--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The British hamburger thus symbolised…" description: "\"The British hamburger thus symbolised, with savage neatness, the country's failure to provide its ordinary people with food which did anything more for..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54f/clive-james-2750_british_the-british-hamburger-thus-symbolised-wi_1033593.png" --- # The British hamburger thus symbolised, with savage… ![“The British hamburger thus symbolised, with savage neatness, the country's failure to provide its ordinary people with food which did anything more for them than sustain life.” quote by Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54f/clive-james-2750_british_the-british-hamburger-thus-symbolised-wi_1033593.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54f/clive-james-2750_british_the-british-hamburger-thus-symbolised-wi_1033593.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54f/clive-james-2750_british_the-british-hamburger-thus-symbolised-wi_1033593.png) > “The British hamburger thus symbolised, with savage neatness, the country's failure to provide its ordinary people with food which did anything more for them than sustain life.” [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cultural symbols can reveal societal failures, such as the neglect of meaningful nourishment for the masses. **In simple terms:** Food symbols expose social neglect. Key Takeaway Address deeper societal needs beyond mere sustenance. Themes culture food social critique inequality Mood analytical critical Type sociological cultural When to use this quote - policy making - media analysis - education - community planning Key Concepts symbolism public health class disparity Questions to Reflect On - How does everyday food reflect social values? - What can be done to improve real nourishment? A Different Perspective Focusing on symbols may overlook practical solutions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [British](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/british/) [British Hamburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/british-hamburger-945189/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Country Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country-failure-2375631/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Hamburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hamburger/) [Hamburger Symbolised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hamburger-symbolised-2375629/) [Hamburgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hamburgers/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Neatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neatness/) [Ordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary/) [Ordinary people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary-people/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Savages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/savages/) [Symbolised Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/symbolised-savage-2375630/) ## Related quotes > [When you cut it up, put the pieces in your mouth and swallowed them, the British hamburger shaped itself to the bottom on your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/when-you-cut-it-up-put-the-pieces-in-your-mouth-and-swallowed-them/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [In recent years, perhaps encouraged by competition from McDonald's, the British hamburger has become a credit to the nation. At the time of which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/in-recent-years-perhaps-encouraged-by-competition-from-mcdonald-s-the/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [In Italy, for the same price as a typical British hamburger meal including sweet, a builder's labourer could eat like a king - rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/in-italy-for-the-same-price-as-a-typical-british-hamburger-meal/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [The idea of the writer who writes nineteen novels, with various ups and downs and levels of experimentation, isn't around so much now. There's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/the-idea-of-the-writer-who-writes-nineteen-novels-with-various-ups/) [Chad Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-harbach/) > [We must avoid fastidiousness; neatness, when it is moderate, is a virtue; but when it is carried to an extreme, it narrows the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-fenelon/we-must-avoid-fastidiousness-neatness-when-it-is-moderate-is-a-virtue/) [Francois Fenelon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-fenelon/) > [We show wisdom by a decent conformity to social etiquette; it is excess of neatness or display that creates dandyism in men, and coquetry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-adam/we-show-wisdom-by-a-decent-conformity-to-social-etiquette-it-is/) [Robert Adam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-adam/) > [The window gave onto a view of dove-gray roofs and balconies, each one containing the same cracked flowerpot and sleeping feline. It was as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/the-window-gave-onto-a-view-of-dove-gray-roofs-and-balconies-each-one/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [One of the things called forth by the Imagist movement in poetry was neatness; and when we say keenness, we mean neatness. A knife…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/one-of-the-things-called-forth-by-the-imagist-movement-in-poetry-was/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [I never walked through the streets of any city with as much satisfaction as those of Philadelphia. The neatness and cleanliness of all animate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/i-never-walked-through-the-streets-of-any-city-with-as-much/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [I'm terribly fastidious. I like symmetry and neatness, but my house is as chaotic as any other family's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mccloud/i-m-terribly-fastidious-i-like-symmetry-and-neatness-but-my-house-is/) [Kevin McCloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mccloud/) > ['Men die of the diseases which they have studied most,' remarked the surgeon, snipping off the end of a cigar with all his professional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/men-die-of-the-diseases-which-they-have-studied-most-remarked-the/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“The solution of logical problems must be neat for they set the standard of neatness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/the-solution-of-logical-problems-must-be-neat-for-they-set-the/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [It would be mortifying to the feelings of many ladies, could they be made to understand how little the heart of a man is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/it-would-be-mortifying-to-the-feelings-of-many-ladies-could-they-be-2/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Tidiness is a virtue, symmetry is often a constituent of beauty...