--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This was a little house, with a ceiling…" description: "\"This was a little house, with a ceiling that kept getting higher and higher, a hot place with no windows. This was anger.\" — Helen Oyeyemi" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/851/helen-oyeyemi-1658_anger_this-was-a-little-house-with-a-ceiling-t_2363131.png" --- # This was a little house, with a ceiling that kept getting… ![“This was a little house, with a ceiling that kept getting higher and higher, a hot place with no windows. This was anger.” quote by Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/851/helen-oyeyemi-1658_anger_this-was-a-little-house-with-a-ceiling-t_2363131.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/851/helen-oyeyemi-1658_anger_this-was-a-little-house-with-a-ceiling-t_2363131.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/851/helen-oyeyemi-1658_anger_this-was-a-little-house-with-a-ceiling-t_2363131.png) > “This was a little house, with a ceiling that kept getting higher and higher, a hot place with no windows. This was anger.” [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. Anger builds like a hot, windowless room, rising higher as it intensifies. **In simple terms:** Anger feels trapped and escalates. Key Takeaway Recognize and release anger before it swells. Themes emotion anger psychology Mood intense somatic Type reflective motivational When to use this quote - conflict resolution - stress management - personal relationships - creative expression Key Concepts heat confinement escalation Questions to Reflect On - How does your anger manifest physically? - What steps can you take to release it constructively? A Different Perspective Anger can also motivate positive change if channeled. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) [Ceiling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ceiling/) [Ceiling Kept](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ceiling-kept-5793233/) [Ceilings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ceilings/) [Getting high](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting-high/) [Higher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/higher/) [Higher Hot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/higher-hot-5793234/) [Hot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hot/) [House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house/) [House Ceiling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house-ceiling-5793235/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Window](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/window/) ## Related quotes > [We are unlimited beings. We have no ceiling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-beckwith/we-are-unlimited-beings-we-have-no-ceiling/) [Michael Beckwith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-beckwith/) > [If you had the ceiling falling down in your living room, would you not go and have a repair?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-dell-orefice/if-you-had-the-ceiling-falling-down-in-your-living-room-would-you-not/) [Carmen Dell'Orefice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-dell-orefice/) > [There's no ceiling... just a continuation of improvement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-weidman/there-s-no-ceiling-just-a-continuation-of-improvement/) [Chris Weidman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-weidman/) > [Every ceiling reached becomes a floor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/every-ceiling-reached-becomes-a-floor/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [My home has a split personality. Some of the rooms are very French antique. Think Aubusson rugs, turquoise ceramic jugs, sandbag pillows, and broken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/poppy-delevingne/my-home-has-a-split-personality-some-of-the-rooms-are-very-french/) [Poppy Delevingne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/poppy-delevingne/) > [I am a ceiling fan, especially during rain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/i-am-a-ceiling-fan-especially-during-rain/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [So how do you do it, with just words and just music, capture the feeling that my Earth is somebody's ceiling?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-bareilles/so-how-do-you-do-it-with-just-words-and-just-music-capture-the/) [Sara Bareilles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-bareilles/) > [Every object you see before you at this moment -the walls, ceiling, and furniture, the book, your own washed hands and cut fingernails, bears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/every-object-you-see-before-you-at-this-moment-the-walls-ceiling-and/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Our goals should stretch us bit by bit. So often when we think we have encountered a ceiling, it is really a psychological or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-a-maxwell/our-goals-should-stretch-us-bit-by-bit-so-often-when-we-think-we-have/) [Neal A. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-a-maxwell/) > [Fish Ponies! I put them on the ceiling!" -Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/fish-ponies-i-put-them-on-the-ceiling-tyson/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [In design-speak, 'a library' means a room lined with books, floor-to ceiling, but it all depends on the space you have. You may have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-berkus/in-design-speak-a-library-means-a-room-lined-with-books-floor-to/) [Nate Berkus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-berkus/) > [If your ceiling should fall down, then you have lost a room, but gained a courtyard. Think of it that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/if-your-ceiling-should-fall-down-then-you-have-lost-a-room-but-gained/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [There are people who say that if you are told that your house has fallen you don't ask what about the ceiling or what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/there-are-people-who-say-that-if-you-are-told-that-your-house-has/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [I really like ceilings...I guess you could call me a Ceiling fan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-really-like-ceilings-i-guess-you-could-call-me-a-ceiling-fan/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I just laid around in my bed, looking at the ceiling, and i smiled because it was a nice kind of quiet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/i-just-laid-around-in-my-bed-looking-at-the-ceiling-and-i-smiled/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) ## 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 Anger quotes > [“If I let myself think of it the pain and anger were still fresh, adrenalin racing down my limbs to pool, hot and itchy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylie-ladd/if-i-let-myself-think-of-it-the-pain-and-anger-were-still-fresh/) [Kylie Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylie-ladd/) > [I receive something we might euphemistically call an 'inappropriately hostile' response - that is to say, more than fair criticism or even fair anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-receive-something-we-might-euphemistically-call-an-inappropriately/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Anger is a rough water; if you can canalize it into a water mill, you can benefit from it. Anything bad can be transformed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/anger-is-a-rough-water-if-you-can-canalize-it-into-a-water-mill-you/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“When you feel terribly angry, you're possessed by anger ghost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-feel-terribly-angry-you-re-possessed-by-anger-ghost/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [“Medical studies have shown that cursing reduces levels of stress and pain. Repressing your anger is not healthy. It's much better to verbalize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/medical-studies-have-shown-that-cursing-reduces-levels-of-stress-and/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [My care will be in the heart n not in words My anger will be in Words n not in the Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/my-care-will-be-in-the-heart-n-not-in-words-my-anger-will-be-in-words/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-a-negro-in-this-country-and-to-be-relatively-conscious-is-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“God, you had enough time to have been through it three times. You've been through my stuff. I bet you over and let one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-you-had-enough-time-to-have-been-through-it-three-times-you-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The present contains nothing more than the past, and what is found in the effect was already in the cause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/the-present-contains-nothing-more-than-the-past-and-what-is-found-in/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/depression-is-merely-anger-without-enthusiasm/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [I always fight better when my opponent's angry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-haye/i-always-fight-better-when-my-opponent-s-angry/) [David Haye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-haye/) > [ “Where there are kashays (anger-pride-deceit-greed), there is worldly life. As long as anger-pride-deceit-greed exist; one is a sansaari \[living a worldly life\] regardless of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-are-kashays-anger-pride-deceit-greed-there-is-worldly/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) [Browse all 7,469 Anger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "This was a little house, with a ceiling that kept getting higher and higher, a hot place with no windows. 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