“It is 'where we are' that should make all the difference, whether we believe we belong there or not.”
― Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea
“For sometimes you can't help but crave some ruin in what you love.”
― Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea
“For if there is ever a moment when we are most vulnerable, it’s when we’re closest to the idea of the attained desire, and thus farthest from ourselves, which is when we’ll tread through any flame.”
― Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea
“You can be affected by a person because of something particular they said or did but sometimes how a person was, a manner of being, that gets most deeply absorbed, and prompts you to revisit certain parts of your life with an enhanced perspective, flowing forward right up to now.”
― Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea
“A tale, like the universe, they tell us, expands ceaselessly each time you examine it, until there is finally no telling exactly where it begins, where it ends, or where it places you now.”
― Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea
“And while it's easy to say this is a situation to be avoided, isn't this what we also fear and crave simultaneously, that some internal force which defies understanding might remake us into the people we dream we are?”
― Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea
“But maybe it’s the laboring that gives you shape. Might the most fulfilling times be those spent solo at your tasks, literally immersed or not, when you are able to uncover the smallest surprises and unlikely details of some process or operation that in turn exposes your proclivities and prejudices both?”
― Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea
tags: fulfillment, labor, self-reflection, work
“We have hopes and make plans, and if they are dashed or waylaid, we naturally rationalize and redraw the map to locate ourselves anew. Or else we brood and too firmly root. Very few can step forward again and again in what amounts to veritable leaps into the void, where there are no ready holds, where little is familiar, where you get constantly stuck in the thickets of your uncertainties and fears.”
― Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea
tags: inspirational
“Her endeavor was misguided and wrong and maybe plain crazy, akin to someone waking up one day and deciding he’s going to scale Kilimanjaro because he can’t stop imagining the view from the top, the picture so arresting and beautiful that it too soon delivers him to a precarious ledge, where he can no longer turn back. And while it’s easy to say this is a situation to be avoided, isn’t this what we also fear and crave simultaneously, that some internal force which defies understanding might remake us into the people we dream we are?”
― Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea
tags: adventure, dream, fear, rationality
“What if loving something means you should mostly feel frustrated and thwarted? And then a little ruined, too, by the pursuit? But you keep coming back for more?”
― Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea
“What hasty preparations we make for our future. Think of it: it seems almost tragic, the things we’re sure we ought to bring along. We pack too heavy with what we hope we’ll use, and too light of what we must. We thus go forth misladen, ill equipped for the dawn.”
― Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea
“We feel ever obliged by everday charges and tasks. They conscript us more and more. We find world enough in a frame. Until at last we take our places at the wheel, or wall, or line, having somewhere forgotten that we can look up.”
― Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea
tags: inspirational
“Don’t sanctuaries become prisons, and vice versa, foremost in the mind?”
― Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea
“But let's suppose another way of considering her, which was that she had a special conviction of imagination. Few of us do, to be honest. We wish and wish and often with fury but never very deeply. For if we did, we'd see how the world can sometimes split open, in just the way we hope. That it and we are, in fact, unbounded. Free.”
― Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea
“Behold a fire from the opposite shore.”
― Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea
“For at some point, each of us will be asked to embody what we feel and know.”
― Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea
“That Fan did not see any of this is not so ironic, for all along her journey we’ve observed more of her than she’ll ever know. She moves on, she pushes forward, this her guileless calling, and we have to remind ourselves that it’s perhaps more laudable simply to keep heading out into the world than always tilting to leave one’s mark on it.”
― Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea
“Do not discount the psychic warmth of the hive.”
― Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea
“Imagination might not be limitless. It's still tethered to the universe of what we know.”
― Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea
tags: imagination, thought
“Moment to moment, we act freely, we make decisions and form opinions and there is very little to throttle us. We think each of us has a map marked with private routings and preferred habitual destinations, and go by a legend of our own. Yet it turns out you can overlay them and see a most amazing correspondence; what you believed were very personal contours aligning not exactly but enough that while our via points may diverge, our endings do not.”
― Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea
“sometimes you can’t help but crave some ruin in what you love.”
― Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea
tags: love, self-destrucion
“It was in the work that she came closest to finding herself, by which we don’t mean gaining “self-knowledge” or understanding one’s “true nature” but rather how at some point you can see most plainly that this is what you do, this is how you fit in the wider ecology.”
― Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea
tags: career, fan, self-awareness
“We have to wonder what this might suggest about the relationship between the public realm and private lives in our settlement.
