---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You might consider how to escape from a…"
description: "\"“You might consider how to escape from a cage must surely require, foremost, awareness of the fact of the cage.”\" — David Foster Wallace"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34f/david-foster-wallace-161_advise_you-might-consider-how-to-escape-from-a_1662933.jpg"
---

#  You might consider how to escape from a cage must surely…

![“You might consider how to escape from a cage must surely require, foremost, awareness of the fact of the cage.” quote by David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34f/david-foster-wallace-161_advise_you-might-consider-how-to-escape-from-a_1662933.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34f/david-foster-wallace-161_advise_you-might-consider-how-to-escape-from-a_1662933.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34f/david-foster-wallace-161_advise_you-might-consider-how-to-escape-from-a_1662933.jpg)

> ““You might consider how to escape from a cage must surely require, foremost, awareness of the fact of the cage.””

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Understanding one’s constraints is the first step toward liberation; awareness of a problem creates the possibility of solving it.

**In simple terms:** Know your limits to find a way out.

Key Takeaway

Identify the cage before planning escape.

Themes

self‑awareness freedom problem solving

Mood

introspective philosophical

Type

advice inspirational

When to use this quote

- career stagnation
- personal growth
- creative block
- relationship issues

Key Concepts

metacognition psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- What “cage” are you aware of?
- What first step can you take?

A Different Perspective

Awareness alone doesn’t guarantee change; action follows.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Problems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problems/) [Wisedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisedom/)

## Related quotes

> [He who frees a bird from its cage is surely a holy person!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/he-who-frees-a-bird-from-its-cage-is-surely-a-holy-person/)

[Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [Even if you managed to escape from one cage, weren't you just in another, larger one?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/even-if-you-managed-to-escape-from-one-cage-weren-t-you-just-in/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [What did it mean for a person to be free? Even if you managed to escape from one cage, weren't you just in another,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-did-it-mean-for-a-person-to-be-free-even-if-you-managed-to/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“What did it mean for a person to be free? she would often ask herself. Even if you managed to escape from one cage,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/what-did-it-mean-for-a-person-to-be-free-she-would-often-ask-herself/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [“When you’ve tried everything and failed, try everything else and succeed”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benny-bellamacina/when-you-ve-tried-everything-and-failed-try-everything-else-and/)

[Benny Bellamacina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benny-bellamacina/)

> [“Lizards that blend into the rock do so to catch flies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-weis-tracy-hickman-3/lizards-that-blend-into-the-rock-do-so-to-catch-flies/)

Margaret Weis / Tracy Hickman

> [“No doubt your sword is indeed a beautiful thing. It is a tribute to whoever forged it in bygone ages. There are very few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-jacques/no-doubt-your-sword-is-indeed-a-beautiful-thing-it-is-a-tribute-to/)

[Brian Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-jacques/)

> [“They say: it's a cruel world but I say: it's just a world, we define it with our actions and reactions..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariam-harmoush/they-say-it-s-a-cruel-world-but-i-say-it-s-just-a-world-we-define-it/)

Mariam Harmoush

> [“A friend is someone who loves you and knows you in an equal amount.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allia-loops/a-friend-is-someone-who-loves-you-and-knows-you-in-an-equal-amount/)

Allia Loops

> [“Women are just like horses , the purebred ones are only ridden by knights and the rest are ridden even by stablemen...'' #be\_inspired”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-el-amin-oggadi/women-are-just-like-horses-the-purebred-ones-are-only-ridden-by/)

Mohammed El Amin OGGADI

> [“Sometimes a person has to let go of something to take hold of something else. You always have to choose what's more important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-heilig/sometimes-a-person-has-to-let-go-of-something-to-take-hold-of/)

[Heidi Heilig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-heilig/)

> [“It is the meaningness of the fun not just the empty smiles that matter..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/still-george/it-is-the-meaningness-of-the-fun-not-just-the-empty-smiles-that-matter/)

Still George

> [“Truth like beauty seems to be in the eye and mind of the beholder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-munson/truth-like-beauty-seems-to-be-in-the-eye-and-mind-of-the-beholder/)

Helene Munson

> [You dont really need money to be happy..friends who have trust,charecter and a great sence of humar will do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thato-diego/you-dont-really-need-money-to-be-happy-friends-who-have-trust/)

[Thato Diego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thato-diego/)

> [“If you don learn from others then others will learn from you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamzat-haruna-ribah/if-you-don-learn-from-others-then-others-will-learn-from-you/)

[Hamzat haruna Ribah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamzat-haruna-ribah/)

