"A murderer is regarded by the conventional world as something almost monstrous, but a murderer to himself is only an ordinary man. It is only if the murderer is a good man that he can be regarded as monstrous"
- Graham Greene
About this Quote
This quote by Graham Greene recommends that the perception of a murderer is typically different depending upon the point of view. To the outdoors world, a murderer is seen as something almost monstrous, but to the killer themselves, they are simply a normal person. It is just when the killer is an excellent person that their actions can be seen as genuinely monstrous. This quote highlights the idea that morality is subjective which the same action can be seen differently depending upon the context. It likewise suggests that the morality of an action is not constantly black and white, which often the most heinous of acts can be seen as reasonable or perhaps justified.