“Ma raised her eyes to the girl's face. Ma's eyes were patient, but the lines of strain were on her forehead. Ma fanned and fanned the air, and her piece of cardboard warned off the flies. "When you're young, Rosasharn, ever'thing that happens is a thing all by itself. It's a lonely thing. I know, i 'member, Rosasharn." Her mouth loved the name of her daughter. "You're gonna have a baby, Rosasharn, and that's somepin to you lonely and away. That's gonna hurt you, an' the hurt'll be lonely hurt, an' this here tent is alone in the worl', Rosasharn." She whipped the air for a moment to drive a buzzing blow fly on, and the big shining fly circled the tent twice and zoomed out into the blinding sunlight. And Ma went on, "They's a time of change, an' when that comes, dyin' is a piece of dyin', and bearin' is a piece of bearin', an' bearin' an' dyin' is two pieces of the same thing. An' then things ain't so lonely any more. An' then a hurt don't hurt so bad, 'cause it ain't a lonely hurt no more, Rosasharn. I wisht I could tell you so you'd know, but I can't." And her voice was so soft, so full of love, that tears crowded into Rose of Sharon's eyes, and flowed over her eyes and blinded her.”

Share & Save

Meaning

Not documented yet.

When It Was Said

Not documented yet.

Who It Was Said To

Not documented yet.

Historical Context

Not documented yet.

Source

Not documented yet.

Original Language & Translation

Originally said in English.

Did They Really Say It?

Not documented yet.

Did You Know?

Not documented yet.

About John Steinbeck

American writer and novelist

John Ernst Steinbeck was an American writer and novelist. He lived in the 20th century and won the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature. He is known for his fiction and for writing that brought him wide and lasting readership. He was also an independent journalist and a war correspondent during World War II and the Vietnam War. His work was recognized by the Nobel committee for its realistic and imaginative style, with sympathy and social insight at its center.

More from John Steinbeck (261 quotes) →

READ THE SOURCE

Books by John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men

1937

VIEW ON AMAZON

The Grapes of Wrath

1939

VIEW ON AMAZON

East of Eden

1952

VIEW ON AMAZON

The Red Pony

1937

VIEW ON AMAZON

Cannery Row

1945

VIEW ON AMAZON