--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As the van door starts to close, Brad…" description: "\"“As the van door starts to close, Brad suddenly realizes that the instant the doors close completely, the van interior will become the terrifying bland..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/125/george-saunders-317_animal-rights-activi_as-the-van-door-starts-to-close-brad-sud_1449144.jpg" --- # As the van door starts to close, Brad suddenly realizes… ![“As the van door starts to close, Brad suddenly realizes that the instant the doors close completely, the van interior will become the terrifying bland gray space he's heard about all his life, the place one goes when one has been Written Out. The van interior becomes the bland gray space. From the…” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/125/george-saunders-317_animal-rights-activi_as-the-van-door-starts-to-close-brad-sud_1449144.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/125/george-saunders-317_animal-rights-activi_as-the-van-door-starts-to-close-brad-sud_1449144.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/125/george-saunders-317_animal-rights-activi_as-the-van-door-starts-to-close-brad-sud_1449144.jpg) > ““As the van door starts to close, Brad suddenly realizes that the instant the doors close completely, the van interior will become the terrifying bland gray space he's heard about all his life, the place one goes when one has been Written Out. The van interior becomes the bland gray space. From the front yard TV comes the brash martial music that indicates UrgentUpdateNewsMinute. Animal rights activists have expressed concern over the recent trend of spraying live Canadian geese with a styrene coating which instantaneously kills them while leaving them extremely malleable, so it then becomes easy to shape them into comical positions and write funny sayings in DryErase cartoon balloons emanating from their beaks, which, apparently, is the new trend for outdoor summer parties. ”” [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A surreal description of a van interior turning into a bland, oppressive space, juxtaposed with bizarre, violent trends involving geese, reflecting on alienation and absurdity. **In simple terms:** A strange, oppressive space and absurd cruelty. Key Takeaway Recognize and resist dehumanizing environments. Themes alienation absurdity violence media culture Mood uneasy disoriented critical Type satirical reflective When to use this quote - urban commute - party planning - media consumption - ethical debates Key Concepts existential dread social critique satire Questions to Reflect On - How does absurdity highlight real societal issues? - What emotions does the “bland gray space” evoke? A Different Perspective The vivid, exaggerated imagery may distract from concrete social critique. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal-rights-2/) [Animal rights activists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal-rights-activists/) [Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Gray Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gray-space-2268321/) [Interior Bland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interior-bland-5205829/) [Van Door](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/van-door-5205830/) [Van Interior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/van-interior-5205828/) [Written Van](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written-van-5205831/) ## Related quotes > [“It’s not a real place, not a real thing. Mom made up the Gray Space, the place of anti-art, antifeeling, the cold dark place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-ellison/it-s-not-a-real-place-not-a-real-thing-mom-made-up-the-gray-space-the/) [Kate Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-ellison/) > [“They all want to leave the Gray Space, Liv, she’d tell me. They don’t realise they’re dead until they remember what it sounds like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-ellison/they-all-want-to-leave-the-gray-space-liv-she-d-tell-me-they-don-t/) [Kate Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-ellison/) > [For me songs are born out of the gray space, the things I don't fully understand, the things that I can't put in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-foreman/for-me-songs-are-born-out-of-the-gray-space-the-things-i-don-t-fully/) [Jon Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-foreman/) > [The movie industry would never purposely offend homosexuals, native Americans, environmentalists, animal rights activists, or women's groups, but they don't think twice about something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/the-movie-industry-would-never-purposely-offend-homosexuals-native/) [Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/) > [Six million Jews died in concentration camps, but six billion broiler chickens will die this year in slaughter houses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/six-million-jews-died-in-concentration-camps-but-six-billion-broiler/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [Fanatics end by subverting their own argument. For instance, animal rights activists have some point, and many people feel sympathy with them. But animal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-murray/fanatics-end-by-subverting-their-own-argument-for-instance-animal/) [Douglas Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-murray/) > [Humans have grown like a cancer. We're the biggest blight on the face of the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/humans-have-grown-like-a-cancer-we-re-the-biggest-blight-on-the-face/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [If someone is killing, on a regular basis, thousands of animals, and if that person can only be stopped in one way by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-vlasak/if-someone-is-killing-on-a-regular-basis-thousands-of-animals-and-if/) [Jerry Vlasak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-vlasak/) > [The bottom line is that people dont have the right to manipulate or to breed dogs and cats ... If people want toys, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/the-bottom-line-is-that-people-dont-have-the-right-to-manipulate-or/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [Probably everything we do is a publicity stunt ... we are not here to gather members, to