--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Three days a week she helped at the Manor…" description: "\"“Three days a week she helped at the Manor Nursing Home, where people proved their keenness by reciting received analyses of current events. All the Ma..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80e/annie-dillard-509_aging_three-days-a-week-she-helped-at-the-mano_2969095.jpg" --- # Three days a week she helped at the Manor Nursing Home… ![“Three days a week she helped at the Manor Nursing Home, where people proved their keenness by reciting received analyses of current events. All the Manor residents watched television day and night, informed to the eyeballs like everyone else and rushed for time, toward what end no one asked. Their…” quote by Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80e/annie-dillard-509_aging_three-days-a-week-she-helped-at-the-mano_2969095.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80e/annie-dillard-509_aging_three-days-a-week-she-helped-at-the-mano_2969095.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80e/annie-dillard-509_aging_three-days-a-week-she-helped-at-the-mano_2969095.jpg) > ““Three days a week she helped at the Manor Nursing Home, where people proved their keenness by reciting received analyses of current events. All the Manor residents watched television day and night, informed to the eyeballs like everyone else and rushed for time, toward what end no one asked. Their cupidity and self-love were no worse than anyone else's, but their many experiences' having taught them so little irked Lou. One hated tourists, another southerners; another despised immigrants. Even dying, they still held themselves in highest regard. Lou would have to watch herself. For this way of thinking began to look like human nature--as if each person of two or three billion would spend his last vital drop to sustain his self-importance.”” [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Observes how people cling to self‑importance even in old age, using media and prejudice to fill emptiness. **In simple terms:** People cling to ego despite aging and media overload. Key Takeaway Recognize and temper self‑importance. Themes ego media aging prejudice human nature Mood reflective critical Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - nursing home work - media consumption - intergenerational dialogue - self‑reflection - elder care Key Concepts self‑importance identity social conformity Questions to Reflect On - How does media shape self‑importance? - What can reduce ego in aging populations? A Different Perspective May overlook systemic issues by focusing only on individual ego. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) [Current events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/current-events/) [Day and night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day-and-night/) [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Manor Residents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manor-residents-4562311/) [Nursing home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nursing-home/) [Regard Lou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regard-lou-4562310/) [Residents Watched](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/residents-watched-4562309/) [Self importance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-importance/) [Television Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television-day/) [Watched Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/watched-television-627698/) [Way of thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-of-thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“Americans 2 years of age and older now spend an average of four hours and 49 minutes per day in front of the TV—20…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-medina/americans-2-years-of-age-and-older-now-spend-an-average-of-four-hours/) [John Medina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-medina/) > [I ended up doing literally every television show ever made, for at least a day. It was great to see how that worked. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-j-adams/i-ended-up-doing-literally-every-television-show-ever-made-for-at/) [Patrick J. Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-j-adams/) > [And they like being able to turn on the television day in and day out to see someone that they know and they feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-couric/and-they-like-being-able-to-turn-on-the-television-day-in-and-day-out/) [Katie Couric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-couric/) > [On average, Australians watch more than three hours of television a day, compared with 12 minutes a day spent by the average couple talking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-mackay/on-average-australians-watch-more-than-three-hours-of-television-a/) [Hugh Mackay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-mackay/) > [The average American watches more than four hours of television per day. What would happen if we spent more time developing our talents than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bytheway/the-average-american-watches-more-than-four-hours-of-television-per/) [John Bytheway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bytheway/) > [When we grew up, we had three channels on television and only one day of cartoons and if you missed it, you missed it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/butch-hartman/when-we-grew-up-we-had-three-channels-on-television-and-only-one-day/) [Butch Hartman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/butch-hartman/) > [Even if tomorrow will be the end of the world, people will still continue to watch television for whole day!