4/vasily-grossman-4608_death_he-was-dimly-aware-that-if-you-wish-to-r_1730076.jpg) > ““...he was dimly aware that if you wish to remain a human being under Fascism, there is an easier option than survival -- death.”” [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Under fascist oppression, choosing death can seem like an easier way to retain humanity than mere survival. **In simple terms:** Death may feel like a way to keep dignity under tyranny. Key Takeaway Consider moral choices beyond survival. Themes politics ethics humanity Mood somber reflective Type philosophical political When to use this quote - resistance movements - personal moral dilemmas - historical oppression Key Concepts existentialism totalitarianism moral philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to stay human under oppression? - Can dignity be kept while alive? A Different Perspective Survival may also preserve humanity; death isn’t the only option. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ## Related quotes > [If my happiness at this moment consists largely in reviewing happy memories and expectations, I am but dimly aware of this present. I shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/if-my-happiness-at-this-moment-consists-largely-in-reviewing-happy/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [Each individual is more or less dimly aware of his significance, is aware that he's something innately superior, something eternal--and lives, is obligated to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-turgenev/each-individual-is-more-or-less-dimly-aware-of-his-significance-is/) [Ivan Turgenev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-turgenev/) > [I was dimly aware that I might be getting in over my head. But that only added to the scheme’s appeal. That it wouldn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/i-was-dimly-aware-that-i-might-be-getting-in-over-my-head-but-that/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [A good person, striving dimly, Is well aware of the right path.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/a-good-person-striving-dimly-is-well-aware-of-the-right-path/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [You can take Hollywood for granted like I did, or you can dismiss it with the contempt we reserve for what we don't understand.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/you-can-take-hollywood-for-granted-like-i-did-or-you-can-dismiss-it/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“It was dimly lit with very few other people—just about my pace of excitement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marti-olsen-laney/it-was-dimly-lit-with-very-few-other-people-just-about-my-pace-of/) [Marti Olsen Laney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marti-olsen-laney/) > [“Reason's a thing we dimly see in sleep. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/reason-s-a-thing-we-dimly-see-in-sleep/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [One must not look at what lyes dimly in the distance, but do what lyes clearly at hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-must-not-look-at-what-lyes-dimly-in-the-distance-but-do-what-lyes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“dimly registered a thin blue rug”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-conklin/dimly-registered-a-thin-blue-rug/) [Tara Conklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-conklin/) > [“I am, he thought dimly, watching a vampire take a piss.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/i-am-he-thought-dimly-watching-a-vampire-take-a-piss/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [We faintly hear, we dimly see, In differing phrase we pray; But dim or clear, we own in Him The life, the truth, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/we-faintly-hear-we-dimly-see-in-differing-phrase-we-pray-but-dim-or/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [We see but dimly through the mists and vapors; Amid these earthly damps What seem to us but sad, funereal tapers May be heaven's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/we-see-but-dimly-through-the-mists-and-vapors-amid-these-earthly/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [“The road was so dimly lighted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-harmon/the-road-was-so-dimly-lighted/) [Amy Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-harmon/) > [Dimly lit restaurants always make me think they're trying to hide the food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kurland/dimly-lit-restaurants-always-make-me-think-they-re-trying-to-hide-the/) Michael Kurland > [Being a memory play, it is dimly lighted, it is sentimental. It is not realistic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/being-a-memory-play-it-is-dimly-lighted-it-is-sentimental-it-is-not/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) ## More by Vasily Grossman > [“When a person dies, they cross over from the realm of freedom to the realm of slavery. Life is freedom, and dying is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/when-a-person-dies-they-cross-over-from-the-realm-of-freedom-to-the/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [“Life was terrible. It was as though they could understand, as though they could read in one another’s eyes, that the power which had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/life-was-terrible-it-was-as-though-they-could-understand-as-though/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [“She's got legs like a stork, no arse worth speaking of, and great cow-like eyes. call that a woman?' 'You just like big tits',…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/she-s-got-legs-like-a-stork-no-arse-worth-speaking-of-and-great-cow/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [“The true champions of a nation's freedom are those who reject the limitations of stereotypes and affirm the rich diversity of human nature to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/the-true-champions-of-a-nation-s-freedom-are-those-who-reject-the/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [I don't want you to be young and beautiful. I only want one thing. I want you to be kind-hearted - and not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/i-don-t-want-you-to-be-young-and-beautiful-i-only-want-one-thing-i/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [“My faith has been tempered in Hell. My faith has emerged from the flames of the crematoria, from the concrete of the gas chamber.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/my-faith-has-been-tempered-in-hell-my-faith-has-emerged-from-the/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [“Another fact that allowed Fascism to gain power over men was their blindness. A man cannot believe that he is about to be destroyed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/another-fact-that-allowed-fascism-to-gain-power-over-men-was-their/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [Chekhov said: let's put God - and all these grand progressive ideas - to one side. Let's begin with man; let's be kind and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/chekhov-said-let-s-put-god-and-all-these-grand-progressive-ideas-to/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [“Before the war Sofya Levinton had once said to Yevgenia Nikolaevna Shaposhnikova, 'If one man is fated to be killed by another, it would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/before-the-war-sofya-levinton-had-once-said-to-yevgenia-nikolaevna/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [“Freedom is the direct opposite of necessity; freedom is necessity overcome.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/freedom-is-the-direct-opposite-of-necessity-freedom-is-necessity/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [There's nothing more difficult than saying goodbye to a house where you've suffered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/there-s-nothing-more-difficult-than-saying-goodbye-to-a-house-where/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [“The travelers emerged into a spacious square. In the middle of this square were several dozen people on a wooden bandstand like in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/the-travelers-emerged-into-a-spacious-square-in-the-middle-of-this/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [“Among a million Russian huts you will never find even two that are exactly the same. Everything that lives is unique. It is unimaginable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/among-a-million-russian-huts-you-will-never-find-even-two-that-are/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [“Don't you remember how you once answered a question of mine? Me - I shall never forget your words. Those words of yours opened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/don-t-you-remember-how-you-once-answered-a-question-of-mine-me-i/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [“Perhaps you’ve read Tolstoy’s Hadji Mourat? Perhaps you’ve read The Cossacks? Perhaps you’ve read the story “A Prisoner in the Caucasus”? They were written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/perhaps-you-ve-read-tolstoy-s-hadji-mourat-perhaps-you-ve-read-the/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) [Explore all 101 Vasily Grossman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...he was dimly aware that if you wish to remain a human being under Fascism, there is an easier option than survival -- death.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vasily Grossman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/he-was-dimly-aware-that-if-you-wish-to-remain-a-human-being-under/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/he-was-dimly-aware-that-if-you-wish-to-remain-a-human-being-under/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d4/vasily-grossman-4608_death_he-was-dimly-aware-that-if-you-wish-to-r_1730076.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d4/vasily-grossman-4608_death_he-was-dimly-aware-that-if-you-wish-to-r_1730076.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d4/vasily-grossman-4608_death_he-was-dimly-aware-that-if-you-wish-to-r_1730076.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...he was dimly aware that if you wish to remain a human being under Fascism, there is an easier option than…” — Vasily Grossman", "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": "Vasily Grossman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“...he was dimly aware that if...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/he-was-dimly-aware-that-if-you-wish-to-remain-a-human-being-under/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/he-was-dimly-aware-that-if-you-wish-to-remain-a-human-being-under/#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 } } ] } ```