---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For God's sake stop making people in your…"
description: "\"For God's sake stop making people in your image. Harry was real. He wasn't just your hero and my lover. He was Harry. He was in a racket. He did bad th..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab7/graham-greene-441_age_for-god-s-sake-stop-making-people-in-you_546102.jpg"
---

#  For God's sake stop making people in your image. Harry was…

![“For God's sake stop making people in your image. Harry was real. He wasn't just your hero and my lover. He was Harry. He was in a racket. He did bad things. What about it? He was the man we knew.” quote by Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab7/graham-greene-441_age_for-god-s-sake-stop-making-people-in-you_546102.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab7/graham-greene-441_age_for-god-s-sake-stop-making-people-in-you_546102.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab7/graham-greene-441_age_for-god-s-sake-stop-making-people-in-you_546102.jpg)

> “For God's sake stop making people in your image. Harry was real. He wasn't just your hero and my lover. He was Harry. He was in a racket. He did bad things. What about it? He was the man we knew.”

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

## About This Quote

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

Obsessing over an idealized image of someone blinds us to their real flaws and humanity.

**In simple terms:** Idealizing people hides their true nature.

Key Takeaway

Accept people as they are, not as projections.

Themes

identity idealization humanity

Mood

reflective somber

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- personal relationships
- grief counseling
- self‑reflection
- conflict resolution

Key Concepts

psychology relationship dynamics

Questions to Reflect On

- How does idealizing affect your relationships?
- Can you see the person beyond your expectations?

A Different Perspective

Idealization can prevent honest assessment and growth.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Bad things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-things/) [Hero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hero/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Lovers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lovers/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/)

## Related quotes

> [“She wished with one part of her soul this weren’t real and with the other that it was, but wasn’t it just another goodbye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genevieve-dewey/she-wished-with-one-part-of-her-soul-this-weren-t-real-and-with-the/)

[Genevieve Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genevieve-dewey/)

> [ To me \[my marriage to Kim Kardashian\] was real. I would never go through something or do something that wasn't real or I didn't… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-humphries/to-me-my-marriage-to-kim-kardashian-was-real-i-would-never-go-through/)

[Kris Humphries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-humphries/)

> [“Marlowe's devils wore squibs attached to their tails: evil was like Peter Pan—it carried with it the horrifying and horrible gift of eternal youth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/marlowe-s-devils-wore-squibs-attached-to-their-tails-evil-was-like/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [“Empathy is overrated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-fear/empathy-is-overrated/)

C. Fear

> [“She was born under the sign of Gemini. And that stands for the good and evil twin. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde both hiding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-claudia-antunes/she-was-born-under-the-sign-of-gemini-and-that-stands-for-the-good/)

[Ana Claudia Antunes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-claudia-antunes/)

> [“I knew the end would come, one day. I knew my life deserved to be over. Yet, even knowing that, I was no less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacie-evans/i-knew-the-end-would-come-one-day-i-knew-my-life-deserved-to-be-over/)

Stacie Evans

> [“I closed the door and sank into my desk chair. My heart was pounding even harder. I felt like someone who had just staggered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-white/i-closed-the-door-and-sank-into-my-desk-chair-my-heart-was-pounding/)

[Kate White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-white/)

> [“I don't want you to be interested in my life. I want you to be interested in me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicci-french/i-don-t-want-you-to-be-interested-in-my-life-i-want-you-to-be/)

[Nicci French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicci-french/)

> [“Of all the problems and complications in my life, I had not expected love to be one of them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacie-evans/of-all-the-problems-and-complications-in-my-life-i-had-not-expected/)

Stacie Evans

> [“She opens her eyes as the fury continues, pinning me with her glare. Her gaze reached into my soul as I spin the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-fonseca/she-opens-her-eyes-as-the-fury-continues-pinning-me-with-her-glare/)

[Christine Fonseca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-fonseca/)

> [“This madman must be stopped.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianne-harman/this-madman-must-be-stopped/)

[Dianne Harman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dianne-harman/)

> [“It was one of those late summer days trying its best to convince everyone that winter would never seep through and ravage the earth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-waines/it-was-one-of-those-late-summer-days-trying-its-best-to-convince/)

[A.J. Waines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-waines/)

> [“She averted his eyes, but not before he recognized the pain in them, a tormented and languished gaze, a stare preserved for people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-simon-gunn/she-averted-his-eyes-but-not-before-he-recognized-the-pain-in-them-a/)

[Jacqueline Simon Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-simon-gunn/)

