Language fits over experience like a straight-jacket.
Meaning of the quote
The quote suggests that language can limit our understanding of the world around us. It's like a straight-jacket that restricts our ability to fully express our experiences and ideas. Language, as powerful as it is, can sometimes fall short in capturing the complexities of our lived experiences.
More quotes from William Golding
The writer probably knows what he meant when he wrote a book, but he should immediately forget what he meant when he’s written it.
{mb_by_description:plain}
Novelists do not write as birds sing, by the push of nature. It is part of the job that there should be much routine and some daily stuff on the level of carpentry.
{mb_by_description:plain}
The journey of life is like a man riding a bicycle. We know he got on the bicycle and started to move. We know that at some point he will stop and get off. We know that if he stops moving and does not get off he will fall off.
{mb_by_description:plain}
He who rides the sea of the Nile must have sails woven of patience.
{mb_by_description:plain}
My yesterdays walk with me. They keep step, they are gray faces that peer over my shoulder.
{mb_by_description:plain}
Sleep is when all the unsorted stuff comes flying out as from a dustbin upset in a high wind.
{mb_by_description:plain}
Language fits over experience like a straight-jacket.
{mb_by_description:plain}
Childhood is a disease – a sickness that you grow out of.
{mb_by_description:plain}
What a man does defiles him, not what is done by others.
{mb_by_description:plain}