--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We need the possibility of escape as…" description: "\"We need the possibility of escape as surely as we need hope.\" — Edward Abbey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45d/edward-abbey-254_escape_we-need-the-possibility-of-escape-as-sur_3173462.png" --- # We need the possibility of escape as surely as we need hope. ![“We need the possibility of escape as surely as we need hope.” quote by Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45d/edward-abbey-254_escape_we-need-the-possibility-of-escape-as-sur_3173462.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45d/edward-abbey-254_escape_we-need-the-possibility-of-escape-as-sur_3173462.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45d/edward-abbey-254_escape_we-need-the-possibility-of-escape-as-sur_3173462.png) > “We need the possibility of escape as surely as we need hope.” [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human survival depends on both hope and the realistic chance of escape from dire circumstances. **In simple terms:** Hope and escape are both essential. Key Takeaway Balance optimism with practical plans. Themes survival hope escape Mood pragmatic inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - disaster preparedness - personal crisis - political oppression - environmental emergencies Key Concepts Existentialism human resilience Questions to Reflect On - How can you create realistic exit strategies? - What role does hope play in resilience? A Different Perspective Hope alone may be insufficient without actionable escape routes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Escape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/escape/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility/) ## Related quotes > [“We need the possibility of escape as surely as we need hope; without it the life of the cities would drive all men into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-potts/we-need-the-possibility-of-escape-as-surely-as-we-need-hope-without/) [Rolf Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-potts/) > [as soon as you know you are in prison, you have a possibility to escape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/as-soon-as-you-know-you-are-in-prison-you-have-a-possibility-to-escape/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“Appalling things can happen to children. And even a happy childhood is filled with sadnesses. Is there any other period in your life when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/appalling-things-can-happen-to-children-and-even-a-happy-childhood-is/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [What really counted was the possibility of escape, a leap of freedom, out of the implacable ritual, a wild run for it that would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/what-really-counted-was-the-possibility-of-escape-a-leap-of-freedom/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [In this uncertain space between birth and death, especially here at the end of the world in Moonlight Bay, we need hope as surely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/in-this-uncertain-space-between-birth-and-death-especially-here-at/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [So when you need me, I hope you know I wont be here, I hope one day you read this, and it brings you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-when-you-need-me-i-hope-you-know-i-wont-be-here-i-hope-one-day-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Until we walk with despair, and still have hope, we will not know that our hope was not just hope in ourselves, in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/until-we-walk-with-despair-and-still-have-hope-we-will-not-know-that/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [“I know I need him. And I hope he needs me. What we have is fucked up and twisted, but it serves a need.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kitty-thomas/i-know-i-need-him-and-i-hope-he-needs-me-what-we-have-is-fucked-up/) [Kitty Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kitty-thomas/) > [When you get to Heaven you won't need faith because you'll be able to see it and know it all then. You won't need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-berg/when-you-get-to-heaven-you-won-t-need-faith-because-you-ll-be-able-to/) [David Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-berg/) > [It is a huge danger to pretend that awful things do not happen. But you need enough hope to keep going. I am trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corita-kent/it-is-a-huge-danger-to-pretend-that-awful-things-do-not-happen-but/) [Corita Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corita-kent/) > [“After everything we have endured, I must cling to the belief that our stories will collide in the end. I need hope. And if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-george/after-everything-we-have-endured-i-must-cling-to-the-belief-that-our/) [Caroline George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-george/) > [“We need hope, or else we cannot endure. So let her keep this hope, Feyre. Let her imagine a better life. A better world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/we-need-hope-or-else-we-cannot-endure-so-let-her-keep-this-hope-feyre/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [Perhaps the greatest psychological, spiritual, and medical need that all people have is the need for hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/perhaps-the-greatest-psychological-spiritual-and-medical-need-that/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [Hope is the expectation of fulfillment that is anchored in God's promise to meet my need. Hope is not based on my emotional or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-meberg/hope-is-the-expectation-of-fulfillment-that-is-anchored-in-god-s/) Marilyn Meberg > [For every time I feel sad & down & need someone, I hope you're gonna be there for me . :))](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-colleen/for-every-time-i-feel-sad-down-need-someone-i-hope-you-re-gonna-be/) [Sabrina Colleen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-colleen/) ## More by Edward Abbey > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Apuleius married a rich widow, then wrote \_The Golden Ass\_.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/apuleius-married-a-rich-widow-then-wrote-the-golden-ass/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Except for the scale of the operation, there was nothing unusual about Hitler's massacre of the Jews. Genocide's an old tradition, as human as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/except-for-the-scale-of-the-operation-there-was-nothing-unusual-about/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [By the age of eighteen, a human has acquired enough joy and heartache to provide the food of reflection for a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/by-the-age-of-eighteen-a-human-has-acquired-enough-joy-and-heartache/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Our institutions are too big; they represent not the best but the worst characteristics of human beings. By submitting to huge hierarchies of power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/our-institutions-are-too-big-they-represent-not-the-best-but-the/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [No man-made structure in all of American history has been hated so much, by so many, for so long, with such good reason, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/no-man-made-structure-in-all-of-american-history-has-been-hated-so/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Where all pretend to be thinking alike, it's likely that no one is thinking