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/even-if-tomorrow-will-be-the-end-of-the-world-people-will-still/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I mean, I work in television, so every day is like the end of your career and then each day is a new one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-shamrock/i-mean-i-work-in-television-so-every-day-is-like-the-end-of-your/) [Frank Shamrock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-shamrock/) > [I write for a certain sphere of readers in the United States who on average watch seven and a half hours of multichannel television…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerzy-kosi-ski/i-write-for-a-certain-sphere-of-readers-in-the-united-states-who-on/) [Jerzy Kosinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerzy-kosi-ski/) > [There's a great appetite for smart television. Every day I get up and there are interesting stories I want to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-rose/there-s-a-great-appetite-for-smart-television-every-day-i-get-up-and/) [Charlie Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-rose/) > [“I went to the library to look up the figures, and I found out that the episode we watched is the highest watched anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/i-went-to-the-library-to-look-up-the-figures-and-i-found-out-that-the/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [I left the South in 1963 and was living in Morristown, New Jersey, when the March on Washington took place, so I watched it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudette-colvin/i-left-the-south-in-1963-and-was-living-in-morristown-new-jersey-when/) [Claudette Colvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudette-colvin/) > [As a kid I watched television 24 hours a day and loved every minute of it. The two shows that always make me laugh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-mochrie/as-a-kid-i-watched-television-24-hours-a-day-and-loved-every-minute/) [Colin Mochrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-mochrie/) > [You always have to give back to the fans. I remember being a fan of television and film when I was growing up and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-huertas/you-always-have-to-give-back-to-the-fans-i-remember-being-a-fan-of/) [Jon Huertas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-huertas/) > [I was completely naive about the business of being an actor. My family didn't go to the theater or to the movies. We watched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mcdormand/i-was-completely-naive-about-the-business-of-being-an-actor-my-family/) [Frances McDormand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mcdormand/) ## More by Annie Dillard > [Like everyone in his right mind, I feared Santa Claus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/like-everyone-in-his-right-mind-i-feared-santa-claus/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“This is a spendthrift economy; though nothing is lost, all is spent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/this-is-a-spendthrift-economy-though-nothing-is-lost-all-is-spent/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [The creatures I seek do not want to be seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-creatures-i-seek-do-not-want-to-be-seen/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [Nothing moves a woman so deeply as the boyhood of the man she loves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/nothing-moves-a-woman-so-deeply-as-the-boyhood-of-the-man-she-loves/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [We live in all we seek. The hidden shows up in too-plain sight. It lives captive on the face of the obvious - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/we-live-in-all-we-seek-the-hidden-shows-up-in-too-plain-sight-it/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“...The mockingbird took a single step into the air and dropped. His wings were still folded against his sides as though he were singing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-mockingbird-took-a-single-step-into-the-air-and-dropped-his-wings/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“Father had stretched out his long legs and was tilting back in his chair. Mother sat with her knees crossed, in blue slacks, smoking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/father-had-stretched-out-his-long-legs-and-was-tilting-back-in-his/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I am a frayed and nibbled survivor in a fallen world, and I am getting along. I am aging and eaten and have done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-am-a-frayed-and-nibbled-survivor-in-a-fallen-world-and-i-am-getting/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [It should surprise no one that the life of the writer - such as it is - is colorless to the point of sensory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-should-surprise-no-one-that-the-life-of-the-writer-such-as-it-is/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [It is madness to wear ladies' straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-is-madness-to-wear-ladies-straw-hats-and-velvet-hats-to-church-we/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [The sense impressions of one-celled animals are not edited for the brain. This is philosophically interesting in a rather mournful way, since it means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-sense-impressions-of-one-celled-animals-are-not-edited-for-the/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“What can we make of the inexpressible joy of children? It is a kind of gratitude, I think—the gratitude of the ten-year-old who wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/what-can-we-make-of-the-inexpressible-joy-of-children-it-is-a-kind-of/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“If we were to judge nature by its common sense or likelihood, we wouldn't believe the world existed. In nature, improbabilities are the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/if-we-were-to-judge-nature-by-its-common-sense-or-likelihood-we/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [For writing a first draft requires from the writer a peculiar internal state which ordinary life does not induce. ... how to set yourself spinning?