Quotes by Pulitzer winner Colson Whitehead that show how raw and honest his writing is

Colson Whitehead is the first person to win the Pulitzer prize for two books. He won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his book 'The Underground Railroad' and just won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his book 'The Nickel Boys'. His winning books, like most of his other books, are often based on real-world problems and he highlights the injustice and cruelty many have to face in this world. His writing is raw and honest, capturing the helplessness and anger many feel towards a world that has treated them badly. Here are some quotes by him that capture his talent:

“The world may be mean, but people don't have to be, not if they refuse.”

“Stolen bodies working stolen land. It was an engine that did not stop, its hungry boiler fed with blood.”

“And America, too, is a delusion, the grandest one of all. The white race believes--believes with all its heart--that it is their right to take the land. To kill Indians. Make war. Enslave their brothers. This nation shouldn't exist, if there is any justice in the world, for its foundations are murder, theft, and cruelty. Yet here we are.”

“Truth was a changing display in a shop window, manipulated by hands when you weren’t looking, alluring and ever out of reach.”

“It is failure that guides evolution; perfection provides no incentive for improvement, and nothing is perfect.”

“She wasn’t surprised when his character revealed itself—if you waited long enough, it always did. Like the dawn.”

“A society manufactures the heroes it requires.”

“There were plenty of things in the world that deserved to stay dead, yet they walked.”

“He told himself: Hope is a gateway drug, don't do it.”

“You can change the law but you can’t change people and how they treat each other.”