--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He had built his own future brick by…" description: "\"“He had built his own future brick by brick around himself but there were no doors or windows, at least that was the way it seemed at the time he had t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec0/dan-chaon-2729_brick_he-had-built-his-own-future-brick-by-bri_828009.jpg" --- # He had built his own future brick by brick around himself… ![“He had built his own future brick by brick around himself but there were no doors or windows, at least that was the way it seemed at the time he had thought to himself, I am locked in, it was like one of those ghost stories where you wake up and you are sealed in a coffin.” quote by Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec0/dan-chaon-2729_brick_he-had-built-his-own-future-brick-by-bri_828009.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec0/dan-chaon-2729_brick_he-had-built-his-own-future-brick-by-bri_828009.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec0/dan-chaon-2729_brick_he-had-built-his-own-future-brick-by-bri_828009.jpg) > ““He had built his own future brick by brick around himself but there were no doors or windows, at least that was the way it seemed at the time he had thought to himself, I am locked in, it was like one of those ghost stories where you wake up and you are sealed in a coffin.”” [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A person creates a self‑imposed prison through their own choices, feeling trapped despite having built their life. **In simple terms:** Self‑made walls trap you. Key Takeaway Recognize and open your own doors. Themes self‑imprisonment identity control Mood reflective somber Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal growth - career decisions - relationship boundaries - mental health - creative projects Key Concepts psychology existentialism self‑construction Questions to Reflect On - What walls have you built? - How can you create openings? A Different Perspective Even with walls, external factors can limit freedom. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brick/) [Brick By Brick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brick-by-brick/) [Brick Doors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brick-doors-532133/) [Coffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coffin/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Future Brick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future-brick-532131/) [Ghost stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghost-stories/) [Sealed Coffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sealed-coffin-532134/) [Thought Locked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-locked-532132/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“I thought I locked away in my memory your face, your sounds when you came, but that was better than I remembered,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-thought-i-locked-away-in-my-memory-your-face-your-sounds-when-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wanted to write a horror story. But in some ways, I have always thought of myself as a kind of ghost-story/horror writer, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-wanted-to-write-a-horror-story-but-in-some-ways-i-have-always/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [We have got to extend the hand of friendship, we have got to take the peacelines down brick by brick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ervine/we-have-got-to-extend-the-hand-of-friendship-we-have-got-to-take-the/) [David Ervine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ervine/) > [Step by step, brick by brick, the edifice of India's legislature is being destroyed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arun-jaitley/step-by-step-brick-by-brick-the-edifice-of-india-s-legislature-is/) [Arun Jaitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arun-jaitley/) > [I love the long-form rehearsal process with theater, brick by brick, to build another life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vik-sahay/i-love-the-long-form-rehearsal-process-with-theater-brick-by-brick-to/) [Vik Sahay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vik-sahay/) > [ Time is in itself \[not\] a difficulty, but a time-rate, assumed on very insufficient grounds, is used as a master-key, whether or not it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prestwich/time-is-in-itself-not-a-difficulty-but-a-time-rate-assumed-on-very/) [Joseph Prestwich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prestwich/) > [“Boy oh boy, this man is trouble. He was slowly tearing down the wall she’d built around her heart, brick by brick. Could any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamara-hoffa/boy-oh-boy-this-man-is-trouble-he-was-slowly-tearing-down-the-wall/) [Tamara Hoffa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamara-hoffa/) > [I felt like I was building this world brick by brick with each layer of instrumentation I was doing. I could see it growing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washed-out/i-felt-like-i-was-building-this-world-brick-by-brick-with-each-layer/) [Washed Out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washed-out/) > [I wanted nothing but for that trust again and brick by brick you would take it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/all-that-remains/i-wanted-nothing-but-for-that-trust-again-and-brick-by-brick-you/) [All That Remains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/all-that-remains/) > [It was true what Jim said, this wasn’t the end but the beginning. 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It’s my job to protect you while I’m here and I can’t do that if you keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyoko-m/look-jordan-you-re-not-alone-any-more-it-s-my-job-to-protect-you/) [Kyoko M](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyoko-m/) > [You have those walls up all around you...Come a day you gonna want to tear them down brick by brick and gonna find that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/you-have-those-walls-up-all-around-you-come-a-day-you-gonna-want-to/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > [“Strong trust is built brick by brick, through honesty, consistency, and showing up even when it’s hard to keep the promise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayoub-imilouane/strong-trust-is-built-brick-by-brick-through-honesty-consistency-and/) [Ayoub Imilouane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayoub-imilouane/) > [“Survive ... Some women survive by creating walls, big walls guarding their hearts and you say "let them in" but she has been covered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ijeoma-umebinyuo/survive-some-women-survive-by-creating-walls-big-walls-guarding-their/) [Ijeoma Umebinyuo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ijeoma-umebinyuo/) ## More by Dan Chaon > [“Maybe love, like suffering, is relative. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/maybe-love-like-suffering-is-relative/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [Even when our death is imminent, we carry the image of ourselves moving forward, alive, into the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/even-when-our-death-is-imminent-we-carry-the-image-of-ourselves/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [For the last few years I've tried to force myself to write at least one page every day, which doesn't sound like much but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/for-the-last-few-years-i-ve-tried-to-force-myself-to-write-at-least/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“It's hard to believe that this is how it's done. 