> [“He who fears being watched from the abyss will be unable to look into it himself. The truth can only be obtained by pressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadamu-yamashita/he-who-fears-being-watched-from-the-abyss-will-be-unable-to-look-into/)

Sadamu Yamashita

> [“You look good, Clearwater. Been working out?' Danie teased. 'He does, doesn't he?'Janelle agreed. 'This will totally work.' James' eyes darted back and forth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandi-salazar/you-look-good-clearwater-been-working-out-danie-teased-he-does-doesn/)

[Brandi Salazar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandi-salazar/)

## More by Graham Greene

> [“Time gives poetry to a battlefield...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/time-gives-poetry-to-a-battlefield/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [“What is cowardice in the young is wisdom in the old, but all the same one can be ashamed of wisdom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/what-is-cowardice-in-the-young-is-wisdom-in-the-old-but-all-the-same/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [Pity is cruel. Pity destroys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/pity-is-cruel-pity-destroys/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [Hate is a lack of imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/hate-is-a-lack-of-imagination/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [Despair is the price one pays for setting oneself an impossible aim. It is, one is told, the unforgivable sin, but it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/despair-is-the-price-one-pays-for-setting-oneself-an-impossible-aim/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [“Knowledge was the great thing--not abstract knowledge in which Dr. Forester had been so rich, the theories which lead one enticingly on with their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/knowledge-was-the-great-thing-not-abstract-knowledge-in-which-dr/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [With Your great schemes, You ruin our happiness like a harvester ruins a mouse's nest: I hate You, God, I hate You as though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/with-your-great-schemes-you-ruin-our-happiness-like-a-harvester-ruins/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [Heresy is only another word for freedom of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/heresy-is-only-another-word-for-freedom-of-thought/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [“He had thought that home was something one possessed, but the things one had possessed were cursed with change; it was what one didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/he-had-thought-that-home-was-something-one-possessed-but-the-things/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [Perhaps the comparison is closer to the Chinese cook who leaves hardly any part of a duck unserved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/perhaps-the-comparison-is-closer-to-the-chinese-cook-who-leaves/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [“He said, ‘Oh god, help her. Damn me, I deserve it, but let her live forever.’ This was the love he should have felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/he-said-oh-god-help-her-damn-me-i-deserve-it-but-let-her-live-forever/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [“A police photograph is like a passport photograph: the intelligence which casts a veil over the crude common shape is never recorded by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/a-police-photograph-is-like-a-passport-photograph-the-intelligence/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [ “I tossed up whether I'd see \[the critic\] or not: I knew too well the pompous phrases of his article, the buried significance he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/i-tossed-up-whether-i-d-see-the-critic-or-not-i-knew-too-well-the/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [Success is more dangerous than failure, the ripples break over a wider coastline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/success-is-more-dangerous-than-failure-the-ripples-break-over-a-wider/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [“But we do not love people for what they do for us. Love happens to us; it isn't created.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/but-we-do-not-love-people-for-what-they-do-for-us-love-happens-to-us/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

[Explore all 550 Graham Greene quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

## More Age quotes

> [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/)

[Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/)

> [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/)

[Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/)

> [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/)

[Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/)

> [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/)

[Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/)

> [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/)

[Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/)

> [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/)

[Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/)

> [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/)

[Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/)

> [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/)

[Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/)

> [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/)

[Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/)

> [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/)

[Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/)

> [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/)

[Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/)

> [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/)

[Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/)

> [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/)

[Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/)

> [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/)

[Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/)

[Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "For God's sake stop making people in your image. Harry was real. He wasn't just your hero and my lover. He was Harry. He was in a racket. He did bad things. What about it? He was the man we knew.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Graham Greene"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/for-god-s-sake-stop-making-people-in-your-image-harry-was-real-he/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Age"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/for-god-s-sake-stop-making-people-in-your-image-harry-was-real-he/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab7/graham-greene-441_age_for-god-s-sake-stop-making-people-in-you_546102.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab7/graham-greene-441_age_for-god-s-sake-stop-making-people-in-you_546102.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab7/graham-greene-441_age_for-god-s-sake-stop-making-people-in-you_546102.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“For God's sake stop making people in your image. Harry was real. He wasn't just your hero and my lover. He…” — Graham Greene",
                "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": "Graham Greene",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "For God's sake stop making people...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/for-god-s-sake-stop-making-people-in-your-image-harry-was-real-he/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/for-god-s-sake-stop-making-people-in-your-image-harry-was-real-he/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
