“Sometimes the man who looks happiest in town, with the biggest smile, is the one carrying the biggest load of sin. There are smiles & smiles; learn to tell the dark variety from the light. The seal-barker, the laugh-shouter, half the time he's covering up. He's had his fun & he's guilty. And all men do love sin, Will, oh how they love it, never doubt, in all shapes, sizes, colors & smells. Times come when troughs, not tables, suit appetites. Hear a man too loudly praising others & look to wonder if he didn't just get up from the sty. On the other hand, that unhappy, pale, put-upon man walking by, who looks all guilt & sin, why, often that's your good man with a capital G, Will. For being good is a fearful occupation; men strain at it & sometimes break in two. I've known a few. You work twice as hard to be a farmer as to be his hog. I suppose it's thinking about trying to be good makes the crack run up the wall one night. A man with high standards, too, the least hair falls on him sometimes wilts his spine. He can't let himself alone, won't let himself off the hook if he falls just a breath from grace.”

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About Ray Bradbury

American author and screenwriter

Ray Douglas Bradbury was an American author and screenwriter. He became one of the most celebrated American writers of the 20th century, and his work ranged across fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and realistic fiction. Bradbury wrote in several genres, but he is especially associated with imaginative fiction that blends wonder, fear, and social observation. His writing moved easily between the fantastic and the ordinary, which helped make his voice distinctive and widely recognized.

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Books by Ray Bradbury

Fahrenheit 451

2008

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The Martian Chronicles

1999

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The Illustrated Man

2011

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Something Wicked This Way Comes

1963

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Dandelion Wine

1999

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