--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They came out into the open, and it was…" description: "\"“They came out into the open, and it was the grimy backwaters of Jersey City now. Tall factory stacks, and fires burning, and spreads of stagnant stink..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c83/cornell-woolrich-2734_big-city_they-came-out-into-the-open-and-it-was-t_1835088.jpg" --- # They came out into the open, and it was the grimy… ![“They came out into the open, and it was the grimy backwaters of Jersey City now. Tall factory stacks, and fires burning, and spreads of stagnant stinking water. On and on the ride went. On and on and on. They turned north soon and left the big city and all its little satellites behind them, and…” quote by Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c83/cornell-woolrich-2734_big-city_they-came-out-into-the-open-and-it-was-t_1835088.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c83/cornell-woolrich-2734_big-city_they-came-out-into-the-open-and-it-was-t_1835088.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c83/cornell-woolrich-2734_big-city_they-came-out-into-the-open-and-it-was-t_1835088.jpg) > ““They came out into the open, and it was the grimy backwaters of Jersey City now. Tall factory stacks, and fires burning, and spreads of stagnant stinking water. On and on the ride went. On and on and on. They turned north soon and left the big city and all its little satellites behind them, and after a while even the rusty glow on the horizon died down and was gone. Then trees began, and little lumpy hills, and there was nothing but the darkness and the night and the fear. ("The Number's Up")”” [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) ## 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 moves from industrial decay into darkness, evoking fear and isolation. **In simple terms:** Travel from city to night brings dread. Key Takeaway Recognize how environment shapes emotion. Themes urban decay darkness fear isolation Mood eerie somber Type literary descriptive When to use this quote - nighttime travel - urban exploration - psychological horror Key Concepts existential dread environmental psychology literary mood Questions to Reflect On - How does setting affect your sense of safety? - What emotions does darkness evoke? A Different Perspective Some may find the setting overly bleak. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Big city](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-city/) [Jersey city](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jersey-city/) ## Related quotes > [“In the dark, in no starlight at all, the blocks hurtled invisibly by, ejected into the night air; he heard them break but he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/in-the-dark-in-no-starlight-at-all-the-blocks-hurtled-invisibly-by/) [Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) > [I'd learn that it's not just where you go, but how you choose to get there. So I pulled that sign off the green…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-d-learn-that-it-s-not-just-where-you-go-but-how-you-choose-to-get/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [Got a wife and kid in Baltimore Jack, I went out for a ride and I never went back. Like a river that don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/got-a-wife-and-kid-in-baltimore-jack-i-went-out-for-a-ride-and-i/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [“I took everybody, including the dog, for a ride, and we went around the block four or five times, congratulating one another upon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-shirley/i-took-everybody-including-the-dog-for-a-ride-and-we-went-around-the/) Jackson Shirley > [I believe the challenge the city faces is attracting continued development into the inner and western part of Jersey City. Nobody should be left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-believe-the-challenge-the-city-faces-is-attracting-continued/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Growing up in Jersey City was interesting. I got to learn a lot about different cultures: I had Hindu friends, Middle Eastern friends, black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-rodriguez/growing-up-in-jersey-city-was-interesting-i-got-to-learn-a-lot-about/) [Michelle Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-rodriguez/) > [I don't write police stories, per se, but I usually write about areas that are very panoramic, like Harlem, or the Lower East Side,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-price/i-don-t-write-police-stories-per-se-but-i-usually-write-about-areas/) [Richard Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-price/) > [“Depending on your point of view, Jersey City was the rose, or possibly the thorn, of the Garden State. It is so far back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/depending-on-your-point-of-view-jersey-city-was-the-rose-or-possibly/) Captain Hank Bracker, "Seawater One > [And the storm went on. It roared, it bellowed, and it screeched: it thumped and it kerwhalloped. The great seas would come bunt agin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-e-richards/and-the-storm-went-on-it-roared-it-bellowed-and-it-screeched-it/) [Laura E. Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-e-richards/) > [When I was about 11, 12, we moved to Jersey City. Everywhere I go I'm an outsider.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-rodriguez/when-i-was-about-11-12-we-moved-to-jersey-city-everywhere-i-go-i-m-an/) [Michelle Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-rodriguez/) > [If I had stayed in Jersey City or Florida, I would definitely be in an unhappy marriage in an apartment with beige carpet and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-buteau/if-i-had-stayed-in-jersey-city-or-florida-i-would-definitely-be-in-an/) [Michelle Buteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-buteau/) > [I was born in Jersey City and raised in Bayonne, New Jersey. 