--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The eyes were horrible. Looking at them I…" description: "\"“The eyes were horrible. Looking at them I got the feeling that they were not genuine eyes at all but mechanical dummies animated by electricity or the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/968/flann-o-brien-6916_real-eye_the-eyes-were-horrible-looking-at-them-i_615748.png" --- # The eyes were horrible. Looking at them I got the feeling… ![“The eyes were horrible. Looking at them I got the feeling that they were not genuine eyes at all but mechanical dummies animated by electricity or the like, with a tiny pinhole in the centre of the "pupil" through which the real eye gazed out secretively and with great coldness. Such a conception…” quote by Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/968/flann-o-brien-6916_real-eye_the-eyes-were-horrible-looking-at-them-i_615748.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/968/flann-o-brien-6916_real-eye_the-eyes-were-horrible-looking-at-them-i_615748.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/968/flann-o-brien-6916_real-eye_the-eyes-were-horrible-looking-at-them-i_615748.png) > ““The eyes were horrible. Looking at them I got the feeling that they were not genuine eyes at all but mechanical dummies animated by electricity or the like, with a tiny pinhole in the centre of the "pupil" through which the real eye gazed out secretively and with great coldness. Such a conception, possibly with no foundation at all in fact, disturbed me agonisingly and gave rise in my mind to interminable speculations as to the colour and quality of the real eye and as to whether, indeed, it was real at all or merely another dummy with its pinhole on the same plane as the first one so that the real eye, possibly behind thousands of these absurd disguises, gazed out through a barrel of serried peep-holes.”” [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The description uses grotesque, mechanical eyes to evoke alienation and the unsettling nature of perception, questioning reality versus illusion. **In simple terms:** Mechanical eyes symbolize distorted perception. Key Takeaway Question what you truly see. Themes perception reality alienation Mood thought‑provoking philosophical Type analytical literary When to use this quote - literary analysis - psychology - art critique Key Concepts philosophy surrealism Questions to Reflect On - How do our “mechanical” lenses shape truth? - What does the “pin‑hole” suggest about focus? A Different Perspective The metaphor may overcomplicate simple visual experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [I had to make sure I kept an eye on the real world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roddy-doyle/i-had-to-make-sure-i-kept-an-eye-on-the-real-world/) [Roddy Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roddy-doyle/) > [Just Because their Real in your eye's Their still Fake .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/just-because-their-real-in-your-eye-s-their-still-fake/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I have a real eye for spotting Cyclopses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-have-a-real-eye-for-spotting-cyclopses/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I had a tumor in my left eye which killed the optic nerve, but it's my real eye. I just cannot see out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandy-duncan/i-had-a-tumor-in-my-left-eye-which-killed-the-optic-nerve-but-it-s-my/) [Sandy Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandy-duncan/) ## More by Flann O'Brien > [“I discovered that everything you do is in response to a request or a suggestion made to you by some other party either inside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/i-discovered-that-everything-you-do-is-in-response-to-a-request-or-a/) [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) > [Rome wasn't built in A.D.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/rome-wasn-t-built-in-a-d/) [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) > [Moderation, we find, is an extremely difficult thing to get in this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/moderation-we-find-is-an-extremely-difficult-thing-to-get-in-this/) [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) > [Strange enlightenments are vouchsafed to those who seek the higher places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/strange-enlightenments-are-vouchsafed-to-those-who-seek-the-higher/) [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) > [“I am your soul and all your souls. When I am gone you are dead. Past humanity is not only implicit in each new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/i-am-your-soul-and-all-your-souls-when-i-am-gone-you-are-dead-past/) [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) > [Do you know what I am going to tell you, he said with his wry mouth, a pint of plain is your only man.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/do-you-know-what-i-am-going-to-tell-you-he-said-with-his-wry-mouth-a/) [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) > [A wise old owl once lived in a wood, the more he heard the less he said, the less he said the more he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/a-wise-old-owl-once-lived-in-a-wood-the-more-he-heard-the-less-he/) [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) > [“In Boston he met a pretty lady, fat and forty, but beautiful with the bloom of cash and collateral.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/in-boston-he-met-a-pretty-lady-fat-and-forty-but-beautiful-with-the/) [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) > [“Here I had a strange idea not unworthy of de Selby. Why was Joe so disturbed at the suggestion that he had a body?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/here-i-had-a-strange-idea-not-unworthy-of-de-selby-why-was-joe-so/) [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) > [Your talk," I said, "is surely the handiwork of wisdom because not one word of it do I understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/your-talk-i-said-is-surely-the-handiwork-of-wisdom-because-not-one/) [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) > [“Thoughts which have no chance of succeeding do not take the trouble to come into your head at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/thoughts-which-have-no-chance-of-succeeding-do-not-take-the-trouble/) [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) > [When money's tight and is hard to get And your horse has also ran, When all you have is a heap of debt A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/when-money-s-tight-and-is-hard-to-get-and-your-horse-has-also-ran/) [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) > [still loved but deprived of grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/still-loved-but-deprived-of-grace/) [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) > [A woman doesn't care if she hasn't a stomach, provided she looks as if she hasn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/a-woman-doesn-t-care-if-she-hasn-t-a-stomach-provided-she-looks-as-if/) [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) > [“With these words there came the rending scream of a shattered stirk and an angry troubling of the branches as the poor madman percolated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/with-these-words-there-came-the-rending-scream-of-a-shattered-stirk/) [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) [Explore all 93 Flann O'Brien quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) ## More Real Eye quotes > [Just Because their Real in your eye's Their still Fake .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/just-because-their-real-in-your-eye-s-their-still-fake/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I have a real eye for spotting Cyclopses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-have-a-real-eye-for-spotting-cyclopses/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I had a tumor in my left eye which killed the optic nerve, but it's my real eye. I just cannot see out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandy-duncan/i-had-a-tumor-in-my-left-eye-which-killed-the-optic-nerve-but-it-s-my/) [Sandy Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandy-duncan/) Browse all 4 Real Eye quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The eyes were horrible. Looking at them I got the feeling that they were not genuine eyes at all but mechanical dummies animated by electricity or the like, with a tiny pinhole in the centre of the \"pupil\" through which the real eye gazed out secretively and with great coldness. Such a conception, possibly with no foundation at all in fact, disturbed me agonisingly and gave rise in my mind to interminable speculations as to the colour and quality of the real eye and as to whether, indeed, it was real at all or merely another dummy with its pinhole on the same plane as the first one so that the real eye, possibly behind thousands of these absurd disguises, gazed out through a barrel of serried peep-holes.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Flann O'Brien" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/the-eyes-were-horrible-looking-at-them-i-got-the-feeling-that-they/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Real Eye" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/the-eyes-were-horrible-looking-at-them-i-got-the-feeling-that-they/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/968/flann-o-brien-6916_real-eye_the-eyes-were-horrible-looking-at-them-i_615748.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/968/flann-o-brien-6916_real-eye_the-eyes-were-horrible-looking-at-them-i_615748.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/968/flann-o-brien-6916_real-eye_the-eyes-were-horrible-looking-at-them-i_615748.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The eyes were horrible. Looking at them I got the feeling that they were not genuine eyes at all but…” — Flann O'Brien", "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": "Flann O'Brien", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The eyes were horrible. Looking at...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/the-eyes-were-horrible-looking-at-them-i-got-the-feeling-that-they/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/the-eyes-were-horrible-looking-at-them-i-got-the-feeling-that-they/#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 } } ] } ```