How we cite our quotes: In consultation with my editor, we decided (against standard practice) to go with page numbers—since The Sunset Limited is one long act and it would be unwieldy and impractical to number all the lines.
Quote #1
BLACK: What. We done opened a can of worms here? What you got against bein happy?
WHITE: It's contrary to the human condition.
BLACK: Well. It's contrary to your condition. I got to agree with that. (54)
White thinks happiness is a fraud. Humans aren't made for happiness—instead they're doomed to suffer, since the things that make them happy all go away, disappear, or die.
Quote #2
WHITE: Well, you cant be happy if you're in pain.
BLACK: Why not?
WHITE: You're not making any sense […]
BLACK: The point, Professor, is that if you didnt have no pain in your life then how would you even know you was happy? As compared to what?" (55)
Happiness doesn't make sense without pain, good doesn't make sense without evil, hot doesn't make sense without cold—according to Black. In other words, pain's a necessary ingredient in making happiness possible.
Quote #3
BLACK: Yes. Because what he really wants he cant get. Or he thinks he cant get it. So what he really dont want he can't get enough of…
WHITE: So what is it that he really wants…
BLACK: He wants what everybody wants.
WHITE: And that is?
BLACK: He wants to be loved by God. (59)
This is straight-up Saint Augustine: Instead of desiring the thing humans really want—to be loved by God—they go off in a multitude of different directions. Some of us think we really love smashing people's heads in with hammers, others think it's eating blue cheese, and some even think it's enjoying the musical numbers of One Direction. But what everyone really wants is God's love… at least according to Black and Saint Augustine, anyway.