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It's all over. We can begin to forget Armenia now. Andranik is dead. The nation is lost. I'm no Armenian. I'm an American. Well, the truth is I am both and neither. I love Armenia and I love America and I belong to both, but I am only this: an inhabitant of the earth, and so are you, whoever you are. I tried to forget Armenia but I couldn't do it.

William Saroyan#64

IdentityBelongingHomeLossEarthNationPatriotism

About this quote

What does it mean?
The speaker struggles between national identity and universal belonging after losing Armenia.
In plain terms
I lost my nation but I still love it and I belong to the earth.
What can you take from it?
Identity can be both lost and universal.

Where it applies

  • immigration
  • refugee experience
  • national loss

Putting it to work

  • find universal home
  • honor heritage
  • accept duality

Questions to consider

  • Where do you belong?
  • Can you love a lost home?

Another view

It assumes everyone feels tied to earth equally.

More from William Saroyan

  1. When Andranik went away... I saw that tears were in his eyes and his mouth was twisting with agony like the mouth of a small boy who is in great pain but will …

    Permalink to quote #63
  2. You write a hit play the same way you write a flop.

    Permalink to quote #65
  3. My uncle jumped up from the desk, loving him more than he loved any other man in the world, and through him loving the lost nation, the multitude dead, and the…

    Permalink to quote #62

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