please, to placate, to make friends. We're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/probably-everything-we-do-is-a-publicity-stunt-we-are-not-here-to/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [In a war you have to take up arms and people will get killed, and I can support that kind of action by petrol…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-daly/in-a-war-you-have-to-take-up-arms-and-people-will-get-killed-and-i/) [Tim Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-daly/) > [I can't remember when I wasn't an animal rights activist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-macgraw/i-can-t-remember-when-i-wasn-t-an-animal-rights-activist/) [Ali MacGraw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-macgraw/) > [ We would be foolish and silly not to unite with people in the public health sector, the environmental community, \[and\] unions, to try to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-pacelle/we-would-be-foolish-and-silly-not-to-unite-with-people-in-the-public/) [Wayne Pacelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-pacelle/) > [I don't have a hands-on fondness for animals. I did not grow up bonded to any particular nonhuman animal. I like them and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-pacelle/i-don-t-have-a-hands-on-fondness-for-animals-i-did-not-grow-up-bonded/) [Wayne Pacelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-pacelle/) > [It won't ruin our movement if someone gets killed in an animal rights action. It's going to happen sooner or later. The Animal Liberation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-vlasak/it-won-t-ruin-our-movement-if-someone-gets-killed-in-an-animal-rights/) [Jerry Vlasak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-vlasak/) ## More by George Saunders > [Success is like a mountain in front of you that keeps growing. If you're not careful, it will take up your whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/success-is-like-a-mountain-in-front-of-you-that-keeps-growing-if-you/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“Wow wow wow is all I can say! Remember how I always buy lunchtime Scratch-Off ticket? Have I said? Maybe did not say? Well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/wow-wow-wow-is-all-i-can-say-remember-how-i-always-buy-lunchtime/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“None of it was real; nothing was real. Everything was real; inconceivably real, infinitely dear. These and all things started as nothing, latent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/none-of-it-was-real-nothing-was-real-everything-was-real/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“We must see God not as a Him (some linear rewarding fellow) but an IT, a great beast beyond our understanding, who wants something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-must-see-god-not-as-a-him-some-linear-rewarding-fellow-but-an-it-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [America, to me, should be shouting all the time, a bunch of shouting voices, most of them wrong, some of them nuts, but please,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/america-to-me-should-be-shouting-all-the-time-a-bunch-of-shouting/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [In my case, when I am trying to be "kind" I often default in a sort of toothless loving-all stance that is, actually, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/in-my-case-when-i-am-trying-to-be-kind-i-often-default-in-a-sort-of/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [Whatever your supposed politics are - left, right - if you put it in a human connection, most people will rise to the occasion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/whatever-your-supposed-politics-are-left-right-if-you-put-it-in-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“A Clinton staffer tells me his theory. Think about Frank Sinatra, he says: born to sing. Think about Willie Mays: born to play ball.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/a-clinton-staffer-tells-me-his-theory-think-about-frank-sinatra-he/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [We try, we fail, we posture, we aspire, we pontificate - and then we age, shrink, die, and vanish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-try-we-fail-we-posture-we-aspire-we-pontificate-and-then-we-age/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [What America is, to me, is a guy doesn't want to buy, you let him not buy, you respect his not buying. A guy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/what-america-is-to-me-is-a-guy-doesn-t-want-to-buy-you-let-him-not/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [What good the prophet in the wilderness may do is incremental and personal. It's good for us to hear someone speak the irrational truth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/what-good-the-prophet-in-the-wilderness-may-do-is-incremental-and/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [We're in the transition between birth and death. But the one that people often know about is the transition between the moment of death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-re-in-the-transition-between-birth-and-death-but-the-one-that/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [You don't want to be that parent - the one who dresses his kid in a cloth sack when all the other kids are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-don-t-want-to-be-that-parent-the-one-who-dresses-his-kid-in-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) [Explore all 690 George Saunders quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) ## More Animal rights activists quotes > [It won't ruin our movement if someone gets killed in an animal rights action. It's going to happen sooner or later. The Animal Liberation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-vlasak/it-won-t-ruin-our-movement-if-someone-gets-killed-in-an-animal-rights/) [Jerry Vlasak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-vlasak/) > [I don't have a hands-on fondness for animals. I did not grow up bonded to any particular nonhuman animal. I like them and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-pacelle/i-don-t-have-a-hands-on-fondness-for-animals-i-did-not-grow-up-bonded/) [Wayne Pacelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-pacelle/) > [ We would be foolish and