--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: New York! The white prisons, the…" description: "\"New York! The white prisons, the sidewalks swarming with maggots, the breadlines, the opium joints that are built like palaces, the kikes that are ther..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c33/henry-miller-179_cities_new-york-the-white-prisons-the-sidewalks_1714262.jpg" --- # New York! The white prisons, the sidewalks swarming with… ![“New York! The white prisons, the sidewalks swarming with maggots, the breadlines, the opium joints that are built like palaces, the kikes that are there, the lepers, the thugs, and above all, the ennui, the monotony of faces, streets, legs, houses, skyscrapers, meals, posters, jobs, crimes…” quote by Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c33/henry-miller-179_cities_new-york-the-white-prisons-the-sidewalks_1714262.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c33/henry-miller-179_cities_new-york-the-white-prisons-the-sidewalks_1714262.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c33/henry-miller-179_cities_new-york-the-white-prisons-the-sidewalks_1714262.jpg) > “New York! The white prisons, the sidewalks swarming with maggots, the breadlines, the opium joints that are built like palaces, the kikes that are there, the lepers, the thugs, and above all, the ennui, the monotony of faces, streets, legs, houses, skyscrapers, meals, posters, jobs, crimes, loves... A whole city erected over a hollow pit of nothingness. Meaningless. Absolute meaningless.” [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Miller portrays New York as a bleak, meaningless urban landscape filled with decay and ennui. **In simple terms:** New York is depicted as empty and meaningless. Key Takeaway Recognize emptiness and seek deeper purpose. Themes urban decay nihilism alienation despair meaninglessness Mood cynical melancholic critical Type observational critical When to use this quote - daily commute - nightlife - poverty - drug use - social observation Key Concepts existentialism social critique urbanism Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of city life give you hope? - How does personal perception shape urban experience? A Different Perspective The description may overgeneralize and ignore the city's vibrancy and resilience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolute Meaningless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolute-meaningless-1276813/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Ennui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ennui/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Joints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joints/) [Legs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legs/) [Maggots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maggots/) [Meals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meals/) [Meaningless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaningless/) [Meaningless Absolute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaningless-absolute-1276814/) [Monotony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monotony/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [Nothingness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothingness/) [Nothingness Meaningless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothingness-meaningless-1043270/) [Opium](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opium/) [Palaces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/palaces/) [Pits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pits/) [Posters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/posters/) [Prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison/) [Sidewalk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sidewalk/) [Skyscraper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skyscraper/) [Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streets/) [Thug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thug/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) [York](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/york/) ## Related quotes > [“To state there is no need for a creator or God if there is no time is meaningless. 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I knew -- the moon's picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-too-tired-to-think-i-merely-felt-the-town-as-a-unique-unreality/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 7,153 Cities quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "New York! The white prisons, the sidewalks swarming with maggots, the breadlines, the opium joints that are built like palaces, the kikes that are there, the lepers, the thugs, and above all, the ennui, the monotony of faces, streets, legs, houses, skyscrapers, meals, posters, jobs, crimes, loves... A whole city erected over a hollow pit of nothingness. Meaningless. 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