Ernest J. Gaines

“Good, better, best. Never let it rest. 'Til your good is better and your better is best.”

“Do I know what a man is? Do I know how a man is supposed to die? I'm still trying to find out how a man should live.”

“Write. No matter what. Just write.”

“Man is the only animal that knows he's going to die.”

“Stand.”

“I will not let them say I was dragged. I will show them how a man walks.”

“The best of us are not as good as we ought to be, and the worst of us are not as bad as we think we are.”

“I want you to show them the difference between what they think you are and what you can be.”

“A hero is someone who does what he or she can, to the best of his or her ability, without needing a reward.”

“I want to be a man, not a boy.”

“Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands?”

“The sky is the limit. You never have the same experience twice.”

“Tell them I'm a man.”