"Old Man in New World" is a short story by Olaf Stapledon, published as a separate volume by George Allen and Unwin in 1944. It was published through PEN, the international writers' association.
The story is set some time in the 1960s, and tells of the world that has been rebuilt from the devastation of the Second World War, as seen through the eyes of an old revolutionary. The "Old Man" is invited to London to see "The Procession of The Peoples", an event celebrating the new order and the triumph of the human spirit.
In witnessing this event, however, the Old Man sees nothing but the seeds of the very things he, in his youth, fought against — falsehood, political will and religiosity.
|
Famous quotes containing the words old man, man and/or world:
“I love everything thats old: old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wines; and, I believe, Dorothy, youll own I have been pretty fond of an old wife.”
—Oliver Goldsmith (17281774)
“I believe that man is in the last resort so free a being that his right to be what he believes himself to be cannot be contested.”
—G.C. (Georg Christoph)
“Must we burn Sade? asks Mme de Beauvoir. Now that you mention it, why not? The world is littered with literature. And Sade teaches us little about human nature which we couldnt gather from a few minutes of honest introspection.”
—D.J. Enright (b. 1920)