The cliche organizes life; it expropriates people's identity; it becomes ruler, defense lawyer, judge, and the law.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Clichés simplify life but strip people of identity and become oppressive rules.
- In plain terms
- Using old phrases can control people and take away who they are.
- What can you take from it?
- Avoid clichés to preserve individual identity.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do phrases shape reality?
- When does convenience become control?
Another view
Some repetition is necessary for communication and social cohesion.
More from Vaclav Havel
Sometimes I wonder if suicides aren't in fact sad guardians of the meaning of life.
Permalink to quote #47 The deeper the experience of an absence of meaning - in other words, of absurdity - the more energetically meaning is sought.
Permalink to quote #49 Drama assumes an order. If only so that it might have - by disrupting that order - a way of surprising.
Permalink to quote #46
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