--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I bought a brown-skinned glove puppet. He…" description: "\"“I bought a brown-skinned glove puppet. He came with a little black briefcase and his hair was parted exactly down the middle. The precision of his par..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06a/helen-oyeyemi-1658_puppet_i-bought-a-brown-skinned-glove-puppet-he_1777892.png" --- # I bought a brown-skinned glove puppet. He came with a… ![“I bought a brown-skinned glove puppet. He came with a little black briefcase and his hair was parted exactly down the middle. The precision of his parting made me uneasy; somehow it was too human at the exact same time as exposing his status as a nonhuman.” quote by Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06a/helen-oyeyemi-1658_puppet_i-bought-a-brown-skinned-glove-puppet-he_1777892.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06a/helen-oyeyemi-1658_puppet_i-bought-a-brown-skinned-glove-puppet-he_1777892.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06a/helen-oyeyemi-1658_puppet_i-bought-a-brown-skinned-glove-puppet-he_1777892.png) > ““I bought a brown-skinned glove puppet. He came with a little black briefcase and his hair was parted exactly down the middle. The precision of his parting made me uneasy; somehow it was too human at the exact same time as exposing his status as a nonhuman.”” [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A hyper-realistic puppet with human-like details creates discomfort, highlighting the uncanny valley between animate and inanimate. **In simple terms:** Too human-like objects feel eerie. Key Takeaway Recognize and manage uncanny feelings. Themes uncanny valley identity humanity Mood reflective uneasy Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - design of robots - animation - theatre puppetry Key Concepts anthropomorphism psychological discomfort artistic symbolism Questions to Reflect On - Why do we feel uneasy with near-human objects? - How can creators balance realism and comfort? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on realism can alienate audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“Sometimes you laughed, and then my glove puppet would weep piteously. When you took the glove puppet he alternated between flirtatious and suicidal, hell-bent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/sometimes-you-laughed-and-then-my-glove-puppet-would-weep-piteously/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) > [You turn 'Insecure' on, and you see a sea of brown. You see at the core of it a strong friendship between two brown-skinned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvonne-orji/you-turn-insecure-on-and-you-see-a-sea-of-brown-you-see-at-the-core/) [Yvonne Orji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvonne-orji/) > [Growing up, I learned the value of sticking up for my brown-skinned friends amongst my white-skinned friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-bixler-zavala/growing-up-i-learned-the-value-of-sticking-up-for-my-brown-skinned/) [Cedric Bixler-Zavala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedric-bixler-zavala/) > [I didn't have a brown-skinned superhero growing up who wore cornrows and who reflected the inner city where I come from in Philadelphia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nafessa-williams/i-didn-t-have-a-brown-skinned-superhero-growing-up-who-wore-cornrows/) [Nafessa Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nafessa-williams/) > [I'm a brown-skinned Indian immigrant, low-caste untouchable - I don't know how many labels you want to put on me - who's fought all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shiva-ayyadurai/i-m-a-brown-skinned-indian-immigrant-low-caste-untouchable-i-don-t/) [Shiva Ayyadurai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shiva-ayyadurai/) > [“. . . Your hair--it's kind of wavy. Indian in your blood, or are you a hypocrite and texturize your hair?" He hesitated, appeared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/your-hair-it-s-kind-of-wavy-indian-in-your-blood-or-are-you-a/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [Us brown-skinned girls get ashy if we don't moisturize.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyra-banks/us-brown-skinned-girls-get-ashy-if-we-don-t-moisturize/) [Tyra Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyra-banks/) > [When you're walking down a street and you are a brown-skinned person or you're a person that lives in an immigrant community, there's no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-lightfoot/when-you-re-walking-down-a-street-and-you-are-a-brown-skinned-person/) [Lori Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lightfoot/) > [I mean, we make a 15-minute show that's incredibly silly, even though all of our scenic designers, puppet builders. animators, everybody that works on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-green/i-mean-we-make-a-15-minute-show-that-s-incredibly-silly-even-though/) [Seth Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-green/) > [The day I need a television puppet or clown to tell my children what's right and what's wrong, I'll bow out as a mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elinor-smith/the-day-i-need-a-television-puppet-or-clown-to-tell-my-children-what/) Elinor Smith > [“I played the best role in my life. I had a great director.