Ann-Marie MacDonald Quote
Rats may scamper across it and remain rats. Birds may fly above it and remainbirds; they may alight and tear and eat and prick up their heads to stare motionlessand beady for a moment before pecking and eating again, and remain birds. But noman may venture into this space between the lines and remain a man. That is thedifference. No man may enter, either stealthily on his belly alone, or noisily on twofeet racing through glue with a thousand versions of himself firing, falling, on eitherside as far as the eye can see, and remain a man. It is possible to become a manonce more if you make it back behind your line again, but you suspend yourhumanity for your sojourn in between. That is why the place is called No Man's Land.
Rats may scamper across it and remain rats. Birds may fly above it and remainbirds; they may alight and tear and eat and prick up their heads to stare motionlessand beady for a moment before pecking and eating again, and remain birds. But noman may venture into this space between the lines and remain a man. That is thedifference. No man may enter, either stealthily on his belly alone, or noisily on twofeet racing through glue with a thousand versions of himself firing, falling, on eitherside as far as the eye can see, and remain a man. It is possible to become a manonce more if you make it back behind your line again, but you suspend yourhumanity for your sojourn in between. That is why the place is called No Man's Land.
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