“So then you’re free?’
‘Yes, I’m free,’ said Karl, and nothing seemed more worthless than his freedom.”
“It's impossible to defend oneself in the absence of goodwill”
“He looked sadly down at the street, as though it were his own bottomless sadness.”
“In the morning and in the evening and at night in his dreams, this street was filled with constantly bustling traffic, which seen from above seemed like a continually self-replenishing mixture of distorted human figures and of the roofs of all sorts of vehicles, constantly scattered by new arrivals, out of which there arose a new, stronger, wilder mixture of noise, dust, and smells, and, catching and penetrating it all, a powerful light that was continually dispersed, carried away, and avidly refracted by the mass of objects that made such a physical impression on one's dazzled eye that it seemed as if a glass pane, hanging over the street and converging everything, were being smashed again and again with the utmost force.”
“After all, one does not laugh at senator's nephew at the first opportunity that presents itself.”
“Karl, oh my Karl!' she cried, as if by gazing at him she were confirming her possession, while Karl saw absolutely nothing and felt uncomfortable in the warm bedding that she seemed to have piled up specially for his benefit.”
“He had vented all his woes and now they might as well see the few rags that covered his body, after which they could carry him away.”
“[...] jeder nützte seine Macht aus und beschimpfte den Niedrigen. War man einmal daran gewöhnt, klang es nicht anders als das regelmäßige Uhrenschlagen.”
“Pero tales cosas por lo visto no se toman en consideración en el momento decisivo, en ninguno de los continentes, ni en Europa ni en América, sino antes bien se toman decisiones según el rapto de furia del primer momento y conforme a la primera sentencia que salga de la boca.”
“Zavallı küçük bir göçmen olarak karaya ayak basmış olsaydı, nerede kalırdı acaba? Evet, belki de onu -göçmen yasaları konusundaki bilgisine dayanarak bunu çok olası buluyordu dayı- Birleşik Devletler'e almazlardı bile, artık bir yurdu olmadığını umursamadan eve yollarlardı. Çünkü burada kimse kimseye acımazdı, Karl'ın bu açıdan Amerika hakkında okumuş olduğu şeyler de çok doğruydu; yalnızca şanslı olanlar çevrelerindeki kaygısız yüzler arasında şanslarının gerçekten tadını çıkarıyor gibiydiler.”
“Annesi korkunç bir akşam pencerenin önünde Amerika yolculuğunu haber verdiğinde, asla mektup yazmamaya geri dönülmez biçimde yemin etmişti etmesine, ama deneyimsiz bir gencin ettiği böyle bir yemin buradaki yeni koşullarda kaç yazardı! O zamanlar, Amerika'da iki ay kaldıktan sonra Amerikan ordusunda general olacağına da yemin etse olurdu; gerçekteyse New York dışında bir otelde; tavan arasında bir odada iki serseriyle beraberdi, ayrıca burada gerçekten yerini bulmuş olduğunu da itiraf etmeliydi.”
“„Dann sind Sie also frei?“ fragte sie. „Ja frei bin ich“, sagte Karl und nichts schien ihm wertloser.”
“I found myself again in the most unlikely place. I’d found myself again in the haunted eyes of a girl who was just as lost as I was. Or maybe, we didn’t find each other at all. Maybe, we just decided to be lost together.”
“Oh, Myr," he chokes out. "I hate having to ask this of you..."
He glances towards the car again, and I crouch down in the shadows, hoping it's too dark for him to see whether the window is open or closed. The woman pats his arm, cradling her hand against his elbow.
"You know I'd do anything for you and Hil," she says. I like her voice. It's throaty and rich.
"You'd do anything?" my father repeats numbly. "Even now? After -?"
"Even now," the woman says firmly.”
“نحن قراصنة الاقتصاد على درجة عالية من الاحتراف – اذ اننا وعينا كل دروس التاريخ من الغزاة والمستعمرين: نزور مواقع المشروعات ونتسكع داخل القرى الفقيرة، نتظاهر بانكار الذات، ونتحدث فى الصحف والاعلام عن الاعمال الانسانية العظيمة التى نؤديها، نغطى طاولات المؤتمرات بأوراقنا البحثية ومشاريعنا الاقتصادية، ونحاضر فى كبرى جامعات العالم عن عجائب المشروعات التنموية الاقتصادية الكبرى، وفى البلاد النامية نرتدى ملابس كالتى يرتديها السكان المحليين، وفى الغنية نرتدى كالموظفين العاديين لنبدو متواضعين، اذا لقد حققنا مكانة مرموقة أو هكذا رسمنا صورة لأنفسنا، بهذه الطريقة ينجح النظام، ونادرا ما نلجأ للخروج عن القانون، فالنظام نفسه مبنى على خدعة، والنظام بشكل محدد يوصف بأنه قانونى.”
“on that night you told me you were the author of my current existence.”
“Oh, no! Hollypaw thought. You might be fed up with him, but we don’t want him either, thanks.”
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