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/tidiness-is-a-virtue-symmetry-is-often-a-constituent-of-beauty/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Neatness begets order; but from order to taste there is the same difference as from taste to genius, or from love to friendship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-kaspar-lavater/neatness-begets-order-but-from-order-to-taste-there-is-the-same/) [Johann Kaspar Lavater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-kaspar-lavater/) ## More by Clive James > [Arnold Schwarzenegger looks like a brown condom full of walnuts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/arnold-schwarzenegger-looks-like-a-brown-condom-full-of-walnuts/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [My wife spoke perfect Italian and she was very beautiful and very suave Italian men were crowding around her, talking all the time and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/my-wife-spoke-perfect-italian-and-she-was-very-beautiful-and-very/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [The streets, at least in this part of town, seemed impossibly clean in comparison to London. The public telephones were unvandalised. For a London…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/the-streets-at-least-in-this-part-of-town-seemed-impossibly-clean-in/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [In London there was no home cooking worthy of the name. When you were in funds you ate out. But only the people whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/in-london-there-was-no-home-cooking-worthy-of-the-name-when-you-were/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [Generally it is our failures that civilize us. Triumph confirms us in our habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/generally-it-is-our-failures-that-civilize-us-triumph-confirms-us-in/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [I try to be specific. One thought at a time. Clear. Articulate. And above all, memorable, if you can be. You'd like to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/i-try-to-be-specific-one-thought-at-a-time-clear-articulate-and-above/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [Pound had argued - and Eliot had helped him prove - that a poem could be sustained by memorable moments. Olson proved that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/pound-had-argued-and-eliot-had-helped-him-prove-that-a-poem-could-be/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [A luxury liner is really just a bad play surrounded by water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/a-luxury-liner-is-really-just-a-bad-play-surrounded-by-water/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [One way or another, all the poets of the thirties and forties reacted to Auden, either by rejecting him or trying to absorb him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/one-way-or-another-all-the-poets-of-the-thirties-and-forties-reacted/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [Little books are the things to write at my age, I've decided. Avoid the big ones, go for the little ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/little-books-are-the-things-to-write-at-my-age-i-ve-decided-avoid-the/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [“Too many of my friends are dead, and others wrecked By various diseases of the intellect Or failing body. How am I still upright?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/too-many-of-my-friends-are-dead-and-others-wrecked-by-various/) [clive james](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [A sceptic finds Dallas absurd. A cynic thinks the public doesn't](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/a-sceptic-finds-dallas-absurd-a-cynic-thinks-the-public-doesn-t/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [The Canadian version of Julius Caesar's memoirs? I came, I saw, I coped.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/the-canadian-version-of-julius-caesar-s-memoirs-i-came-i-saw-i-coped/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [“Rilke used to say that no poet would mind going to gaol, since he would at least have time to explore the treasure house…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/rilke-used-to-say-that-no-poet-would-mind-going-to-gaol-since-he/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [The thing about making a documentary in Las Vegas is there isn't much to film apart from other people making documentaries about Las Vegas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/the-thing-about-making-a-documentary-in-las-vegas-is-there-isn-t-much/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) [Explore all 151 Clive James quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) ## More British quotes > [I'd love to work in the States; I'd love to work anywhere where you get a good script and a good part to play.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-carmichael/i-d-love-to-work-in-the-states-i-d-love-to-work-anywhere-where-you/) [Laura Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-carmichael/) > [I shot for French and British Vogue. The British Vogue one featured clothes by Chloe and was shot at Highgate and the John Soane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nan-goldin/i-shot-for-french-and-british-vogue-the-british-vogue-one-featured/) [Nan Goldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nan-goldin/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [ No wonder that Churchill described this effort \[the British codebreakers working at Bletchley Park\] as "Britian"s secret weapon," a weapon far more effective than… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hilton/no-wonder-that-churchill-described-this-effort-the-british/) [Peter Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hilton/) > [When we first sold the Wallace and Gromit shorts to America, people suggested we get rid of the strange British accents and put clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-park/when-we-first-sold-the-wallace-and-gromit-shorts-to-america-people/) [Nick Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-park/) > [I always wanted to make a 'James Bond' film, and they only seemed to hire British directors, and I'd made 'Swingers' - they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-liman/i-always-wanted-to-make-a-james-bond-film-and-they-only-seemed-to/) [Doug Liman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-liman/) > [Somebody said that part of my reaction to British cinema is actually, paradoxically, a patriotic one. I'm so disappointed that we're not better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-brownlow/somebody-said-that-part-of-my-reaction-to-british-cinema-is-actually/) [Kevin Brownlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-brownlow/) > [All the cliches of glamorous sophistication have little appeal to me. Do I want to live the British version of 'Dynasty?' No thanks!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sade-adu/all-the-cliches-of-glamorous-sophistication-have-little-appeal-to-me/) [Sade Adu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sade-adu/) > [British Forces should be in a position to give back in a ten fold measure any attack that the Germans may attempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-banting/british-forces-should-be-in-a-position-to-give-back-in-a-ten-fold/) [Frederick Banting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-banting/) > [Although I don't have anything against people from other countries, the higher the influx into England the more the British identity disappears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/although-i-don-t-have-anything-against-people-from-other-countries/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It could be my British need for discipline that makes me admire the American appetite for freedom and passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-winwood/it-could-be-my-british-need-for-discipline-that-makes-me-admire-the/) [Steve Winwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-winwood/) > [While we like to think queueing is unique to British culture, the truth is that we are mere amateurs. 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