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/for-writing-a-first-draft-requires-from-the-writer-a-peculiar/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I am a fugitive and a vagabond, a sojourner seeking signs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-am-a-fugitive-and-a-vagabond-a-sojourner-seeking-signs/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Explore all 509 Annie Dillard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) ## More Aging quotes > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [In the past 40 years, the United States lost more than a million farmers and ranchers. Many of our farmers are aging. Today, only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-vilsack/in-the-past-40-years-the-united-states-lost-more-than-a-million/) [Tom Vilsack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-vilsack/) > [We'll never be as young as we are tonight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-ll-never-be-as-young-as-we-are-tonight/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess: Lord, thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. Keep me from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prayer-of-an-anonymous-abbess-lord-thou-knowest-better-than-myself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [So often do you see collegians enter life with high resolve and lofty purpose and then watch them shrink and shrink to sordid, selfish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/so-often-do-you-see-collegians-enter-life-with-high-resolve-and-lofty/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [All the dangers in our world are like a blessed wake up call. They tell us to live life NOW... not tomorrow, not when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/all-the-dangers-in-our-world-are-like-a-blessed-wake-up-call-they/) [Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/) > [“You could see the signs of female aging as diseased, especially if you had a vested interest in making women too see them your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/you-could-see-the-signs-of-female-aging-as-diseased-especially-if-you/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [“It takes maturity to be able to laugh like a child again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moffat-machingura/it-takes-maturity-to-be-able-to-laugh-like-a-child-again/) [Moffat Machingura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moffat-machingura/) > [Seek ye counsel of the aged for their eyes have looked on the faces of the years and their ears have hardened to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/seek-ye-counsel-of-the-aged-for-their-eyes-have-looked-on-the-faces/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Growing old-it's not nice, but it's interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/growing-old-it-s-not-nice-but-it-s-interesting/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [Anything is possible in the life of a man if he lives long enough. Even maturity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howell-raines/anything-is-possible-in-the-life-of-a-man-if-he-lives-long-enough/) [Howell Raines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howell-raines/) > [I just want to be Patty McCormack. I want to spend every year aging the way she has.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-varney/i-just-want-to-be-patty-mccormack-i-want-to-spend-every-year-aging/) [Janet Varney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-varney/) > [Maturity is reached the day we don't need to be lied to about anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-yerby/maturity-is-reached-the-day-we-don-t-need-to-be-lied-to-about-anything/) [Frank Yerby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-yerby/) [Browse all 2,792 Aging quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Three days a week she helped at the Manor Nursing Home, where people proved their keenness by reciting received analyses of current events. All the Manor residents watched television day and night, informed to the eyeballs like everyone else and rushed for time, toward what end no one asked. Their cupidity and self-love were no worse than anyone else's, but their many experiences' having taught them so little irked Lou. One hated tourists, another southerners; another despised immigrants. Even dying, they still held themselves in highest regard. Lou would have to watch herself. For this way of thinking began to look like human nature--as if each person of two or three billion would spend his last vital drop to sustain his self-importance.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Annie Dillard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/three-days-a-week-she-helped-at-the-manor-nursing-home-where-people/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aging" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/three-days-a-week-she-helped-at-the-manor-nursing-home-where-people/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80e/annie-dillard-509_aging_three-days-a-week-she-helped-at-the-mano_2969095.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80e/annie-dillard-509_aging_three-days-a-week-she-helped-at-the-mano_2969095.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80e/annie-dillard-509_aging_three-days-a-week-she-helped-at-the-mano_2969095.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Three days a week she helped at the Manor Nursing Home, where people proved their keenness by reciting…” — Annie Dillard", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Annie Dillard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Three days a week she helped...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/three-days-a-week-she-helped-at-the-manor-nursing-home-where-people/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/three-days-a-week-she-helped-at-the-manor-nursing-home-where-people/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```