Joseph Heller Quotes
To Yossarian, the idea of pennants as prizes was absurd. No money went with them, no class privileges. Like Olympic medals and tennis trophies, all they signified was that the owner had done something of no benefit to anyone more capably than everyone else.
Quotes to Explore
-
Since I started playing at the Olympics in 2000, I have always wanted to do a dress based on Wonder Woman. It should be interesting to wear. And hopefully, it will get me a gold medal.
-
Our focus is on helping people develop the skills to find and keep a job. Instead of focusing on a war against poverty, we will focus on fighting for the poor among us by offering them hope and opportunity.
-
A well-aimed spear is worth three.
-
The girl-next-door image is a sort of joke; for years, I couldn't get any roles other than as somebody dark.
-
Governments enjoying surpluses have a very strong temptation to splash money around, and while tax cuts are always appealing, cutting taxes at the top of a boom runs the real risk of creating a structural deficit when the boom subsides.
-
I never intended to be in show business; I intended to be an extremely grounded person.
-
There is always anxiety before a competition and it was no different for me today. It was only in the third round, with about 40 targets left, that I realised I could match the world record score.
-
Every single one of us can do things that no one else can do - can love things that no one else can love. We are like violins. We can be used for doorstops, or we can make music. You know what to do.
-
A pen is to me as a beak is to a hen.
-
Making a book is such a big enterprise.
-
I started writing music with my cousin at, like, 16 and traveled with a '70s band.
-
If one man can be allowed to determine for himself what is law, every man can. That means first chaos, then tyranny. Legal process is an essential part of the democratic process.
-
And it is a very beautiful idea, and possibly true, that a common man from Stratford with a common education was able to write these plays.
-
Lost in a crowd of greats, not a single Oscar. That's showbiz.
-
The southward advance of native African farmers with Central African crops halted in Natal, beyond which Central African crops couldn't grow - with enormous consequences for the recent history of South Africa.
-
One cannot forget that show business also deals with humans. Everything is not so superficial that this is rigged or planned. Sometimes people do fall in love with each other because they spend a lot of time on the sets so much so the set becomes your first home, and your actual home becomes your second home.
-
There are managers who always say what people want to hear. I think that's not good.
-
Put three grains of sand inside a vast cathedral, and the cathedral will be more closely packed with sand than space is with stars.
-
All the characters in my books are imagined, but all have a bit of who I am in them - much like the characters in your dreams are all formed by who you are.
-
What does it mean when people applaud? Should I give 'em money? Say thank you? Lift my dress? The lack of applause - that I can respond to.
-
Today you can go to a gas station and find the cash register open and the toilets locked. They must think toilet paper is worth more than money.
-
Before a race, I block out what's going on in the stadium. It's different for everyone. But for me, I've always been able to block it out. For a sprint race, it's important not to get distracted.
-
To Yossarian, the idea of pennants as prizes was absurd. No money went with them, no class privileges. Like Olympic medals and tennis trophies, all they signified was that the owner had done something of no benefit to anyone more capably than everyone else.
