--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: See, there were these two guys in a…" description: "\"“See, there were these two guys in a lunatic asylum... and one night, one night they decide they don't like living in an asylum any more. They decide t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c6/alan-moore-583_friendship_see-there-were-these-two-guys-in-a-lunat_523641.jpg" --- # See, there were these two guys in a lunatic asylum... and… ![“See, there were these two guys in a lunatic asylum... and one night, one night they decide they don't like living in an asylum any more. They decide they're going to escape! So, like, they get up onto the roof, and there, just across this narrow gap, they see the rooftops of the town, stretching…” quote by Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c6/alan-moore-583_friendship_see-there-were-these-two-guys-in-a-lunat_523641.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c6/alan-moore-583_friendship_see-there-were-these-two-guys-in-a-lunat_523641.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c6/alan-moore-583_friendship_see-there-were-these-two-guys-in-a-lunat_523641.jpg) > ““See, there were these two guys in a lunatic asylum... and one night, one night they decide they don't like living in an asylum any more. They decide they're going to escape! So, like, they get up onto the roof, and there, just across this narrow gap, they see the rooftops of the town, stretching away in the moon light... stretching away to freedom. Now, the first guy, he jumps right across with no problem. But his friend, his friend didn't dare make the leap. Y'see... Y'see, he's afraid of falling. So then, the first guy has an idea... He says 'Hey! I have my flashlight with me! I'll shine it across the gap between the buildings. You can walk along the beam and join me!' B-but the second guy just shakes his head. He suh-says... He says 'Wh-what do you think I am? Crazy? You'd turn it off when I was half way across!”” [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fear of failure can prevent people from taking opportunities, even when help is offered. **In simple terms:** Fear blocks action despite assistance. Key Takeaway Confront fear to act. Themes fear risk help Mood anxious hopeful Type narrative philosophical When to use this quote - career moves - personal growth - creative projects Key Concepts psychology courage Questions to Reflect On - What fears hold you back? - How can you trust support? A Different Perspective Even with support, fear may dominate decision making. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Asylum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asylum/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) ## Related quotes > [I shouldn't make movies anymore. I should go to a lunatic asylum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/i-shouldn-t-make-movies-anymore-i-should-go-to-a-lunatic-asylum/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [A man is called a good fellow for doing things which, if done by a woman, would land her in a lunatic asylum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/a-man-is-called-a-good-fellow-for-doing-things-which-if-done-by-a/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [The whole religious complexion of the modern world is due to the absence from Jerusalem of a lunatic asylum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-whole-religious-complexion-of-the-modern-world-is-due-to-the/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [America is a lunatic asylum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/america-is-a-lunatic-asylum/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [When Å vejk subsequently described life in the lunatic asylum, he did so in exceptionally eulogistic terms: 'I really don't know why those loonies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaroslav-ha-ek/when-vejk-subsequently-described-life-in-the-lunatic-asylum-he-did-so/) [Jaroslav Hašek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaroslav-ha-ek/) > [It seems as though I were in a lunatic asylum, but I am never sure who is the attendant and who the inmate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bryant-conant/it-seems-as-though-i-were-in-a-lunatic-asylum-but-i-am-never-sure-who/) [James Bryant Conant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bryant-conant/) > [“Washington is the only lunatic asylum in the world run by its own inmates.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-lee-o-daniel/washington-is-the-only-lunatic-asylum-in-the-world-run-by-its-own/) W. Lee O'Daniel > [“I looked out to see a forbidding place with granite walls and towering gates, implacable barriers to be reckoned with, the words strung across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carole-gill/i-looked-out-to-see-a-forbidding-place-with-granite-walls-and/) [Carole Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carole-gill/) > [“Warm sun and robin's-egg skies were inappropriate conditions for sending one's uncle to a lunatic asylum.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-cameron/warm-sun-and-robin-s-egg-skies-were-inappropriate-conditions-for/) [Sharon Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-cameron/) > [“the place where optism most flourishes is the lunatic asylum.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/havelock-ellis/the-place-where-optism-most-flourishes-is-the-lunatic-asylum/) [Havelock Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/havelock-ellis/) > [“Had there been a lunatic asylum in the suburbs of Jerusalem, Jesus Christ would infallibly have been shut up in it at the outset…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/havelock-ellis/had-there-been-a-lunatic-asylum-in-the-suburbs-of-jerusalem-jesus-2/) [Havelock Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/havelock-ellis/) > [The world is becoming like a lunatic asylum run by lunatics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lloyd-george/the-world-is-becoming-like-a-lunatic-asylum-run-by-lunatics/) [David Lloyd George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lloyd-george/) > [If I were to say what I really think I would be arrested or shut away in a lunatic asylum. Come on, I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/if-i-were-to-say-what-i-really-think-i-would-be-arrested-or-shut-away/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“My definition of LUNATIC ASYLUM: A place where lunatics are created.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-fergus/my-definition-of-lunatic-asylum-a-place-where-lunatics-are-created/) [Jim Fergus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-fergus/) > [I cannot here avoid giving my most decided sufferage in favour of the moral qualities of maniacs. I have no where met, excepting in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-pinel/i-cannot-here-avoid-giving-my-most-decided-sufferage-in-favour-of-the/) Philippe Pinel ## More by Alan Moore > [I think that storytelling and creation are very close to what the center of what magic is about. I think not just for me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/i-think-that-storytelling-and-creation-are-very-close-to-what-the/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [To some degree Satanism is purely a kind of disease of Christianity. You've got to really be Christian to believe in Satan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/to-some-degree-satanism-is-purely-a-kind-of-disease-of-christianity/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [There has been a rather unpleasant sensibility apparent in Frank Miller's work for quite a long time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/there-has-been-a-rather-unpleasant-sensibility-apparent-in-frank/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [I felt, if I'm going to react I might as well over react.