--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But isn't it likely that everyone in this…" description: "\"“But isn't it likely that everyone in this world...has killed someone or other on their way to the top?...All I wanted was a chance to be a man--and fo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8f/aravind-adiga-4424_be-a-man_but-isn-t-it-likely-that-everyone-in-thi_910444.png" --- # But isn't it likely that everyone in this world...has… ![“But isn't it likely that everyone in this world...has killed someone or other on their way to the top?...All I wanted was a chance to be a man--and for that, one murder is enough.” quote by Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8f/aravind-adiga-4424_be-a-man_but-isn-t-it-likely-that-everyone-in-thi_910444.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8f/aravind-adiga-4424_be-a-man_but-isn-t-it-likely-that-everyone-in-thi_910444.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8f/aravind-adiga-4424_be-a-man_but-isn-t-it-likely-that-everyone-in-thi_910444.png) > ““But isn't it likely that everyone in this world...has killed someone or other on their way to the top?...All I wanted was a chance to be a man--and for that, one murder is enough.”” [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that moral compromise and even murder are often seen as necessary steps to achieve power and status in a ruthless society. **In simple terms:** Success may demand immoral acts. Key Takeaway Question your ethical limits for ambition. Themes power morality ambition social inequality violence Mood cynical reflective Type literary social commentary When to use this quote - career advancement - political rise - personal revenge - corporate climb Key Concepts ethical relativism survival capitalism Questions to Reflect On - Is violence truly necessary for advancement? - Can one stay moral while climbing the ladder? A Different Perspective Not all paths to success require violence; systemic change can offer alternatives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Murder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murder/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Social status](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-status/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Help a man against his will and you do the same as murder him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/help-a-man-against-his-will-and-you-do-the-same-as-murder-him/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“These Norsemen are excellent persons in the main, with good sense, steadiness, wise speech, and prompt action. But they have a singular turn for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/these-norsemen-are-excellent-persons-in-the-main-with-good-sense/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A day will come in which men will look upon an animal's murder the same way they look today upon a man's murder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/a-day-will-come-in-which-men-will-look-upon-an-animal-s-murder-the/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [People from all over the world were killed in the attacks on the World Trade Centre. They came from many different cultural, ethnic and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blunkett/people-from-all-over-the-world-were-killed-in-the-attacks-on-the/) [David Blunkett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blunkett/) > [I am the best-natured creature in the world, and yet I have already killed three, and of these three two were priests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/i-am-the-best-natured-creature-in-the-world-and-yet-i-have-already/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [The murder of a man is still murder, even in wartime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manfred-von-richthofen/the-murder-of-a-man-is-still-murder-even-in-wartime/) [Manfred von Richthofen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manfred-von-richthofen/) > [Many people in the world are killed by supper rather than by the sword.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/many-people-in-the-world-are-killed-by-supper-rather-than-by-the-sword/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [This girl (Stephanie) is but a few months away from her seventeenth birthday and already she has saved the world and killed a god.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-landy/this-girl-stephanie-is-but-a-few-months-away-from-her-seventeenth/) [Derek Landy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-landy/) > [Charging a man with murder in this place was like handing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milius/charging-a-man-with-murder-in-this-place-was-like-handing-out/) [John Milius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milius/) > [“Does anyone beside me experience a deep sorrow that someone called a "Hero for the Planet" and a "star of the sustainability movement" is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/does-anyone-beside-me-experience-a-deep-sorrow-that-someone-called-a/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [“He didn't want to go forward, but he always wanted to get another chance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/he-didn-t-want-to-go-forward-but-he-always-wanted-to-get-another/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [I don't think I made it clear where I was mentally when I appeared on 'X Factor.' There was so much pressure and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/i-don-t-think-i-made-it-clear-where-i-was-mentally-when-i-appeared-on/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [“I’d be anything and everything you wanted me to be, if you would give me the chance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-ashley/i-d-be-anything-and-everything-you-wanted-me-to-be-if-you-would-give/) [Katie Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-ashley/) > [“Love takes chances, and I wanted to take a chance right now. For once in my life, I knew what I wanted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/love-takes-chances-and-i-wanted-to-take-a-chance-right-now-for-once/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [“I just wanted a chance. You know. Like everyone else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-gurtler/i-just-wanted-a-chance-you-know-like-everyone-else/) [Janet Gurtler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-gurtler/) ## More by Aravind Adiga > [Columbia University, where I went to study in 1993, insisted its undergraduates learn a foreign language, so I discovered French.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/columbia-university-where-i-went-to-study-in-1993-insisted-its/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [What keeps India safe really is the heroism of millions of poor Indians who every day reject the allure of terrorism. What keeps India…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/what-keeps-india-safe-really-is-the-heroism-of-millions-of-poor/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [“Every day, on the roads of Delhi, some chauffeur is driving an empty car with a black suitcase sitting on the backseat. 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I am just one who has woken up while the rest of you are still sleeping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/neither-i-am-just-one-who-has-woken-up-while-the-rest-of-you-are/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [“People in this country are still waiting for the war of their freedom to come from somewhere else, from the jungles, from the mountains,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/people-in-this-country-are-still-waiting-for-the-war-of-their-freedom/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [“These people were building homes for the rich, but they lived in tents covered with blue tarpaulin sheets, and partitioned into lanes by lines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/these-people-were-building-homes-for-the-rich-but-they-lived-in-tents/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [“And then he realized that the thing that was blocking his passage was cleared, and he was falling; his body had begun its short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/and-then-he-realized-that-the-thing-that-was-blocking-his-passage-was/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [“When it comes to work - hurry, hurry, hurry. When it comes to payment - delay, delay, delay. Caste, religion, family background nothing. Talent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/when-it-comes-to-work-hurry-hurry-hurry-when-it-comes-to-payment/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [“There was a fierce jam on the road to Gurgaon. Every five minutes the traffic would tremble - we'd move a foot - hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/there-was-a-fierce-jam-on-the-road-to-gurgaon-every-five-minutes-the/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [“From the advertisement, his eyes moved up the skywalk, the zigzagging metal bridge that connected various locations in the neighborhood to the Banda train…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/from-the-advertisement-his-eyes-moved-up-the-skywalk-the-zigzagging/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [It's amazing. The moment you show cash, everyone knows your language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/it-s-amazing-the-moment-you-show-cash-everyone-knows-your-language/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [“Even here, in the weight machine of a train station, they try to hoodwink us. 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