--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We're all like the slaves in the fields…" description: "\"“We're all like the slaves in the fields now, putting on the front that says 'Everything's fine, boss' while we worry about how to make ends meet.”\" — ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/532/irvine-welsh-843_slaves_we-re-all-like-the-slaves-in-the-fields_878056.png" --- # We're all like the slaves in the fields now, putting on… ![“We're all like the slaves in the fields now, putting on the front that says 'Everything's fine, boss' while we worry about how to make ends meet.” quote by Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/532/irvine-welsh-843_slaves_we-re-all-like-the-slaves-in-the-fields_878056.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/532/irvine-welsh-843_slaves_we-re-all-like-the-slaves-in-the-fields_878056.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/532/irvine-welsh-843_slaves_we-re-all-like-the-slaves-in-the-fields_878056.png) > ““We're all like the slaves in the fields now, putting on the front that says 'Everything's fine, boss' while we worry about how to make ends meet.”” [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People hide their struggles behind a brave façade, fearing judgment while coping with financial stress. **In simple terms:** We pretend all is well while worrying about money. Key Takeaway Acknowledge real pressures and seek support. Themes stress appearance financial hardship Mood anxious reflective Type social commentary realistic When to use this quote - workplace - family budgeting - personal relationships - mental health Key Concepts social masks economic anxiety Questions to Reflect On - How does pretending affect your wellbeing? - What steps can you take to reveal true needs? A Different Perspective Masking issues can worsen isolation and prevent help. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Slaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slaves/) ## Related quotes > [If we gotta fight and die for America, why should we be treated like slaves in America?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-williams/if-we-gotta-fight-and-die-for-america-why-should-we-be-treated-like/) Hosea Williams > [I confront the European elite's self-image as tolerant 'while under their noses women are living like slaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayaan-hirsi-ali/i-confront-the-european-elite-s-self-image-as-tolerant-while-under/) [Ayaan Hirsi Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayaan-hirsi-ali/) > [“I heard other people speaking in the name of freedom, and the more they defended this unique right, the more enslaved they seemed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-heard-other-people-speaking-in-the-name-of-freedom-and-the-more/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [My first job was with an auto plant, Kansas City - they treated you like slaves. From there I went back to Chicago, worked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-asner/my-first-job-was-with-an-auto-plant-kansas-city-they-treated-you-like/) [Ed Asner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-asner/) > [Families and businesses are tightening their belts to make ends meet - and Washington should too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-bayh/families-and-businesses-are-tightening-their-belts-to-make-ends-meet/) [Evan Bayh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-bayh/) > [Does anyone really believe it is possible to make even the most basic ends meet on $5.15 an hour?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russ-carnahan/does-anyone-really-believe-it-is-possible-to-make-even-the-most-basic/) [Russ Carnahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russ-carnahan/) > [Just about the time when I think I can make ends meet, somebody moves the ends!..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/just-about-the-time-when-i-think-i-can-make-ends-meet-somebody-moves/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If you can't make ends meet, meet them in the middle instead”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benny-bellamacina/if-you-can-t-make-ends-meet-meet-them-in-the-middle-instead/) [Benny Bellamacina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benny-bellamacina/) > [The fight to make ends meet, keeps a man upon his feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-palmer/the-fight-to-make-ends-meet-keeps-a-man-upon-his-feet/) [Robert Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-palmer/) > [About the time we think we can make ends meet, somebody moves the ends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-hoover/about-the-time-we-think-we-can-make-ends-meet-somebody-moves-the-ends/) [Herbert Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-hoover/) > [“Elm Street was the dividing line between the two worlds. On either side of this line there were families who had trouble making both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-maxwell/elm-street-was-the-dividing-line-between-the-two-worlds-on-either/) [William Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-maxwell/) > [It seems to me that the best work I've done - and maybe this is something other people can identify with - was because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maus/it-seems-to-me-that-the-best-work-i-ve-done-and-maybe-this-is/) [John Maus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maus/) > [The easiest way to make ends meet is to get off your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-easiest-way-to-make-ends-meet-is-to-get-off-your-own/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Just about the time when you think you can make ends meet, somebody moves the ends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azgraybebly-joslan/just-about-the-time-when-you-think-you-can-make-ends-meet-somebody/) Azgraybebly Joslan > [Americans shouldn't have to hold down two or three jobs to make ends meet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikie-sherrill/americans-shouldn-t-have-to-hold-down-two-or-three-jobs-to-make-ends/) [Mikie Sherrill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikie-sherrill/) ## More by Irvine Welsh > [ I don't see \[ Trainspotting \] as an albatross, I see it more as a calling card. It's got me out to Hollywood, I've… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/i-don-t-see-trainspotting-as-an-albatross-i-see-it-more-as-a-calling/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [He emphasised basic truths: you are not dying yet, you have to live your life until you are. Underpinning them was the belief that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/he-emphasised-basic-truths-you-are-not-dying-yet-you-have-to-live/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [“Without this kickstart to my day, I'd be lost. A day without a morning run is a day you fumble through, rather than one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/without-this-kickstart-to-my-day-i-d-be-lost-a-day-without-a-morning/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [“There's nae reasoning wi some cats. You say 'reason', they mew 'treason'. Ken?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/there-s-nae-reasoning-wi-some-cats-you-say-reason-they-mew-treason-ken/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [It's crazy for somebody who's kind of empowered and wealthy like myself to say, "Oh, I don't need to be patronized by the state,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/it-s-crazy-for-somebody-who-s-kind-of-empowered-and-wealthy-like/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [When you go away, you see where you come from in a different light. I see Scotland, and the rest of Britain, as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/when-you-go-away-you-see-where-you-come-from-in-a-different-light-i/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [If it's something that I feel uncomfortable with, that's a reason for me to write it. I kind of like to make myself feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/if-it-s-something-that-i-feel-uncomfortable-with-that-s-a-reason-for/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [There's nothing worse than a violent beating from an unremarkable person. Physical violence with someone is too much like shagging them. Too much id…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/there-s-nothing-worse-than-a-violent-beating-from-an-unremarkable/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [If I stop working and publishing, and TV, and film and all that, I would be dead within a couple of weeks. