Quote by Neil Gaiman
No man, proclaimed Donne , is an Island, and he was wrong. If we were not islands, we would be lost, drowned in each other's tragedies. We are insulated (a word that means, literally, remember, made into an island ) from the tragedy of others, by our island nature, and by the repetitive shape and form of the stories. The shape does not change: there was a human being who was born, lived, and then, by some means or another, died. There. You may fill in the details from your own experience. As unoriginal as any other tale, as unique as any other life. Lives are snowflakes-forming patterns we have seen before, as like one another as peas in a pod (and have you ever looked at peas in a pod? I mean, really looked at them? There's not a chance you'd mistake one for another, after a minute's close inspection), but still unique.
Summary
This quote challenges the commonly held belief that humans are interconnected and reliant on each other. Donne argues that we are in fact isolated individuals, separate like islands. The quote suggests that this isolation acts as a protection mechanism, preventing us from being overwhelmed by the tragedies and struggles of others. It also highlights the universal pattern of human existence: birth, life, and death, while acknowledging the individuality and uniqueness of each person's experience within that pattern. Ultimately, it emphasizes both the sameness and distinctiveness of human lives.
By Neil Gaiman
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