Frogs Quote by Zakes Mda
““The girls cannot contain their joy. They must start rehearsing immediately. They teach Saluni a new song that they have composed at the swamps. It is about croaking frogs in their green and brown colours and how the girls caught them and pierced their eyes with sharp sticks and set them free to hop about in wonderful blindness. It is a haunting melody. They tell Saluni that the song is all about the fun they had at the swamps today. The blinded frogs will live peacefully because now they won't be bothered by the bright rays of the sun. They won't have to run from danger, because they won't see it. They will therefore be safe since danger only catches those who run away from it.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Heart of Redness by Zakes Mda, 2000
The girls create a song about blinded frogs, believing blindness protects them from danger, reflecting a twisted sense of mercy through ignorance.
In simple terms: Blindness is seen as safety from harm.
Key Takeaway
Consider the moral cost of protecting through ignorance.
Themes
morality
perception
protectiveness
innocence
Mood
thoughtful
critical
melancholic
Type
narrative
philosophical
cautionary
When to use this quote
- storytelling
- songwriting
- environmental metaphor
- ethical debate
Key Concepts
Ethics
perception bias
protective delusion
Questions to Reflect On
- Is safety worth sacrificing truth?
- What are the consequences of willful ignorance?
A Different Perspective
Blindness may prevent awareness of real threats.
![“[Wise men] have tried to understand our state of being, by grasping at its stars, or its arts, or its economics. But, if there is an underlying oneness of all things, it does not matter where we begin, whether with stars, or laws of supply and demand, or frogs, or Napoleon Bonaparte. One measures…” quote by Charles Fort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/1e7/charles-fort-11887_art_wise-men-have-tried-to-understand-our-st_19788.jpg)
