Clevinger was dead. That was the basic flaw in his philosophy.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- A darkly humorous remark where death is presented as the fundamental failure of a character's optimistic philosophy.
- In plain terms
- Clevinger died so his philosophy failed.
- What can you take from it?
- Ideologies fail when reality intervenes.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What happens to a philosophy when it fails?
- How do you face reality?
Another view
It reduces a complex death to a simple philosophical flaw.
More from Joseph Heller
'Open your eyes, Clevinger. It doesn't make a damned bit of difference who wins the war to someone who's dead.'
Permalink to quote #5 'The enemy is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he's on.'
Permalink to quote #7 There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the pro…
Permalink to quote #4
Related quotes
'I have transcended that phase in my intellectual growth where I discover humour in simple freakishness. What exists is real; therefore it is tragic, since wha…
Jack VanceJack Vance quote #42 This is the funeral pyre and Troy is dead That sparkled so the day I saw it first, And darkened slowly after. I am she Who loves all beauty - yet I wither it.
Sara TeasdaleSara Teasdale quote #1 I threw back the sheet anyway and a curse caught in my throat. Jack was in shorts, his one hand still clutching his belly in agony. The bullet went in clean, b…
Mickey SpillaneMickey Spillane quote #3