All around us were people I had spent ten years avoiding--shapeless women in wool bathing suits, dull-eyed men with hairless legs and self-conscious laughs, all Americans, all fearsomely alike. These people should be kept at home, I thought; lock them in the basement of some goddamn Elks Club and keep them pacified with erotic movies; if they want a vacation, show them a foreign art film; and if they still aren't satisfied, send them into the wilderness and run them with vicious dogs.
by Hunter S. Thompson
(0 Reviews)

The narrator expresses strong disdain for the people surrounding him, having spent a decade intentionally avoiding their company. He perceives them as a homogenous group, characterized by their physical appearances and predictable behaviors. This leads him to a rather extreme conclusion, wishing for them to be confined away from society in places that would keep them entertained yet isolated.

The quote highlights the narrator's contempt for conventional American culture and the perceived mediocrity of those he encounters. He suggests outlandish alternatives to vacations, indicating his deep-seated frustration with the banality he associates with these individuals. This reveals a critical view of societal norms and a longing for something more authentic and spirited.

Stats

Categories
Votes
0
Page views
1
Update
January 29, 2025

Rate the Quote

Add Comment & Review

User Reviews

Based on 0 reviews
5 Star
0
4 Star
0
3 Star
0
2 Star
0
1 Star
0
Add Comment & Review
We'll never share your email with anyone else.
More »

Other quotes in The Rum Diary

More »

Popular quotes

My life amounts to no more than one drop in a limitless ocean. Yet what is any ocean, but a multitude of drops?
by David Mitchell
A half-read book is a half-finished love affair.
by David Mitchell
The pollenless trees were genomed to repel bugs and birds; the stagnant air reeked of insecticide.
by David Mitchell
Our lives are not our own. We are bound to others, past and present, and by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.
by David Mitchell
Travel far enough, you meet yourself.
by David Mitchell
I believe there is another world waiting for us. A better world. And I'll be waiting for you there.
by David Mitchell
A random sequence of seemingly unrelated events.
by David Mitchell
People pontificate, "Suicide is selfishness." Career churchmen like Pater go a step further and call in a cowardly assault on the living. Oafs argue this specious line for varying reason: to evade fingers of blame, to impress one's audience with one's mental fiber, to vent anger, or just because one lacks the necessary suffering to sympathize. Cowardice is nothing to do with it - suicide takes considerable courage. Japanese have the right idea. No, what's selfish is to demand another to endure an intolerable existence, just to spare families, friends, and enemies a bit of soul-searching.
by David Mitchell
Books don't offer real escape, but they can stop a mind scratching itself raw.
by David Mitchell
You say you're 'depressed' - all i see is resilience. You are allowed to feel messed up and inside out. It doesn't mean you're defective - it just means you're human.
by David Mitchell