Quotes from In Dubious Battle

John Steinbeck ·  304 pages

Rating: (9.6K votes)


“Out of all this struggle a good thing is going to grow. That makes it worthwhile.”
― John Steinbeck, quote from In Dubious Battle


“I want to see the whole picture - as nearly as I can. I don’t want to put on the blinders of ‘good’ and ‘bad’, and limit my vision. If I used the term ‘good’ on a thing I’d lose my license to inspect it, because there might be bad in it. Don’t you see? I want to be able to look at the whole thing.”
― John Steinbeck, quote from In Dubious Battle


“Sometimes I think you realists are the most sentimental people in the world.”
― John Steinbeck, quote from In Dubious Battle


“Mostly I’m too damn busy to know how I feel.”
― John Steinbeck, quote from In Dubious Battle


“I don’t mind getting smacked on the chin. I just don’t want to get nibbled to death. There’s a difference.”
― John Steinbeck, quote from In Dubious Battle



“Why, they're the dirtiest guys in any town. They're the same ones that burned the houses of old German people during the war. They're the same ones that lynch Negroes. They like to be cruel. They like to hurt people, and they always give it a nice name, patriotism or protecting the constitution.”
― John Steinbeck, quote from In Dubious Battle


“It’s funny how you want to do a thing and never do it.”
― John Steinbeck, quote from In Dubious Battle


“It seems to me that man has engaged in a blind and fearful struggle out of a past he can't remember, into a future he can't foresee nor understand. And man has met and defeated every obstacle, every enemy except one. He cannot win over himself. How mankind hates himself.”
― John Steinbeck, quote from In Dubious Battle


“The doctor said softly, “Sometimes I think you realists are the most sentimental people in the world.”
― John Steinbeck, quote from In Dubious Battle


About the author

John Steinbeck
Born place: in Salinas Valley, California, The United States
Born date February 27, 1902
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“Of how I belong to you?” Her voice went up an octave.
“Yeah.”
“Well, forget about the verbal arm wrestling! Why don’t you just pee on me and everything I own?!”
― Samantha Young, quote from River Cast


“When you say things like that to me, I call it a Kardashian. Know why? Because I'm looking for the but.”
― Richard Castle, quote from Heat Rises


“Computers were a kind of magery in themselves, or might as well be - to people who didn't understand them, they were every bit as inscrutable.”
― Orson Scott Card, quote from The Lost Gate - Shadow of the Hegemon


“Belle had a feeling that someone had hurt this man very badly in the past. That didn't, however, mean that she would allow him to abuse her in turn.”
― Julia Quinn, quote from Dancing at Midnight


“But my foreknowledge must not encroach upon their free will. "In order not to impair human liberty, I will be ignorant of what I know, I will thicken upon my eyes the veils I have pierced, and in my blind clearsightedness I will let myself be surprised by what I have foreseen.”
― Anatole France, quote from Penguin Island


Interesting books

Courageous
(10.7K)
Courageous
by Randy Alcorn
Last Days of Summer
(3.8K)
Last Days of Summer
by Steve Kluger
Death Comes as the End
(12.4K)
Death Comes as the E...
by Agatha Christie
Lone Wolf Rising
(705)
Lone Wolf Rising
by Jami Brumfield
Leo's Chance
(13.7K)
Leo's Chance
by Mia Sheridan
Untold
(12.4K)
Untold
by Sarah Rees Brennan

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.