black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

I believe man suffers from an appalling ignorance of his own nature. I produce my own view in the belief that it may be something like the truth.

William Golding

Which is better, law and rescue, or hunting and breaking things up?
WILLIAM GOLDING

Better Break Hunt Law Rescue Thing Up
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
You have the older generation like Iris Murdoch and Angus Wilson who are not as old as Graham Greene, but still are coming on. I dare say anyone who knew the scene better than I know it could fill it in with a very satisfactory supply of novels.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Come Country Generation Holder Like One People Still
I believe man suffers from an appalling ignorance of his own nature. I produce my own view in the belief that it may be something like the truth.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Applying Believe Ignorance Man Nature Own Suffer
I am not a theologian or a philosopher. I am a story teller.
WILLIAM GOLDING

People Person Philosopher Storyteller Theologian
However you disguise novels, they are always biographies.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Always Biography Disguise Novel
What a man does defiles him, not what is done by others.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Believe Define Done Man Other
Childhood is a disease – a sickness that you grow out of.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Children Disease Grow Out Sickness
We have a disharmony in our natures. We cannot live together without injuring each other.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Disharmony Each Injury Nature Other Together
What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages?
WILLIAM GOLDING

Animal Human Savage
Of the authors writing in English, I’d mention Shakespeare and Milton. But all this is terribly high-hat and makes me sound very po-faced, I’m afraid; however, I just happen to like these enormous, swinging, great creatures.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Author Country English Face Hat High Make Mention Pe People Person Sound Terrible Very Write
I don’t think they [contemporary writers] read me either. I mean, if we’re concerned genuinely with writing, I think we probably get on with our work.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Concern Contemporary Either Genuinely Mean Read Think Write
Only one novel is a novel: that is a successful novel.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Novel One Only Successful
He who rides the sea of the Nile must have sails woven of patience.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Nile Ride Sall Sea Wovenm Patience
There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Claw Movement No Teeth Tera Word
I hope my books make statements about our general condition.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Book Condition General Hope Make Statement
It wasn’t until I was 37 that I grasped the great truth that you’ve got to write your own books and nobody else’s, and then everything followed from there.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Book Else Everything Follow Grasp Great Nobody Own Seven Thirty Truth Until
An orotundity, which I define as Nobelitis a pomposity in which one is treated as representative of more than oneself by someone conscious of representing more than himself.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Conscious Define Less More Nobelities One Orotundity Proposity Representative Someone Treat
Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Air Call Darkness End Fall Friend Innocence People Through True Went Wise
How would I myself live in this proposed society? How long would it be before I went stark staring mad?
WILLIAM GOLDING

Before Long Mad Myself Proposed Society Stark Start
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
Marx, Darwin and Freud are the three most crashing bores of the Western World. Simplistic popularization of their ideas has thrust our world into a mental straitjacket from which we can only escape by the most anarchic violence.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Bore Country Crash Most People Person Western World
Sleep is when all the unsorted stuff comes flying out as from a dustbin upset in a high wind.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Come Dustbin Fly High Sleep Stuff Unsort Upet Wind
I do think that art that doesn’t communicate is useless.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Art Communicate Think Useless
One tries to tell a truth, and one hopes that the truth has a general application rather than just a specific one.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Application General Hope One Specific Tell Truth Try
His mind was crowded with memories; memories of the knowledge that had come to them when they closed in on the struggling pig, knowledge that they had outwitted a living thing, imposed their will upon it, taken away its life like a long satisfying drink.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Close Come Crowd Knowledge Memories Min Pig Struggling Them
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 believe man suffers from an appalling ignorance of his own nature. I produce my own view in the belief that it may be something like the truth.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

I believe man suffers from an appalling ignorance of his own nature. I produce my own view in the belief that it may be something like the truth.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More William Golding Quotes