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You could hear it pebbling against the large glass windows, you could see it swirling wildly through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/outside-the-sleet-had-gotten-thicker-you-could-hear-it-pebbling/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [I was worried that, as a college teacher, if I wrote too much about intergenerational sex my students would be creeped out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-was-worried-that-as-a-college-teacher-if-i-wrote-too-much-about/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [Plot and scene are still the hardest things for me, though I think they're the building blocks of what makes a story work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/plot-and-scene-are-still-the-hardest-things-for-me-though-i-think/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“I've been talking to myself a lot lately. I don't know what that's about, but my mother was the same way. She hated to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-ve-been-talking-to-myself-a-lot-lately-i-don-t-know-what-that-s/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“Your Mom's Car. Think about that. Try to wrap your brain around the supernatural and spiritual implications that the name bears down you. Your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/your-mom-s-car-think-about-that-try-to-wrap-your-brain-around-the/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“He pictures amputated human arms flopping like fish down the center of the road; syringes floating on beds of liposuctioned fat; gelatinous human eyeballs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/he-pictures-amputated-human-arms-flopping-like-fish-down-the-center/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“In the basement of Sydney's new house is a little room that is about the size and shape of a coffin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/in-the-basement-of-sydney-s-new-house-is-a-little-room-that-is-about/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“It’s called apophenia. It’s the tendency we humans have to find meaning in disconnected information. For example, some people believe in what’s called the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/it-s-called-apophenia-it-s-the-tendency-we-humans-have-to-find/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [I would say that all short stories have mystery naturally built into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-would-say-that-all-short-stories-have-mystery-naturally-built-into/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Explore all 152 Dan Chaon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) ## More Brick quotes > [“A brick could be used to slow down time. Sort of like a camel in a wheelchair pushed by a thirsty Arab. Hey, Khalid,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-brick-could-be-used-to-slow-down-time-sort-of-like-a-camel-in-a/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“he can see through a brick wall in time (as they say in Bree). But”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien/he-can-see-through-a-brick-wall-in-time-as-they-say-in-bree-but/) [J.R.R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien/) > [“A brick could be used to support a wobbly table. Who got that table drunk, anyway? ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-brick-could-be-used-to-support-a-wobbly-table-who-got-that-table/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I am always really buzzed after each performance, and at around one in the morning, Ill hit a brick wall and need to sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hattie-morahan/i-am-always-really-buzzed-after-each-performance-and-at-around-one-in/) [Hattie Morahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hattie-morahan/) > [“A brick could be used to make music. But why not use something more humane, like your armpit. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-brick-could-be-used-to-make-music-but-why-not-use-something-more/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“A brick could be used to separate the Jorges from the hoorays. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-brick-could-be-used-to-separate-the-jorges-from-the-hoorays/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“A brick could be used to brighten up your day, like a lampshade over the sun dangling down over your dining room table. You’d…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-brick-could-be-used-to-brighten-up-your-day-like-a-lampshade-over/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“A brick could be used as a replacement for an erection. Hey, I did it in the early 2000s, and I gave birth to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-brick-could-be-used-as-a-replacement-for-an-erection-hey-i-did-it/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Kanan is a big road through the Santa Monica Mountains. Between mid-March and mid-April, when you get over to the western side of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-mcginley/kanan-is-a-big-road-through-the-santa-monica-mountains-between-mid/) [John C. McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-mcginley/) > [“His whole life was a sham, a fairy tale. 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Can you pass me another brick?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-would-rather-build-a-relationship-than-a-wall-can-you-pass-me/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) [Browse all 468 Brick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brick/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He had built his own future brick by brick around himself but there were no doors or windows, at least that was the way it seemed at the time he had thought to himself, I am locked in, it was like one of those ghost stories where you wake up and you are sealed in a coffin.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dan Chaon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/he-had-built-his-own-future-brick-by-brick-around-himself-but-there/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brick" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/he-had-built-his-own-future-brick-by-brick-around-himself-but-there/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec0/dan-chaon-2729_brick_he-had-built-his-own-future-brick-by-bri_828009.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec0/dan-chaon-2729_brick_he-had-built-his-own-future-brick-by-bri_828009.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec0/dan-chaon-2729_brick_he-had-built-his-own-future-brick-by-bri_828009.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He had built his own future brick by brick around himself but there were no doors or windows, at least that…” — Dan Chaon", "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": "Dan Chaon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“He had built his own future...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/he-had-built-his-own-future-brick-by-brick-around-himself-but-there/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/he-had-built-his-own-future-brick-by-brick-around-himself-but-there/#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 } } ] } ```