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/i-played-the-best-role-in-my-life-i-had-a-great-director/) [Ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) > [You can't really claim too much ownership of your character. They really do belong to the writers, and in many ways, you're just their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-galecki/you-can-t-really-claim-too-much-ownership-of-your-character-they/) [Johnny Galecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-galecki/) > [Chucky is absolutely still a puppet. He will remain to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-dourif/chucky-is-absolutely-still-a-puppet-he-will-remain-to-be/) [Fiona Dourif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-dourif/) > [“You know, a carving, especially if it’s polychrome, is not meant to move. These faces, these half-bodies, when you animate them, they’re more live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-yonnet/you-know-a-carving-especially-if-it-s-polychrome-is-not-meant-to-move/) Jacques Yonnet > [I always loved putting on shows - when you're the youngest of seven and five are older sisters, you've got to get noticed somehow!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wenham/i-always-loved-putting-on-shows-when-you-re-the-youngest-of-seven-and/) [David Wenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wenham/) ## More by Helen Oyeyemi > [“Juju is not enough to protect you. Everything you have I will turn against you. I'll turn sugar bitter for you. I'll take your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/juju-is-not-enough-to-protect-you-everything-you-have-i-will-turn/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) > [“Marriage is no real excuse for not loving.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/marriage-is-no-real-excuse-for-not-loving/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) > [I do tend to feel more connected to dead writers, perhaps because they have finished their work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/i-do-tend-to-feel-more-connected-to-dead-writers-perhaps-because-they/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) > [“People don’t make too much money around here, but what comes with that is a different definition of what it means to be well-off.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/people-don-t-make-too-much-money-around-here-but-what-comes-with-that/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) > [“He looked honored, extraordinarily honored, seeming to care for that which tore his flesh than he did for the flesh itself, embracing the blade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/he-looked-honored-extraordinarily-honored-seeming-to-care-for-that/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) > [“White-flowered shrubs thickened around her and so did sleep; it directed her limbs. Lie down now, sleep said sweetly. Lie down. These are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/white-flowered-shrubs-thickened-around-her-and-so-did-sleep-it/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) > [I don't despise 'Don Quixote,' but it is a book I don't... get. I'll have to come back it. Maybe there'll be a gateway…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/i-don-t-despise-don-quixote-but-it-is-a-book-i-don-t-get-i-ll-have-to/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) > [“I think her favorite thing about our . . . collaboration was her actor and musician friends rubbing shoulders with my academic colleagues, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/i-think-her-favorite-thing-about-our-collaboration-was-her-actor-and/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) > [“After half an hour the Senora emerged, short of breath, with flushed cheeks…as uf she'd been seized and shaken like a faulty thermometer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/after-half-an-hour-the-senora-emerged-short-of-breath-with-flushed/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) > [“It was the usual struggle between one who loves by accepting burdens and one who loves by refusing to be”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/it-was-the-usual-struggle-between-one-who-loves-by-accepting-burdens/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) > [“Pops says he loves me just the way I am, but not everyone in the world is like my father. Maman, for example. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/pops-says-he-loves-me-just-the-way-i-am-but-not-everyone-in-the-world/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) > [“With boys there was a fundamental assumption that they had a right to be there—not always, but more often than not. With girls, Why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/with-boys-there-was-a-fundamental-assumption-that-they-had-a-right-to/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) > [The more forcibly I'm made aware of the fact that I'll never be the kind of storyteller I most admire, the less I'll be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/the-more-forcibly-i-m-made-aware-of-the-fact-that-i-ll-never-be-the/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) > [The girl was lighter without her heart. She danced barefoot on the hot roads, and her feet were not cut by the glass or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/the-girl-was-lighter-without-her-heart-she-danced-barefoot-on-the-hot/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) > [“So her missing person's poster features a girl with long hair and dreamy eyes that don't see the fracture coming.