## More by David Foster Wallace

> [“I felt more solidly composed, now that I was horizontal. I was impossible to knock down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-felt-more-solidly-composed-now-that-i-was-horizontal-i-was/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [“We all have our little solipsistic delusions, ghastly intuitions of utter singularity: that we are the only one in the house who ever fills…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/we-all-have-our-little-solipsistic-delusions-ghastly-intuitions-of/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [“It's no accident that in a bureaucracy getting fired is called 'termination,' as in ontological erasure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-s-no-accident-that-in-a-bureaucracy-getting-fired-is-called/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [Footnote: 79) The anchor is gigantic and must weigh a hundred tons, and -- delightfully -- it really is anchor-shaped, i.e. the same shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/footnote-79-the-anchor-is-gigantic-and-must-weigh-a-hundred-tons-and/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [“The paradoxical intercourse of audience and celebrity. The suppressed awareness that the whole reason ordinary people found celebrity fascinating was that they were not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-paradoxical-intercourse-of-audience-and-celebrity-the-suppressed/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [“I am coming to see that the sensation of the worst nightmares, a sensation that can be felt asleep or awake, is identical to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-am-coming-to-see-that-the-sensation-of-the-worst-nightmares-a/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [“He cranks the condo’s AC way down at night and still most mornings wakes up soaked, fetally curled, entombed in that kind of psychic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/he-cranks-the-condo-s-ac-way-down-at-night-and-still-most-mornings/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [“To me, at least in retrospect, the really interesting question is why dullness proves to be such a powerful impediment to attention. Why we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-me-at-least-in-retrospect-the-really-interesting-question-is-why/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [“If you’re subjected to enough great salesmen and salespitches and marketing concepts for long enough—like from your earliest Saturday-morning cartoons, let’s say—it is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/if-you-re-subjected-to-enough-great-salesmen-and-salespitches-and/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [“Why is the truth usually not just un- but anti-interesting?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/why-is-the-truth-usually-not-just-un-but-anti-interesting/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [“She almost reminds the engineer of certain types in high school whom everyone adored because you sensed it made no difference to them whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/she-almost-reminds-the-engineer-of-certain-types-in-high-school-whom/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [To be, in a word, unborable… It is the key to modern life. If you are immune to boredom, there is literally nothing you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-be-in-a-word-unborable-it-is-the-key-to-modern-life-if-you-are/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [“It is within your power to experience a crowded, loud, slow, consumer-hell-type situation as not only meaningful but sacred, on fire with the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-is-within-your-power-to-experience-a-crowded-loud-slow-consumer/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [“The happy pleasure of the person alone, yes?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-happy-pleasure-of-the-person-alone-yes/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [There is such a thing as raw, unalloyed, agendaless kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/there-is-such-a-thing-as-raw-unalloyed-agendaless-kindness/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

[Explore all 999 David Foster Wallace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

## More Advise quotes

> [Choosing a job or business is the same thing. I'm not the best one to advise someone how to make billions of dollars; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-roy/choosing-a-job-or-business-is-the-same-thing-i-m-not-the-best-one-to/)

[Rachel Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-roy/)

> [Buddhism advises you not to implant feelings that you don’t really have or avoid feelings that you do have. If you are miserable you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/buddhism-advises-you-not-to-implant-feelings-that-you-don-t-really/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I always advise people not to act upon the advice that I give them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/i-always-advise-people-not-to-act-upon-the-advice-that-i-give-them/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

> [Sometimes curiosity is a poison, not only for those who drink it but for everyone around it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-norman-lippert/sometimes-curiosity-is-a-poison-not-only-for-those-who-drink-it-but/)

[G. Norman Lippert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-norman-lippert/)

> [Dont ever wrestle with a pig u'll both get dirty but the pig will enj0y it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/udechukwu-d0navan/dont-ever-wrestle-with-a-pig-u-ll-both-get-dirty-but-the-pig-will/)

Udechukwu D0navan

> [Some writing courses will advise you to write what you know. I've always thought this is very odd advice ... because it means, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scott/some-writing-courses-will-advise-you-to-write-what-you-know-i-ve/)

[Michael Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scott/)

> [I advise women to invest in real estate. It is the collateral to be preferred above all others, and the safest means of investing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hetty-green/i-advise-women-to-invest-in-real-estate-it-is-the-collateral-to-be/)

Hetty Green

> [You bomb ISIL. You're not trying to bomb innocent people. And that requires intelligence and confidence in our military to be able to develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/you-bomb-isil-you-re-not-trying-to-bomb-innocent-people-and-that/)

[Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/)

> [God is a spirit. Jesus was led up of the Spirit to be tempted of the Devil; and it is also true that spirits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bradlaugh/god-is-a-spirit-jesus-was-led-up-of-the-spirit-to-be-tempted-of-the/)

[Charles Bradlaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bradlaugh/)

> [I do not allow fan-fiction. The characters are copyrighted. It upsets me terribly to even think about fan-fiction with my characters. I advise my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/i-do-not-allow-fan-fiction-the-characters-are-copyrighted-it-upsets/)

[Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/)

> [Only a foolish man wil keep on doing one ting and expect another result](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordons/only-a-foolish-man-wil-keep-on-doing-one-ting-and-expect-another/)

Gordons

> [I do believe that where there is a choice between cowardice and non-violence I would advise violence. Thus when my eldest son asked me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-believe-that-where-there-is-a-choice-between-cowardice-and-non/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [You are lucky in life if you have the right heroes. I advise all of you, to the extent you can, to pick out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/you-are-lucky-in-life-if-you-have-the-right-heroes-i-advise-all-of/)

[Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/)

> [“I don't advise. You mutn't give any weight to what I say, except in so far as your own judgment approves it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gissing/i-don-t-advise-you-mutn-t-give-any-weight-to-what-i-say-except-in-so/)

[George Gissing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gissing/)

> [Parents can only advise their children or point them in the right direction. Ultimately people shape their own characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/parents-can-only-advise-their-children-or-point-them-in-the-right/)

[Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/)

Browse all 507 Advise quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“You might consider how to escape from a cage must surely require, foremost, awareness of the fact of the cage.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "David Foster Wallace"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/you-might-consider-how-to-escape-from-a-cage-must-surely-require/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Advise"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/you-might-consider-how-to-escape-from-a-cage-must-surely-require/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34f/david-foster-wallace-161_advise_you-might-consider-how-to-escape-from-a_1662933.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34f/david-foster-wallace-161_advise_you-might-consider-how-to-escape-from-a_1662933.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34f/david-foster-wallace-161_advise_you-might-consider-how-to-escape-from-a_1662933.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“You might consider how to escape from a cage must surely require, foremost, awareness of the fact of the cage.” — David Foster Wallace",
                "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": "David Foster Wallace",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“You might consider how to escape...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/you-might-consider-how-to-escape-from-a-cage-must-surely-require/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/you-might-consider-how-to-escape-from-a-cage-must-surely-require/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
