The Dwarf Quotes

“천국에 사는 사람들은 지옥을 생각할 필요가 없다. 그러나 우리 다섯 식구는 지옥에 살면서 천국을 생각했다.”
― 조세희, The Dwarf

“나는 우리 동네에서 풍기는 냄새가 창피했다.”
― 조세희, The Dwarf

“We have learned that a country in which we cannot voice an opposing viewpoint is a disaster. (Cho 2006: 95)”
― Cho Se-Hui, The Dwarf

“Books help me learn about myself. (Cho 2006: 68)”
― Cho Se-Hui, The Dwarf

“What is violence? Violence is not just bullets, nightsticks, and fists. It is also neglect of the nursing babies who are starving in the nooks and crannies of our city. (Cho 2006: 67)”
― Cho Se-Hui, The Dwarf

“It will gradually become clear to you that human knowledge is often put to extraordinarily evil uses.”
― Cho Se-Hui, The Dwarf

“The man who had just bowed and greeted Father said he would put in a bridge over the sewer creek, pave the streets, and renovate the houses in our neighborhood. Taking our cue from the adults, we clapped loudly, very loudly. The next man quoted the previous one's promise to put in a bridge and pave the streets, and said we should put that man to work for the district chief; he, on the other hand, promised to do this and that on behalf of the nation and asked for our support. Once again the grown-ups clapped. And once again we followed their lead. Until I myself was grown up I often thought of that incident. My impression of those two was deeply embedded in my mind. I hated them. They were liars. They had such fantastic plans. But plans were not what we needed. A lot of people had already made many plans. But nothing had changed. And even if those people had achieved something, we wouldn't have been affected. What we needed were people who could understand our suffering and take it upon themselves. (Cho 2006: 54-55)”
― Cho Se-Hui, The Dwarf

“Several times a day a group of people we had never seen before would tour the neighborhood. That was the only time the young children in their dirty clothes stopped crying. Even the browbeaten dogs of shouting owners stopped barking and retreated. The entire neighborhood grew calm. Suddenly it was so still - what the heck was going on? I was ashamed of the way our neighborhood smelled. They had bowed and greeted Father. Father had to stand on tiptoe to shake hands with them. But that didn't matter to us. In our eyes our dwarf of a father was a giant. (Cho 2006: 54)”
― Cho Se-Hui, The Dwarf

“I went to Yong-hui and she pointed to the cement terrace where our crocks of condiments stood. Written in the cement was "Myong-hui likes Yong-su."It's been there ever since the house was built. Yong-hui smiled. That was the happiest time for us. Father and Mother had carried home rocks from a ditch. They'd made steps with them and cemented the walls. We were still young and couldn't do hard work. Even so, there was much to do. For several days we didn't go to school. Every day was fun. (Cho 2006: 54)”
― Cho Se-Hui, The Dwarf

“Misconduct, corruption, bureaucratic cleanup - there was a time when those words appeared almost daily in the newspaper. Only then did the family in back lower the volume on their TV. They stowed away their refrigerator, washer, piano, tape player, and other such possessions in the basement and brought out their old clothes to wear in public. (Cho 2006: 17)”
― Cho Se-Hui, The Dwarf

“The man is an inspector at the tax office. What's lacking in that family is one thing alone - a soul. There's plenty of everything else. (Cho 2006: 17)”
― Cho Se-Hui, The Dwarf

“He said that every day without a fail when he commuted on the packed buses he saw city garbage trucks leaving on their rounds several at a time. Shin-ae understands what her husband is saying. She wonders how many souls a day are loaded into those garbage trucks and then disposed of. (Cho 2006: 16)”
― Cho Se-Hui, The Dwarf