--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I could tell Hugo was convinced that he…" description: "\"I could tell Hugo was convinced that he would get to walk back up these stairs: after all, he was a civilized person. These were all civilized people. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bae/charlaine-harris-542_civilized_i-could-tell-hugo-was-convinced-that-he_975784.jpg" --- # I could tell Hugo was convinced that he would get to walk… ![“I could tell Hugo was convinced that he would get to walk back up these stairs: after all, he was a civilized person. These were all civilized people. Hugo really couldn't imagine that anything irreparable could happen to him, because he was a middle-class white American with a college education…” quote by Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bae/charlaine-harris-542_civilized_i-could-tell-hugo-was-convinced-that-he_975784.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bae/charlaine-harris-542_civilized_i-could-tell-hugo-was-convinced-that-he_975784.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bae/charlaine-harris-542_civilized_i-could-tell-hugo-was-convinced-that-he_975784.jpg) > “I could tell Hugo was convinced that he would get to walk back up these stairs: after all, he was a civilized person. These were all civilized people. Hugo really couldn't imagine that anything irreparable could happen to him, because he was a middle-class white American with a college education, as were all the people on the stairs with us. I had no such conviction. I was not a wholly civilized person.” [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator contrasts a privileged, self‑assured worldview with personal doubt and vulnerability, highlighting how class and education can create false security. **In simple terms:** Class and education can mask personal insecurity. Key Takeaway Recognize and question your own assumptions. Themes class identity vulnerability privilege Mood reflective critical thoughtful Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - navigating workplace dynamics - interacting with strangers - self‑reflection - handling crisis Key Concepts social psychology self‑perception cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - How do your background assumptions affect your decisions? - When have you felt unprepared despite your status? A Different Perspective Overconfidence can lead to blind spots and unexpected failure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college/) [College education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college-education/) [Conviction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conviction/) [Middle class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-class/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [“Civilized people must, I believe, satisfy the following criteria: 1) They respect human beings as individuals and are therefore always tolerant, gentle, courteous and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/civilized-people-must-i-believe-satisfy-the-following-criteria-1-they/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [Whamming someone smaller than oneself in order to teach that person civilized behavior is not within Miss Manners' concept of propriety, much less logic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/whamming-someone-smaller-than-oneself-in-order-to-teach-that-person/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [“I'd long wondered if I were really a civilized person, though I kept striving to be one. I knew that at the moment I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/i-d-long-wondered-if-i-were-really-a-civilized-person-though-i-kept/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [“In our society, we are great believers in education. We believe that knowledge makes a cultured person civilized. Civilization, however, polishes the person superficially.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-our-society-we-are-great-believers-in-education-we-believe-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The next day Stapes staged another dinner and I made more mistakes. Commenting on the food wasn’t rude, but it was rustic. The same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/the-next-day-stapes-staged-another-dinner-and-i-made-more-mistakes/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [With the "civilized" person contentment is a myth. From the cradle to the grave they are forever longing and striving after something better, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-matthews/with-the-civilized-person-contentment-is-a-myth-from-the-cradle-to/) [William Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-matthews/) > [Good heredity and environment are necessary. You cannot compare the child of a savage with the child of a civilized person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/good-heredity-and-environment-are-necessary-you-cannot-compare-the/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [Have you ever heard one civilized person whose opinion you respect, at any time, anywhere, in any civilized country anywhere, say the good new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cleveland-amory/have-you-ever-heard-one-civilized-person-whose-opinion-you-respect-at/) [Cleveland Amory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cleveland-amory/) > [“each civilized person in the world should admit that he has two home countries: the one he was born in, and Syria .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-parrot/each-civilized-person-in-the-world-should-admit-that-he-has-two-home/) Andrea Parrot > [No civilized person ever goes to bed the same day he gets up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-harding-davis/no-civilized-person-ever-goes-to-bed-the-same-day-he-gets-up/) [Richard Harding Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-harding-davis/) > [The test of a civilized person is first self-awareness, and then depth after depth of sincerity in self-confrontation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-day/the-test-of-a-civilized-person-is-first-self-awareness-and-then-depth/) [Clarence Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-day/) > [“For the average civilized person to whom, as to Patrick Henry, even death is acceptable in the absence of liberty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-mangahas/for-the-average-civilized-person-to-whom-as-to-patrick-henry-even/) Federico Mangahas > [I'm a civilized person who obeys the law and is pretty easy to get along with, but I'm more complicated than that. I use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-w-garcia/i-m-a-civilized-person-who-obeys-the-law-and-is-pretty-easy-to-get/) [Liz W. Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-w-garcia/) > [The greatest right of a civilized person is to be left alone, unless he does harm to others or is threatening to do harm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-goldberg/the-greatest-right-of-a-civilized-person-is-to-be-left-alone-unless/) [Arthur Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-goldberg/) > [“All scientific effort must now be concentrated in the area of defence (sic). We have learned our lesson. We, the most civilized of people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/all-scientific-effort-must-now-be-concentrated-in-the-area-of-defence/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) ## More by Charlaine Harris > [Don’t you just hate nights like that, when you think over every mistake you’ve made, every hurt you’ve received, every bit of meanness you’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/don-t-you-just-hate-nights-like-that-when-you-think-over-every/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [I like sparkly things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/i-like-sparkly-things/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [All the pictures on the walls, they all white as lilies and smiling like