Theodore Cannon

“When a boy… discovers that he is more given into introspection and consciousness of self than other boys his age, he easily falls into the error of believing it is because he is more mature than they. This was certainly a mistake in my case. Rather, it was because the other boys had no such need of understanding themselves as I had: they could be their natural selves, whereas I was to play a part, a fact that would require considerable understanding and study. So it was not my maturity but my sense of uneasiness, my uncertainty that was forcing me to gain control over my consciousness. Because such consciousness was simply a steppingstone to aberration and my present thinking was nothing but uncertain and haphazard guesswork.”
― Yukio Mishima, Confessions of a Mask

“O light! This is the cry of all the characters of ancient drama brought face to face with their fate. This last resort was ours, too, and I knew it now. In the middle of winter I at last discovered that there was in me an invincible summer.”
― Albert Camus, L’été

“Some people were born just so they could be buried.”
― Donald Ray Pollock, The Devil All the Time

“He raised his eyes and searched out a small patch of blue sky visible through the dense, green branches of the pines. A white wisp of cloud drifted by. That's what dying will be like, he told himself. Just floating up in the air. Nothing bad about that. He smiled a little.”
― Donald Ray Pollock, The Devil All the Time