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Don Delillo Quotes

Powerful Don Delillo for Daily Growth

About Don Delillo

Don DeLillo (born November 20, 1936) is an American novelist, essayist, and playwright, renowned for his profound explorations of contemporary culture, technology, politics, and existential dread in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Born in the Bronx, New York, DeLillo attended Fordham University and received a Bachelor's degree in English in 1958. After working as a copywriter for several years, he published his debut novel, 'A Small Area of Time,' under the pseudonym Cleo Bishop in 1986. However, it was his second novel, 'Americana' (1971), which brought him critical acclaim and established him as a significant voice in American literature. Influenced by authors such as Fyodor Dostoevsky, Franz Kafka, and Albert Camus, DeLillo's works often revolve around themes of postmodernism, language, and alienation. His novels, including 'White Noise' (1985), 'Libra' (1988), and 'Underworld' (1997), offer intricate narratives that delve into the complexities of modern life. DeLillo's most notable works have been celebrated for their prophetic insights into contemporary issues. For instance, 'White Noise' explores themes of consumerism and media saturation, which resonate strongly in today's digital age. Similarly, his novel 'Mao II' (1991) delves into the relationship between art, politics, and terrorism, foreshadowing many contemporary debates about freedom of speech and artistic expression. DeLillo's latest work, 'The Silence,' was published in 2016. Throughout his career, he has been recognized with numerous prestigious awards, including the National Book Award, the PEN/Faulkner Award, and the Jerusalem Prize. His unique perspective on contemporary America continues to captivate readers worldwide.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"We are batteries, as good as any other rechargeable device. We are powered by information and replenished with more."

This quote by Don DeLillo suggests that in our modern society, we function similarly to rechargeable devices, drawing energy from the inflow of information. The information acts as the power source that keeps us running, and we continually seek to replenish ourselves with more knowledge or data. It underscores the importance of information in our lives and emphasizes how deeply intertwined we are with the digital world.

"Everyone carries a piece of the world around inside them, and no one can ever take it away."

This quote by Don DeLillo emphasizes that each individual is unique and carries within themselves a part of their personal experiences, beliefs, emotions, and memories - essentially a microcosm of the world they inhabit. It suggests that these internal worlds are profoundly individual and intimate, and can't be taken away by external forces or circumstances. Despite our shared human experiences, every person has a unique narrative, making us all irreplaceable pieces of the larger global puzzle.

"People were always getting ready for later. They took vows of purity, they made plans to quit their jobs, they decided to write a book, they would live somewhere else."

This quote encapsulates the human tendency to perpetually postpone fulfillment of our aspirations or personal transformations for an elusive future, often referred to as "later". It suggests that individuals frequently engage in preparatory behaviors such as making promises, planning changes, and setting goals, but fail to act on them in the present moment. This quote subtly highlights the paradox of human nature where we are constantly striving for personal growth and self-realization, yet often find ourselves stuck in a cycle of delaying action.

"In the old days, people used to think that armies and navies and air forces won wars. Today it's a matter of who can keep up with all the new devices and systems and codes."

This quote by Don DeLillo suggests that modern warfare is not primarily about traditional military might, such as armies and navies, but rather about technological superiority and the ability to adapt quickly to emerging technologies, devices, and systems. It implies that in today's digital age, mastering complex codes and keeping up with rapid technological advancements has become a crucial factor in determining victory on the battlefield.

"The world is a text whose whereabouts are unknown. We grope for it in every sentence we speak or write."

This quote by Don DeLillo suggests that our perception of reality, the 'world', is like an elusive text whose exact location remains unclear. The sentences we utter or write are our attempts to grasp this enigmatic whole, to understand it, interpret it, and possibly find our place within it. It underscores the human desire to make sense of the world around us through language and communication.

Californians invented the concept of life-style. This alone warrants their doom.

- Don DeLillo

Alone, Doom, Concept, Californians

There's never a dearth of reasons to shoot at the President.

- Don DeLillo

Never, Shoot, Reasons, Dearth

I quit my job just to quit. I didn't quit my job to write fiction. I just didn't want to work anymore.