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/i-felt-if-i-m-going-to-react-i-might-as-well-over-react/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [“Come, dry your eyes, for you are LIFE, rarer than a quark and unpredictable beyond the dreams of Heisenberg; the clay in which the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/come-dry-your-eyes-for-you-are-life-rarer-than-a-quark-and/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [Now everything is wonderful and hazardous and nothing's hypothetical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/now-everything-is-wonderful-and-hazardous-and-nothing-s-hypothetical/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [If you look at that incredible burst of fantastic characters that emerged in the late 19th century/early 20th century, you can see so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/if-you-look-at-that-incredible-burst-of-fantastic-characters-that/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [In many ways, my entire graphic novel career was a long diversion. Originally, all I wanted to do was to be an underground cartoonist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/in-many-ways-my-entire-graphic-novel-career-was-a-long-diversion/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [I was kind of a selfish child, who always wanted things his way, and I've kind of taken that over into my relationship with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/i-was-kind-of-a-selfish-child-who-always-wanted-things-his-way-and-i/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [Magic is a state of mind. It is often portrayed as very black and gothic, and that is because certain practitioners played that up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/magic-is-a-state-of-mind-it-is-often-portrayed-as-very-black-and/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [“Above, great constellations wheeled to which our bonfire sparks ascended in their tiny mimicry”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/above-great-constellations-wheeled-to-which-our-bonfire-sparks/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [“You're my only remaining link to the world”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/you-re-my-only-remaining-link-to-the-world/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [Nothing ends, Adrian. Nothing ever ends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/nothing-ends-adrian-nothing-ever-ends/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [On the one occasion where I did try writing a screenplay, I found the rewriting just unendurable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/on-the-one-occasion-where-i-did-try-writing-a-screenplay-i-found-the/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [“The clothes you're wearing, the room, the house, the city that you're in. Everything in it started out in the human imagination. Your lives,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/the-clothes-you-re-wearing-the-room-the-house-the-city-that-you-re-in/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) [Explore all 460 Alan Moore quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) ## More Asylum quotes > [Any country that grants asylum to Snowden risks retaliation from the United States, including diplomatic isolation and costly trade sanctions. Several don't seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/any-country-that-grants-asylum-to-snowden-risks-retaliation-from-the/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [Sometimes I think they should set up an asylum for people like that... a whole slew of paparazzi defending their positions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-i-think-they-should-set-up-an-asylum-for-people-like-that-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“congress - that great, benevolent asylum for the helpless”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/congress-that-great-benevolent-asylum-for-the-helpless/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I would not invest in a Trump hate wall. We don't need to be protected from immigrants that are coming here seeking asylum and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayanna-pressley/i-would-not-invest-in-a-trump-hate-wall-we-don-t-need-to-be-protected/) [Ayanna Pressley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayanna-pressley/) > [This is called 'the land of the free and the home of the brave'; it is called the 'asylum of the oppressed,' and some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wells-brown/this-is-called-the-land-of-the-free-and-the-home-of-the-brave-it-is/) [William Wells Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wells-brown/) > [The lunatics have taken over the asylum and we can do anything we want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-lunatics-have-taken-over-the-asylum-and-we-can-do-anything-we-want/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [Individuals whose asylum claims have been accepted have gone on to become professors, soldiers in our military, artists, and more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pramila-jayapal/individuals-whose-asylum-claims-have-been-accepted-have-gone-on-to/) [Pramila Jayapal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pramila-jayapal/) > [I shouldn't make movies anymore. I should go to a lunatic asylum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/i-shouldn-t-make-movies-anymore-i-should-go-to-a-lunatic-asylum/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [South Carolina is too small for a republic and too large for an insane asylum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-l-petigru/south-carolina-is-too-small-for-a-republic-and-too-large-for-an/) James L. Petigru > [I had, toward the last, been shut off from all visitors, and so when the lawyer, Peter A. Hendricks, came and told me that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-bly/i-had-toward-the-last-been-shut-off-from-all-visitors-and-so-when-the/) [Nellie Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-bly/) > [“I was in a mental asylum? When the fuck did that happen?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darynda-jones/i-was-in-a-mental-asylum-when-the-fuck-did-that-happen/) [Darynda Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darynda-jones/) > [The United States should be an asylum for the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-united-states-should-be-an-asylum-for-the-persecuted-lovers-of/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“Asylum. The word always made me smile. Such a pretty name for a hellhole.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-estep/asylum-the-word-always-made-me-smile-such-a-pretty-name-for-a-hellhole/) [jennifer estep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-estep/) > [“Insane asylums are deliberate and premeditated receptacles of black magic, and it is not only that doctors encourage magic with their untimely and hybrid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/insane-asylums-are-deliberate-and-premeditated-receptacles-of-black/) [Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/) > [Instead of turning loose these bogus asylum applicants onto the American streets never to be seen again, let's put them into mobile homes. Let's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kobach/instead-of-turning-loose-these-bogus-asylum-applicants-onto-the/) [Kris Kobach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kobach/) [Browse all 166 Asylum quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asylum/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“See, there were these two guys in a lunatic asylum... and one night, one night they decide they don't like living in an asylum any more. They decide they're going to escape! So, like, they get up onto the roof, and there, just across this narrow gap, they see the rooftops of the town, stretching away in the moon light... stretching away to freedom. Now, the first guy, he jumps right across with no problem. But his friend, his friend didn't dare make the leap. Y'see... Y'see, he's afraid of falling. So then, the first guy has an idea... He says 'Hey! I have my flashlight with me! I'll shine it across the gap between the buildings. 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