In Our Time | Quotes

The narrator witnessed the evacuation of refugees after the Greek defeat at Smyrna in the Greco-Turkish war of 1921–1922. He says there were "nice things floating around" in the harbor. These dead bodies reappear in the narrator's dreams, unlike all the other things he saw in war. He calls the dead bodies "nice things," but the dreams are his one admission he found the war horrifying.

The narrator uses dramatic irony to illuminate the innocence of youth. Nick feels sure he will never die, but readers know he will die, just like any other human being. The statement also hints Nick might die later in this book.

The narrator describes the evacuation of refugees from Adrianople. A woman gives birth by the roadside, hidden behind a blanket held up by a young girl. The form of the sentence does not specify who is "scared sick" or what is the "it" that is scary. Perhaps the girl holding the blanket is frightened; perhaps it is the narrator. The birth scene becomes an unspeakable "it." This style emphasizes the feeling of fear.

The barricade is perfect because it is "too heavy to lift and you could shoot through it." It slows the Germans down long enough for the narrator's side to take aim and shoot them. The narrator focuses on the technical perfection of the obstacle rather than what he is doing—killing men.

Bill and Nick are talking about a sword that lies between the two lovers in the novel Forest Lovers. The sword is supposed to keep the lovers apart in bed, guaranteeing their chastity. Nick points out the blade's edge would not pose any obstacle to the lovers with the sword lying flat on the bed. Nick's statement shows he isn't interested in the symbolic dimension. He is focused on realism, like Hemingway.

Nick has just broken up with Marjorie. Talking to Bill, he feels gloomy and regretful about the decision. Then Bill suggests, "You might get back into it then." Nick is cheered by the thought, not just of getting back together with Marjorie, but of having all his choices remain open forever.

Harold Krebs wasn't allowed to drive his parents' car "before ... [he] went away to war." The contrast between submitting to driving restrictions and killing German soldiers shows how difficult it is for Krebs to fit back into his old life in his hometown.

Like Nick in "The Three-Day Blow," Krebs is young and would like his actions to be without consequences. Unlike Nick in that story, Krebs has already seen terrible consequences. Krebs's wish is completely unrealistic, showing the difficulty he has in adapting to post-war life.

The unnamed revolutionist had been subjected to "some bad things" in Hungary. He was perhaps tortured for his political beliefs. However, he remains committed to the cause of world revolution even though he has seen how people can behave. The narrator, an Italian communist observing him, is much less hopeful.

When Mr. Elliot is courting women, he explains to them he has kept himself chaste. Most women lose interest in Mr. Elliot at that point, but Cornelia finds this idea exciting. The narrator makes Mr. Elliot's vow of chastity sound comical by making it an erotic game that "sets" Cornelia "off."

Combat and blood sports transform their confrontation with death into something beautiful.

Joe is just a spectator in the sport of horse racing as he watches his father, the jockey. However, he feels like an insider, proud to be so close to his father. He doesn't realize his father is involved in shady dealings. Ultimately, Joe has also been on the outside looking in.

Nick has just arrived in the burnt-out town of Seney, and he is looking at trout in the river. He has been wounded in war, but now he feels it is all behind him. He has left behind not only war but also "the need to think, the need to write, other needs." Like his earlier wish to live without ever making an irrevocable decision, now he wants to live without needs or memories or people. The enormity of what he wants to leave out shows he might still be feeling damaged by his war experiences.

As Nick settles in for his first night on his fishing trip, he reminds himself he has finished all his tasks. He takes pleasure in having completed everything: "There had been this to do [set up camp]. Now it was done." He feels finishing tasks can wall him off from the world. He has no involvement with people or his own needs, just camping tasks to cross off.

Nick has been considering how some fishermen are careless and touch the fish with their dry hands. This action damages the fish's protective coating, making the fish vulnerable to fungus. Nick thinks of the fungus-infected dead fish he had seen floating in a river on another fishing trip.

He then generalizes his disgust at those men to all men who are not "of your party," as when Nick went fishing with Hopkins and his other friends. After his war experiences, Nick wants to be alone.