- Don DeLillo

Work, Want, Fiction, I Quit

I think more than writers, the major influences on me have been European movies, jazz, and Abstract Expressionism.

- Don DeLillo

Think, Been, I Think, Expressionism

People who are powerless make an open theater of violence.

- Don DeLillo

Power, People, Theater, Powerless

When you try to unravel something you've written, you belittle it in a way. It was created as a mystery.

- Don DeLillo

Mystery, Try, Created, Unravel

There's always a period of curious fear between the first sweet-smelling breeze and the time when the rain comes cracking down.

- Don DeLillo

Nature, Rain, Always, Cracking

I think a playwright realizes after he finishes working on the script that this is only the beginning. What will happen when it moves into three dimensions?

- Don DeLillo

Think, Happen, I Think, Finishes

People who are in power make their arrangements in secret, largely as a way of maintaining and furthering that power.

- Don DeLillo

Power, Secret, Largely, Maintaining

The modern meaning of life's end-when does it end? How does it end? How should it end? What is the value of life? How do we measure it?

- Don DeLillo

Measure, Modern, How, Meaning Of

I saw a photograph of a wedding conducted by Reverend Moon of the Unification Church. I wanted to understand this event, and the only way to understand it was to write about it.

- Don DeLillo

Church, Understand, Saw, Reverend

For me, writing is a concentrated form of thinking.

- Don DeLillo

Writing, Me, Form, Concentrated

I've come to think of Europe as a hardcover book, America as the paperback version.

- Don DeLillo

Book, Think, Come, Paperback

American writers ought to stand and live in the margins, and be more dangerous.

- Don DeLillo

More, Dangerous, Margins, Ought

In a repressive society, a writer can be deeply influential, but in a society that's filled with glut and repetition and endless consumption, the act of terror may be the only meaningful act.

- Don DeLillo

May, Terror, Influential, Glut

If I were a writer, how I would enjoy being told the novel is dead. How liberating to work in the margins, outside a central perception. You are the ghoul of literature. Lovely.

- Don DeLillo

Work, Lovely, Margins, Novel

I think there is a sense of last things in my work that probably comes from a Catholic childhood.

- Don DeLillo

Think, Last, I Think, Catholic

A Catholic is raised with the idea that he will die any minute now and if he doesn't live his life in a certain way, this death is an introduction to an eternity of pain.

- Don DeLillo

Pain, Die, Eternity, Catholic

Writers in repressive societies are considered dangerous. That's why so many of them are in jail.

- Don DeLillo

Why, Dangerous, Considered, Societies

I watch movies occasionally, and I watch documentaries. Virtually nothing else.

- Don DeLillo

Movies, Watch, Virtually, Documentaries

True terror is a language and a vision. There is a deep narrative structure to terrorist acts, and they infiltrate and alter consciousness in ways that writers used to aspire to.

- Don DeLillo

Deep, Infiltrate, Terror, Structure

I slept for four years. I didn't study much of anything. I majored in something called communication arts.

- Don DeLillo

Study, Something, Years, Slept

I've always liked being relatively obscure. I feel that's where I belong, that's where my work belongs.

- Don DeLillo

Work, Always, Belong, Relatively

Men with secrets tend to be drawn to each other, not because they want to share what they know but because they need the company of the like-minded, the fellow afflicted.

- Don DeLillo

Want, Need, Other, Afflicted

I like the construction of sentences and the juxtaposition of words-not just how they sound or what they mean, but even what they look like.

- Don DeLillo

How, Like, Even, Juxtaposition

It's no accident that my first novel was called Americana. This was a private declaration of independence, a statement of my intention to use the whole picture, the whole culture.

- Don DeLillo

Private, Americana, Use, Intention

Rushdie is a hostage.

- Don DeLillo

Hostage

There's a connection between the advances that are made in technology and the sense of primitive fear people develop in response to it.

- Don DeLillo

Sense, Made, Primitive, Response

One truth is the swing of the sentence, the beat and poise, but down deeper it's the integrity of the writer as he matches with the language.

- Don DeLillo

Language, Sentence, Poise, Deeper

The writer is the person who stands outside society, independent of affiliation and independent of influence.

- Don DeLillo

Society, Independent, Stands, Affiliation

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