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/so-her-missing-person-s-poster-features-a-girl-with-long-hair-and/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) [Explore all 218 Helen Oyeyemi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) ## More Puppet quotes > [I always loved putting on shows - when you're the youngest of seven and five are older sisters, you've got to get noticed somehow!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wenham/i-always-loved-putting-on-shows-when-you-re-the-youngest-of-seven-and/) [David Wenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wenham/) > [“You know, a carving, especially if it’s polychrome, is not meant to move. These faces, these half-bodies, when you animate them, they’re more live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-yonnet/you-know-a-carving-especially-if-it-s-polychrome-is-not-meant-to-move/) Jacques Yonnet > [Chucky is absolutely still a puppet. He will remain to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-dourif/chucky-is-absolutely-still-a-puppet-he-will-remain-to-be/) [Fiona Dourif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-dourif/) > [You can't really claim too much ownership of your character. They really do belong to the writers, and in many ways, you're just their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-galecki/you-can-t-really-claim-too-much-ownership-of-your-character-they/) [Johnny Galecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-galecki/) > [“I played the best role in my life. I had a great director.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/i-played-the-best-role-in-my-life-i-had-a-great-director/) [Ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) > [The day I need a television puppet or clown to tell my children what's right and what's wrong, I'll bow out as a mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elinor-smith/the-day-i-need-a-television-puppet-or-clown-to-tell-my-children-what/) Elinor Smith > [I mean, we make a 15-minute show that's incredibly silly, even though all of our scenic designers, puppet builders. animators, everybody that works on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-green/i-mean-we-make-a-15-minute-show-that-s-incredibly-silly-even-though/) [Seth Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-green/) > [Billionaires like the Koch brothers, casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, and political puppet master Karl Rove should not be able to buy our elections. Secret…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-johnson/billionaires-like-the-koch-brothers-casino-mogul-sheldon-adelson-and/) [Hank Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-johnson/) > [When I was thinking about what we could do in terms of what production values of Broadway might be able to add to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-timbers/when-i-was-thinking-about-what-we-could-do-in-terms-of-what/) [Alex Timbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-timbers/) > [I don't think that anyone should be in control of a relationship. I think that if you have a woman that controls her man,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-nique/i-don-t-think-that-anyone-should-be-in-control-of-a-relationship-i/) [Mo'Nique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-nique/) > [“I didn't respond to him. Couldn't speak at all. Couldn't look at his self-mutilation--not even the clean, bandaged version of it. Instead, I looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/i-didn-t-respond-to-him-couldn-t-speak-at-all-couldn-t-look-at-his/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [We're all puppets, Laurie. I'm just a puppet who can see the strings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/we-re-all-puppets-laurie-i-m-just-a-puppet-who-can-see-the-strings/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [ He \[ Vladimir Putin\] would rather have a puppet as president of the United States. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/he-vladimir-putin-would-rather-have-a-puppet-as-president-of-the/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I know what I look like - a weird, sad clown puppet. I'm fine with that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainn-wilson/i-know-what-i-look-like-a-weird-sad-clown-puppet-i-m-fine-with-that/) [Rainn Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainn-wilson/) > [I always loved that solitary experience of making things. There's a solitary aspect to animating... It's ultimately the animator and the puppet coaxing a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-knight/i-always-loved-that-solitary-experience-of-making-things-there-s-a/) [Travis Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-knight/) Browse all 136 Puppet quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I bought a brown-skinned glove puppet. He came with a little black briefcase and his hair was parted exactly down the middle. 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