alligators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/all-the-pictures-on-the-walls-they-all-white-as-lilies-and-smiling/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [“Te quiero -dijo- Nada de lo que hagas o digas podrá cambiarlo. Si me pidieras que enterrase un cadáver, o que me cargase a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/te-quiero-dijo-nada-de-lo-que-hagas-o-digas-podr-cambiarlo-si-me/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [You think that it’s not magic that keeps you alive? Just ‘cause you understand the mechanics of how something works, doesn’t make it any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/you-think-that-it-s-not-magic-that-keeps-you-alive-just-cause-you/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [“Suddenly the blood tasted good, salty, the stuff of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/suddenly-the-blood-tasted-good-salty-the-stuff-of-life/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [“Sookie: "Eric, when I'm back to being myself, I'm going to nail your ass for putting me in this position of being pledged to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/sookie-eric-when-i-m-back-to-being-myself-i-m-going-to-nail-your-ass/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [“For a moment they all looked at Dermot incredulously, as if he'd just announced he was going to birth a kangaroo.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/for-a-moment-they-all-looked-at-dermot-incredulously-as-if-he-d-just/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [There’s no way you can kill someone and get to the other side of the experience unchanged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/there-s-no-way-you-can-kill-someone-and-get-to-the-other-side-of-the/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [Pam said, "Sookie, I brought you something, too. I never thought I'd want to spend time with a human, but you're more tolerable than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/pam-said-sookie-i-brought-you-something-too-i-never-thought-i-d-want/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [You know I love you more when you're cold and heartless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/you-know-i-love-you-more-when-you-re-cold-and-heartless/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [For any writers at all, read everything you can and then put your butt in the chair and write. That's all there is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/for-any-writers-at-all-read-everything-you-can-and-then-put-your-butt/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [“There were toes. Those toes wouldn’t be happy piggies. But they didn’t have any right to be in the way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/there-were-toes-those-toes-wouldn-t-be-happy-piggies-but-they-didn-t/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [My gran had always told me that a woman--any woman worth her salt--could do whatever she had to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/my-gran-had-always-told-me-that-a-woman-any-woman-worth-her-salt/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [ “\[..\] red high-heeled screw-me shoes.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/red-high-heeled-screw-me-shoes/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) [Explore all 480 Charlaine Harris quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) ## More Civilized quotes > [ That country \[Carthage\] was rapidly sinking into the state of barbarism from whence it had been raised by the Phoenician colonies and Roman laws;… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/that-country-carthage-was-rapidly-sinking-into-the-state-of-barbarism/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [Be neither too early in the fashion, nor too long out of it, nor too precisely in it; what custom hath civilized is become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/be-neither-too-early-in-the-fashion-nor-too-long-out-of-it-nor-too/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Civilized nations are ones that simply can't endure wrongs or injustice except at home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-anderson/civilized-nations-are-ones-that-simply-can-t-endure-wrongs-or/) Joseph Anderson > [Our guiding principle was that design is neither an intellectual nor a material affair, but simply an integral part of the stuff of life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-gropius/our-guiding-principle-was-that-design-is-neither-an-intellectual-nor/) [Walter Gropius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-gropius/) > [War is not civilized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-kweli/war-is-not-civilized/) [Talib Kweli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-kweli/) > [For it is an absurdity to call a country civilized in which a decent and industrious man, laboriously mastering a trade which is valuble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-an-absurdity-to-call-a-country-civilized-in-which-a-decent/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [No people is wholly civilized where a distinction is drawn between stealing an office and stealing a purse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/no-people-is-wholly-civilized-where-a-distinction-is-drawn-between/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Mine was, as it were, the connecting link between wild and cultivated fields; as some states are civilized, and others half-civilized, and others savage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/mine-was-as-it-were-the-connecting-link-between-wild-and-cultivated/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The military mind is indeed a menace. Old-fashioned futurity that sees only men fighting and dying in smoke and fire; hears nothing more civilized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-o-casey/the-military-mind-is-indeed-a-menace-old-fashioned-futurity-that-sees/) [Sean O'Casey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-o-casey/) > [As long as there are prisons, police, armies, navies; we are not civilized. When the Earth joins together and uses the Earth intelligently, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/as-long-as-there-are-prisons-police-armies-navies-we-are-not/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [We're all intrigued, in our civilized world that we live in, and curious about how we would get on, on an undiscovered island that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/we-re-all-intrigued-in-our-civilized-world-that-we-live-in-and/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [When passions and appetites are stronger than the intellect, men are savages; when the intellect governs the passions, when the passions are servants, men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/when-passions-and-appetites-are-stronger-than-the-intellect-men-are/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [The malady of civilized man is his knowledge of death. The good artist, like the wise man, addresses himself to life and invests with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-malady-of-civilized-man-is-his-knowledge-of-death-the-good-artist/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Savage peoples are ruled by passion, civilized peoples by the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/savage-peoples-are-ruled-by-passion-civilized-peoples-by-the-mind/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) Browse all 1,043 Civilized quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I could tell Hugo was convinced that he would get to walk back up these stairs: after all, he was a civilized person. These were all civilized people. Hugo really couldn't imagine that anything irreparable could happen to him, because he was a middle-class white American with a college education, as were all the people on the stairs with us. 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