--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: America is supposed to be given over to…" description: "\"America is supposed to be given over to ugliness. There are a good many ugly things there and the ugliest are the most pretentious.\" — Goldwin Smith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e7/goldwin-smith-17422_america_america-is-supposed-to-be-given-over-to_3030226.jpg" --- # America is supposed to be given over to ugliness. There… ![“America is supposed to be given over to ugliness. There are a good many ugly things there and the ugliest are the most pretentious.” quote by Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e7/goldwin-smith-17422_america_america-is-supposed-to-be-given-over-to_3030226.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e7/goldwin-smith-17422_america_america-is-supposed-to-be-given-over-to_3030226.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e7/goldwin-smith-17422_america_america-is-supposed-to-be-given-over-to_3030226.jpg) > “America is supposed to be given over to ugliness. There are a good many ugly things there and the ugliest are the most pretentious.” [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. America is often dominated by superficial ugliness, especially when pretentiousness masks true value. **In simple terms:** Pretentious ugliness hides real worth. Key Takeaway Look beyond surface appearances. Themes culture pretentiousness beauty critique Mood critical reflective Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - political rhetoric - advertising - fashion trends Key Concepts social commentary urban design media analysis Questions to Reflect On - How do you distinguish genuine from fake? - What values define true beauty? A Different Perspective Not all ugliness is pretentious; some is intentional. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Given Ugliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given-ugliness-4946016/) [Good man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-man/) [Pretentious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretentious/) [Things Ugliest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-ugliest-4946017/) [Ugliest Pretentious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ugliest-pretentious-4946019/) [Ugliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ugliness/) [Ugliness Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ugliness-good-4946018/) [Ugly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ugly/) ## Related quotes > [We live in the least ugly time in history. If you look at back when Beethoven was writing, half the kids were dying, mothers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-bell/we-live-in-the-least-ugly-time-in-history-if-you-look-at-back-when/) [Joshua Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-bell/) > [Of all the everyday plants of the earth, grass is the least pretentious and the most important to mankind. It clothes the earth is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-borland/of-all-the-everyday-plants-of-the-earth-grass-is-the-least/) [Hal Borland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-borland/) > [Strip is the power. I'm ready to strip... I think everyone is. In that I'm saying I think everyone is ready to take off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truth-hurts/strip-is-the-power-i-m-ready-to-strip-i-think-everyone-is-in-that-i-m/) [Truth Hurts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truth-hurts/) > [I was really pretentious in a sense and was like, 'I'm going to drama school to learn the craft.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustaf-skarsgard/i-was-really-pretentious-in-a-sense-and-was-like-i-m-going-to-drama/) [Gustaf Skarsgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustaf-skarsgard/) > [I do consider myself to be something of a pretentious wanker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicky-wire/i-do-consider-myself-to-be-something-of-a-pretentious-wanker/) [Nicky Wire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicky-wire/) > [I think to have a regular job and be a mom is not as, of course there are challenges, but it's not like being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwyneth-paltrow/i-think-to-have-a-regular-job-and-be-a-mom-is-not-as-of-course-there/) [Gwyneth Paltrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwyneth-paltrow/) > [“Heresy is usually quite sophisticated, actually has a meaning, and is to be taken very seriously. It is therefore to be carefully distinguished from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/heresy-is-usually-quite-sophisticated-actually-has-a-meaning-and-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If we wanted to make it the way I imagined I knew that we would have to wake up earlier and start very early.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-besson/if-we-wanted-to-make-it-the-way-i-imagined-i-knew-that-we-would-have/) [Luc Besson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-besson/) > [“Lord Malquist and Mr Moon was the literary equivalent of the Wonderbra for intellectually pretentious students of the seventies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-grant/lord-malquist-and-mr-moon-was-the-literary-equivalent-of-the/) [Linda Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-grant/) > [I made a choice that I was not going to be a pretentious writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/i-made-a-choice-that-i-was-not-going-to-be-a-pretentious-writer/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [Slade was never pretentious. It was just music to them. Pop, rock, soul…it was all the same to Slade. They wrote great songs. And,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-gallagher/slade-was-never-pretentious-it-was-just-music-to-them-pop-rock-soul/) [Noel Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-gallagher/) > [“What if this is a horrible mistake?" I croaked. "Oh, it'll be horrible fine, just a bunch of pretentious rich people with shelves of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruta-sepetys/what-if-this-is-a-horrible-mistake-i-croaked-oh-it-ll-be-horrible/) [Ruta Sepetys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruta-sepetys/) > [Don't be pretentious is my first advice to young writers. This is the big problem - just because you're getting an MFA doesn't mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/don-t-be-pretentious-is-my-first-advice-to-young-writers-this-is-the/) [Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/) > [Sometimes I might go too far with the pretentious references, which I might not do again. But when you're writing, you're sitting alone in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-michael-mcdonagh/sometimes-i-might-go-too-far-with-the-pretentious-references-which-i/) [John Michael McDonagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-michael-mcdonagh/) > [“A novel is no different than graffiti in a bathroom stall, it's just more pretentious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-leigh-stewart/a-novel-is-no-different-than-graffiti-in-a-bathroom-stall-it-s-just/) [Christy Leigh Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christy-leigh-stewart/) ## More by Goldwin Smith > [As to London we must console ourselves with the thought that if life outside is less poetic than it was in the days of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/as-to-london-we-must-console-ourselves-with-the-thought-that-if-life/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [The novelist must look on humanity without partiality or prejudice. His sympathy, like that of the historian, must be unbounded, and untainted by sect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/the-novelist-must-look-on-humanity-without-partiality-or-prejudice/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [The Romans, we are told, were by nature a peculiarly warlike race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/the-romans-we-are-told-were-by-nature-a-peculiarly-warlike-race/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [Canada is said to have got its name from the two Spanish words aca and nada, signifying 'there is nothing here.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/canada-is-said-to-have-got-its-name-from-the-two-spanish-words-aca/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [It is needless to say how great has been the influence of the doctrine of Evolution, or rather perhaps of the method of investigation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/it-is-needless-to-say-how-great-has-been-the-influence-of-the/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [We must also be permitted to bear in mind that evolution, though it may explain everything else, cannot explain itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/we-must-also-be-permitted-to-bear-in-mind-that-evolution-though-it/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [Who can doubt that between the English and the French, between the Scotch and the Irish, there are differences of character which have profoundly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/who-can-doubt-that-between-the-english-and-the-french-between-the/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [Never had there been such an attempt to make conquest the servant of civilization. About keeping India there is no question. England has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/never-had-there-been-such-an-attempt-to-make-conquest-the-servant-of/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [Rich by nature, poor by policy' might be written over Canada's door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/rich-by-nature-poor-by-policy-might-be-written-over-canada-s-door/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [Above all nations is humanity,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/above-all-nations-is-humanity/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [Art is expression, and to have high expression you must have something high to express.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/art-is-expression-and-to-have-high-expression-you-must-have-something/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [In my youth,geology was nervously striving to accommodate itself to Genesis. Now it is Genesis that is striving to accommodate itself to geology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/in-my-youth-geology-was-nervously-striving-to-accommodate-itself-to/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [The natural barriers between England and Scotland were not sufficient to prevent the extension of the Saxon settlements and kingdoms across the border.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/the-natural-barriers-between-england-and-scotland-were-not-sufficient/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [Dante himself is open to the suspicion of partiality: it is said, not without apparent ground, that he puts into hell all the enemies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/dante-himself-is-open-to-the-suspicion-of-partiality-it-is-said-not/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [The father of confederation is deadlock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/the-father-of-confederation-is-deadlock/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) [Explore all 37 Goldwin Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "America is supposed to be given over to ugliness. There are a good many ugly things there and the ugliest are the most pretentious.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Goldwin Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/america-is-supposed-to-be-given-over-to-ugliness-there-are-a-good/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/america-is-supposed-to-be-given-over-to-ugliness-there-are-a-good/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e7/goldwin-smith-17422_america_america-is-supposed-to-be-given-over-to_3030226.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e7/goldwin-smith-17422_america_america-is-supposed-to-be-given-over-to_3030226.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e7/goldwin-smith-17422_america_america-is-supposed-to-be-given-over-to_3030226.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“America is supposed to be given over to ugliness. There are a good many ugly things there and the ugliest…” — Goldwin Smith", "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": "Goldwin Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "America is supposed to be given...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/america-is-supposed-to-be-given-over-to-ugliness-there-are-a-good/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/america-is-supposed-to-be-given-over-to-ugliness-there-are-a-good/#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 } } ] } ```