at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/where-all-pretend-to-be-thinking-alike-it-s-likely-that-no-one-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Nobody has so many friends that he can afford to lose one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/nobody-has-so-many-friends-that-he-can-afford-to-lose-one/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“But why, the questioner insists, why do people like you pretend to love uninhabited country so much? Why this cult of wilderness? Why the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/but-why-the-questioner-insists-why-do-people-like-you-pretend-to-love/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Civilization is a youth with a molotov cocktail in his hand. Culture is the Soviet tank or L.A. cop that guns him down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/civilization-is-a-youth-with-a-molotov-cocktail-in-his-hand-culture/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [All revolutions have failed? Perhaps. But rebellion for good cause is self- justifying -- a good in itself. Rebellion transforms slaves into human beings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/all-revolutions-have-failed-perhaps-but-rebellion-for-good-cause-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Me, I'm living under a sword too, as Jack may have told you. An old wino's disease, which could lay me in the grave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/me-i-m-living-under-a-sword-too-as-jack-may-have-told-you-an-old-wino/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Look here, I want to say, for godsake folks get out of them there machines, take off those fucking sunglasses and unpeel both eyeballs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/look-here-i-want-to-say-for-godsake-folks-get-out-of-them-there/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Reason has seldom failed us because it has seldom been tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/reason-has-seldom-failed-us-because-it-has-seldom-been-tried/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“What is the essence of the art of writing? Part One: Have something to say. Part Two: Say it well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/what-is-the-essence-of-the-art-of-writing-part-one-have-something-to/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) [Explore all 807 Edward Abbey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## More Escape quotes > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [Growing up in Iceland, it was very beautiful, very safe, but quite isolated. There was something about jazz music that had a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laufey/growing-up-in-iceland-it-was-very-beautiful-very-safe-but-quite/) [Laufey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laufey/) > [“Those who contemplate never escape the doubt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/those-who-contemplate-never-escape-the-doubt/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [“Then from those profound slumbers we awake in a dawn, not knowing who we are, being nobody, newly born, ready for anything, the brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/then-from-those-profound-slumbers-we-awake-in-a-dawn-not-knowing-who/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [I think my attitudes about the past are very traditional. You can't ignore history; you can't escape it even if you want to. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/i-think-my-attitudes-about-the-past-are-very-traditional-you-can-t/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [Music and sleep are two of the greatest ways to escape from everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/music-and-sleep-are-two-of-the-greatest-ways-to-escape-from-everything/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Music is my escape from all the problems in life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kailin-cui/music-is-my-escape-from-all-the-problems-in-life/) Kailin Cui > [Wherever you escape, the truth will find you! Always be prepared to meet with it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/wherever-you-escape-the-truth-will-find-you-always-be-prepared-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“I think the best way to escape your head isn’t to think about things that aren’t real, it’s to think about things that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-brooks/i-think-the-best-way-to-escape-your-head-isn-t-to-think-about-things/) [Ben Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-brooks/) > [“You could say she hid there, in the words, an escape within an escape...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aurelie-sheehan/you-could-say-she-hid-there-in-the-words-an-escape-within-an-escape/) Aurelie Sheehan > [Life will drag us kicking and screaming to our destiny if we try to escape it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-villoldo/life-will-drag-us-kicking-and-screaming-to-our-destiny-if-we-try-to/) [Alberto Villoldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-villoldo/) > [How did you escape? (Syd) I fought my way out in a manner that would have made Rambo proud. And when I got home…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/how-did-you-escape-syd-i-fought-my-way-out-in-a-manner-that-would/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [There are reasons people seek escape in books, and one of those reasons is that the boundary of what can happen is beyond what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/there-are-reasons-people-seek-escape-in-books-and-one-of-those/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [“Well, I like to know where I'm going before I try to get there. It's a mistake to try to execute a plan before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/well-i-like-to-know-where-i-m-going-before-i-try-to-get-there-it-s-a/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“If poetry is an escape into the woods, then music is the journey back home.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akash-mandal/if-poetry-is-an-escape-into-the-woods-then-music-is-the-journey-back/) [Akash Mandal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akash-mandal/) [Browse all 1,660 Escape quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/escape/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We need the possibility of escape as surely as we need hope.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Abbey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/we-need-the-possibility-of-escape-as-surely-as-we-need-hope/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Escape" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/we-need-the-possibility-of-escape-as-surely-as-we-need-hope/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45d/edward-abbey-254_escape_we-need-the-possibility-of-escape-as-sur_3173462.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45d/edward-abbey-254_escape_we-need-the-possibility-of-escape-as-sur_3173462.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45d/edward-abbey-254_escape_we-need-the-possibility-of-escape-as-sur_3173462.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We need the possibility of escape as surely as we need hope.” — Edward Abbey", "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": "Edward Abbey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We need the possibility of escape...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/we-need-the-possibility-of-escape-as-surely-as-we-need-hope/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/we-need-the-possibility-of-escape-as-surely-as-we-need-hope/#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 } } ] } ```