silly not to unite with people in the public health sector, the environmental community, \[and\] unions, to try to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-pacelle/we-would-be-foolish-and-silly-not-to-unite-with-people-in-the-public/) [Wayne Pacelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-pacelle/) > [I can't remember when I wasn't an animal rights activist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-macgraw/i-can-t-remember-when-i-wasn-t-an-animal-rights-activist/) [Ali MacGraw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-macgraw/) > [In a war you have to take up arms and people will get killed, and I can support that kind of action by petrol…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-daly/in-a-war-you-have-to-take-up-arms-and-people-will-get-killed-and-i/) [Tim Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-daly/) > [Probably everything we do is a publicity stunt ... we are not here to gather members, to please, to placate, to make friends. We're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/probably-everything-we-do-is-a-publicity-stunt-we-are-not-here-to/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [The bottom line is that people dont have the right to manipulate or to breed dogs and cats ... If people want toys, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/the-bottom-line-is-that-people-dont-have-the-right-to-manipulate-or/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [If someone is killing, on a regular basis, thousands of animals, and if that person can only be stopped in one way by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-vlasak/if-someone-is-killing-on-a-regular-basis-thousands-of-animals-and-if/) [Jerry Vlasak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-vlasak/) > [Humans have grown like a cancer. We're the biggest blight on the face of the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/humans-have-grown-like-a-cancer-we-re-the-biggest-blight-on-the-face/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [Fanatics end by subverting their own argument. For instance, animal rights activists have some point, and many people feel sympathy with them. But animal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-murray/fanatics-end-by-subverting-their-own-argument-for-instance-animal/) [Douglas Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-murray/) > [Six million Jews died in concentration camps, but six billion broiler chickens will die this year in slaughter houses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/six-million-jews-died-in-concentration-camps-but-six-billion-broiler/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [The movie industry would never purposely offend homosexuals, native Americans, environmentalists, animal rights activists, or women's groups, but they don't think twice about something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/the-movie-industry-would-never-purposely-offend-homosexuals-native/) [Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/) > [While law-abiding Muslims are forced to hide in their homes, and animal-rights activists are labeled as terrorists for undercover filming of abusive treatment at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-goodman/while-law-abiding-muslims-are-forced-to-hide-in-their-homes-and/) [Amy Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-goodman/) > [“When animal rights activists or moral philosophers try to draw moral judgments about wild animal populations, they often suffer from a bad case of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-durant/when-animal-rights-activists-or-moral-philosophers-try-to-draw-moral/) [John Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-durant/) > [I can't say I'm anything like a devoted animal rights activist, but I certainly oppose cruelty to animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-paul-weston/i-can-t-say-i-m-anything-like-a-devoted-animal-rights-activist-but-i/) [Robert Paul Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-paul-weston/) [Browse all 54 Animal rights activists quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal-rights-activists/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“As the van door starts to close, Brad suddenly realizes that the instant the doors close completely, the van interior will become the terrifying bland gray space he's heard about all his life, the place one goes when one has been Written Out. The van interior becomes the bland gray space. From the front yard TV comes the brash martial music that indicates UrgentUpdateNewsMinute. Animal rights activists have expressed concern over the recent trend of spraying live Canadian geese with a styrene coating which instantaneously kills them while leaving them extremely malleable, so it then becomes easy to shape them into comical positions and write funny sayings in DryErase cartoon balloons emanating from their beaks, which, apparently, is the new trend for outdoor summer parties. ”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Saunders" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/as-the-van-door-starts-to-close-brad-suddenly-realizes-that-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal rights activists" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/as-the-van-door-starts-to-close-brad-suddenly-realizes-that-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/125/george-saunders-317_animal-rights-activi_as-the-van-door-starts-to-close-brad-sud_1449144.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/125/george-saunders-317_animal-rights-activi_as-the-van-door-starts-to-close-brad-sud_1449144.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/125/george-saunders-317_animal-rights-activi_as-the-van-door-starts-to-close-brad-sud_1449144.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As the van door starts to close, Brad suddenly realizes that the instant the doors close completely, the van…” — George Saunders", "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": "George Saunders", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“As the van door starts to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/as-the-van-door-starts-to-close-brad-suddenly-realizes-that-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/as-the-van-door-starts-to-close-brad-suddenly-realizes-that-the/#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 } } ] } ```