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Nobody thought of me as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-rodriguez/the-way-i-survived-growing-up-in-jersey-city-was-by-being-funny-it/) [Michelle Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-rodriguez/) ## More by Cornell Woolrich > [“He should have caught up with me inside of fifteen minutes at the outside, if he'd been able to get on the next train…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/he-should-have-caught-up-with-me-inside-of-fifteen-minutes-at-the/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“Home? What is home? Home is where a house is that you come back to when the rainy season is about to begin, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/home-what-is-home-home-is-where-a-house-is-that-you-come-back-to-when/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“Gates got up, but not fast or jerkily, with the same slowness that had always characterized him. He wiped the sweat off his palms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/gates-got-up-but-not-fast-or-jerkily-with-the-same-slowness-that-had/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“As the bartender struck a match to light her cigarette, she put her hand on his wrist to steady it. Travis saw him jump,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/as-the-bartender-struck-a-match-to-light-her-cigarette-she-put-her/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“That was enough dialogue for a few pages - he had to get into some fast, red-hot action. There weren't any more hitches now.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/that-was-enough-dialogue-for-a-few-pages-he-had-to-get-into-some-fast/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“Murder is such an elastic term, isn't it? ("Mind Over Murder")”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/murder-is-such-an-elastic-term-isn-t-it-mind-over-murder/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“She was beautiful, only hers was the dark beauty of night, just as Sherry's was the bright beauty of daytime. Her hair was raven-black,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/she-was-beautiful-only-hers-was-the-dark-beauty-of-night-just-as/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“And I still say it was just a coincidence;' he muttered pugnaciously. 'You say it too! Look at me and say it! It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/and-i-still-say-it-was-just-a-coincidence-he-muttered-pugnaciously/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“And then finally she came - and the whole world faded out around us and we were just alone on the crowded sidewalk. I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/and-then-finally-she-came-and-the-whole-world-faded-out-around-us-and/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“One of the two owners, the man who had been sitting in the front room, was stretched out in there asleep, stockinged-toes pointed at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/one-of-the-two-owners-the-man-who-had-been-sitting-in-the-front-room/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“But that's the Way, and there is no other. And once his mind's made up, the trembling and aimless walking stops, and he can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/but-that-s-the-way-and-there-is-no-other-and-once-his-mind-s-made-up/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“He just lingers long enough to see his plane put to bed properly, then grabs a cab at the airport-gate. "The Settlement" and forgetting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/he-just-lingers-long-enough-to-see-his-plane-put-to-bed-properly-then/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“There was a pause, while I fought against this other, lesser kind of death that was creeping over me - this death called strangeness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/there-was-a-pause-while-i-fought-against-this-other-lesser-kind-of/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“Every life is a mystery. And every story of every life is a mystery. But it is not what happens that is the mystery.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/every-life-is-a-mystery-and-every-story-of-every-life-is-a-mystery/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“Evans made himself their spokesman. "Charlie and Joe," he offered. "Remember us? We brought a friend back with us this time." Girls evidently didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/evans-made-himself-their-spokesman-charlie-and-joe-he-offered/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) [Explore all 152 Cornell Woolrich quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) ## More Big city quotes > [I always say if you put someone from a small town into a big city for ten years, then when they go back, they'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-colter/i-always-say-if-you-put-someone-from-a-small-town-into-a-big-city-for/) [Mike Colter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-colter/) > [“Looking at and 'appreciating' art has been understood as an instrument (or at best a result) of upward mobility, in which owning art is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-r-lippard/looking-at-and-appreciating-art-has-been-understood-as-an-instrument/) [Lucy R. Lippard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-r-lippard/) > [I grew up in New York City. 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