Some have proposed that we need to do more in encouraging individual interests and pursuits, even if they don't appear terribly useful or practical, to bolster and deepen those inner reserves that "make" a person into who she is, and how, by extension, she identifies and values herself. Other, more conservative, voices balk at this, countering that we need, in fact, to strengthen the bonds of the commune, so that to end one's own life would be tantamount to a grievous assault on us all.... But if we calm ourselves and open our eyes and step back far enough, we have to admit that our society, if not fundamentally unwell, has been profoundly wounded.”
― Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea
“Our tainted world looms within us, every one.”
― Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea
“For each of us has a perch on the tree. After we are gone, that perch is marked by a notch, permanent, yes, but with its edges muting over time, assuming the tree is ever growing. Years from now someone can see that you were here, or there, and although you had little conception or care for the wider branching, in the next life there might be a sigh of wonder at how quietly flourishing it all was, if never majestic.”
― Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea
“We reshape the story even when we believe we are simply repeating it.”
― Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea
“it’s perhaps more laudable simply to keep heading out into the world than always tilting to leave one’s mark on it.”
― Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea
“Isn’t it better that we send them off once and for all beneath the glow of carnival lights, with the taste of treats on our tongues, rather than invite the acrid tang of doubt, and undue longing, and the heart-stab of a freshly sundered bond?”
― Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea
tags: hope, separation
“In this difficult era the most valuable commodity is the unfailing turn of the hours and how they retrieve for us the known harbor of yesterday.”
― Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea
“For no matter the shadows of an age, the picture of a young couple in love, we are told, speaks most luminously of the future, as the span of that passion makes us believe we can overleap any walls, obliterate whatever obstacles.”
― Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea
tags: confidence, difficulty, future, love, passion, young-love
As a literature enthusiast with a profound understanding of Chang-rae Lee's work, particularly "On Such a Full Sea," I can attest to the intricate layers of meaning and thought-provoking concepts embedded in the text. Lee's writing delves into the complexities of human nature, aspirations, and the existential journey. Let's dissect the key concepts presented in the provided quotes:
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Belonging and Identity:
- "It is 'where we are' that should make all the difference, whether we believe we belong there or not." - This quote emphasizes the significance of one's sense of place and belonging, highlighting the impact of perception on identity.
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Craving Ruin in Love:
- "For sometimes you can't help but crave some ruin in what you love." - Lee explores the paradoxical nature of love, suggesting that the pursuit of love may involve a degree of frustration and self-destruction.
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Vulnerability in Attained Desire:
- "For if there is ever a moment when we are most vulnerable, it’s when we’re closest to the idea of the attained desire, and thus farthest from ourselves." - The quote reflects on the vulnerability that comes with the realization of long-desired goals, questioning the authenticity of the self in such moments.
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Impactful Encounters:
- "You can be affected by a person because of something particular they said or did, but sometimes how a person was, a manner of being, that gets most deeply absorbed..." - Lee delves into the lasting impact of personal encounters, emphasizing the significance of a person's essence in shaping perspectives.
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Expansive Nature of Stories:
- "A tale, like the universe, they tell us, expands ceaselessly each time you examine it..." - This quote suggests that stories, like the universe, are boundless and continually evolving, challenging conventional notions of beginnings, endings, and the present moment.
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Internal Transformation:
- "And while it's easy to say this is a situation to be avoided, isn't this what we also fear and crave simultaneously, that some internal force which defies understanding might remake us into the people we dream we are?" - Lee explores the dual nature of our relationship with internal change, acknowledging both fear and longing for transformation.
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Labor, Fulfillment, and Self-Reflection:
- "But maybe it’s the laboring that gives you shape. Might the most fulfilling times be those spent solo at your tasks..." - Lee contemplates the role of labor in shaping one's identity, suggesting that fulfillment arises from solitary engagement with tasks and self-reflection.
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Adventurous Pursuits and Dreams:
- "Her endeavor was misguided and wrong and maybe plain crazy... isn’t this what we also fear and crave simultaneously, that some internal force might remake us into the people we dream we are?" - Lee explores the tension between rationality and the desire for transformative, albeit risky, endeavors.
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Weight of Future Preparations:
- "What hasty preparations we make for our future... We pack too heavy with what we hope we’ll use, and too light of what we must." - This quote reflects on the tendency to overprepare for the future, often neglecting essential aspects in the process.
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Balancing Individual Pursuits and Communal Bonds:
- "But if we calm ourselves and open our eyes... our society, if not fundamentally unwell, has been profoundly wounded." - Lee presents a dichotomy between encouraging individual pursuits and strengthening communal bonds, raising questions about the health of society.
These quotes collectively capture Chang-rae Lee's exploration of human experiences, desires, and the intricate interplay between the individual and society. The thematic richness and philosophical depth evident in these excerpts underscore Lee's prowess in crafting a narrative that resonates with readers on a profound level.
