Indirectness Quotes

“If language is deprived of what is indirect in it, its nature approaches that of a scream or order. Friendliness and politeness are also based on the circuitous and indirect. The orientation of violence, by contrast, is towards directness.”
― Byung-Chul Han, The Analog Sea Review: Number One

“You had to take the direct approach, never the indirect approach, because colored people invariably avoided unpleasantness, they would lie, they would laugh, but they never faced right up to a situation, head on.”
― Ann Petry, The Narrows