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The greatest pleasure is not – say – sex or geometry. It is just understanding. And if you can get people to understand their own humanity – well, that’s the job of the writer.

William Golding

A crowd of grade-three thinkers, all shouting the same thing, all warming their hands at the fire of their own prejudices, will not thank you for pointing out the contradictions in their beliefs. Man is a gregarious animal, and enjoys agreement as cows will graze all the same way on the side of a hill.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Crow Grade Hand Prejudice Same Shout Thing Thinker Warning
People don’t help much.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Help Much People
One’s intelligence may march about and about a problem, but the solution does not come gradually into view. One moment it is not. The next it is there.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Come Gradually Intelligent March May One Problem Solution View
I know there isn’t no beast-not with claws and all that, I mean-but I know there isn’t no fear, either.” Piggy paused. “Unless-” Ralph moved restlessly. “Unless what?” “Unless we get frightened of people.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Beast Claw Fear Know Mean No Pause Piggy
I play the piano passionately and inaccurately. Indeed, I worked out the other day that of my seventy-five years; I have spent at least one year sitting on a piano stool.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Day Five Inaccurately Indeed Other Passionate Piano Play Seventy Work Year
Only one novel is a novel: that is a successful novel.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Novel One Only Successful
Nothing is so impenetrable as laughter in a language you don’t understand.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Imperitable Language Laughter Nothing Understand
Together, joined in effort by the burden, they staggered up the last steep of the mountain. Together, they chanted One! Two! Three! and crashed the log on to the great pile. Then they stepped back, laughing with triumphant pleasure.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Burden Chant Effort Join Last Mountain Sleep Staggered Together Two
Every novel is a biography. Well, then, this is a novel [The Paper Men] which is a biography that is pretending to be an autobiography. That’s what you could say about it.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Appear Biography Emn Every Novel Pretend Well
I hope my books make statements about our general condition.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Book Condition General Hope Make Statement
Ralph… would treat the day’s decisions as though he were playing chess. The only trouble was that he would never be a very good chess player.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Chess Country Decision People Play Through
You’ll get back to where you came from.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Back Came From Get
To be in a world which is a hell, to be of that world and neither to believe in or guess at anything but that world is not merely hell but the only possible damnation: the act of a man damning himself. It may be
WILLIAM GOLDING

Anything Believe Guess Hell Merely Neither Only World
I’ve come across a novel called The Palm-Wine Drinkard, by the Nigerian writer Amos Tutuola, that is really remarkable because it is a kind of fantasy of West African mythology all told in West African English which, of course, is not the same as standard English.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Call Come Cross Dimkard Kind Novel Palm Person Really Remarkable Wine Writer
Towards midnight the rain ceased and the clouds drifted away, so that the sky was scattered once more with the incredible lamps of stars.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Away Cease Cloud Drift Incredible Lamp Mighnight More Once Scatter Sky Star Towards
And I’ve been wearing specs since I was three.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Been Since Specs Three Wear

The greatest pleasure is not – say – sex or geometry. It is just understanding. And if you can get people to understand their own humanity – well, that’s the job of the writer.

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The greatest pleasure is not – say – sex or geometry. It is just understanding. And if you can get people to understand their own humanity – well, that’s the job of the writer.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More William Golding Quotes