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/if-i-stop-working-and-publishing-and-tv-and-film-and-all-that-i-would/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [I can see why the Russians love Robert Burns, I think that Russians and Koreans have a very similar outlook to Scots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/i-can-see-why-the-russians-love-robert-burns-i-think-that-russians/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [If you continue to transfer the wealth of the population of the planet to a very small amount of people, it becomes untenable at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/if-you-continue-to-transfer-the-wealth-of-the-population-of-the/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [Most middle-class people I know don't really live like me. Middle-class people worry a lot about money. They worry a lot about job security,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/most-middle-class-people-i-know-don-t-really-live-like-me-middle/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [As soon as you've written it, you're thinking about how it can move into different mediums.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/as-soon-as-you-ve-written-it-you-re-thinking-about-how-it-can-move/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [“Begbie doesnae even notice; he's in his element, particularly good at funerals in the way a lot ay psychopaths tend tae be. Ah suppose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/begbie-doesnae-even-notice-he-s-in-his-element-particularly-good-at/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [I'm more of a warrior than you'll ever be. I believe in the class war. I believe in the battle of the sexes. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/i-m-more-of-a-warrior-than-you-ll-ever-be-i-believe-in-the-class-war/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) [Explore all 348 Irvine Welsh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) ## More Slaves quotes > [I free slaves because I believe we are all created equal. I just can't think of anything that has a higher purpose than putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-williams/i-free-slaves-because-i-believe-we-are-all-created-equal-i-just-can-t/) [Virginia Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-williams/) > [In a lot of movies, African-Americans are either maids or slaves, but that's not all they were. We need to show that. And we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/in-a-lot-of-movies-african-americans-are-either-maids-or-slaves-but/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We know, Southern men declare that their slaves are better off than hired laborers amongst us. How little they know, whereof they speak! There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/we-know-southern-men-declare-that-their-slaves-are-better-off-than/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“Every nation is part of the history we inherit, blacks and whites, slaves and gods; we have no other option, embracing each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/every-nation-is-part-of-the-history-we-inherit-blacks-and-whites/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [“The master doesn’t need to chain his slaves; their needs will chain them to him. You can end slavery by the stroke of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/the-master-doesn-t-need-to-chain-his-slaves-their-needs-will-chain/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [If we gotta fight and die for America, why should we be treated like slaves in America?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-williams/if-we-gotta-fight-and-die-for-america-why-should-we-be-treated-like/) Hosea Williams > [I always read all these books about the slaves. My mother is very educated. My father would talk to us like we were grown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/i-always-read-all-these-books-about-the-slaves-my-mother-is-very/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [The slave and those whose present life is miserable and who can find no consolation in the heavens are assured that at least the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-slave-and-those-whose-present-life-is-miserable-and-who-can-find/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“Mungu hutumia watu 'wajinga' na 'wapumbavu' kufanya mambo makubwa katika maisha yao na ya watu wengine. Katika Biblia, Musa aliitwa mjinga alipokiuka amri ya…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enock-maregesi/mungu-hutumia-watu-wajinga-na-wapumbavu-kufanya-mambo-makubwa-katika/) [Enock Maregesi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enock-maregesi/) > [That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred ans sixty-three, all persons held as slaves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/that-on-the-first-day-of-january-in-the-year-of-our-lord-one-thousand/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Democracy is the suggestion box for slaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-molyneux/democracy-is-the-suggestion-box-for-slaves/) [Stefan Molyneux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-molyneux/) > [“Slaves of Plastic! Leather-shoe chino-pants prisoners! Haircut junkies! Dacron-shiffers!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/slaves-of-plastic-leather-shoe-chino-pants-prisoners-haircut-junkies/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [Are we not the son of slaves? Yeah! Are we not the children that run away from plantations?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junior-delgado/are-we-not-the-son-of-slaves-yeah-are-we-not-the-children-that-run/) [Junior Delgado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junior-delgado/) > [My father was a man of great charity towards the poor, and compassion for the sick, and also for servants; so much so, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-father-was-a-man-of-great-charity-towards-the-poor-and-compassion/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I’d like to run away, to flee from what I know, from what is mine, from what I love. I want to set off,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-d-like-to-run-away-to-flee-from-what-i-know-from-what-is-mine-from/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) [Browse all 792 Slaves quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slaves/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We're all like the slaves in the fields now, putting on the front that says 'Everything's fine, boss' while we worry about how to make ends meet.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Irvine Welsh" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/we-re-all-like-the-slaves-in-the-fields-now-putting-on-the-front-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Slaves" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/we-re-all-like-the-slaves-in-the-fields-now-putting-on-the-front-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/532/irvine-welsh-843_slaves_we-re-all-like-the-slaves-in-the-fields_878056.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/532/irvine-welsh-843_slaves_we-re-all-like-the-slaves-in-the-fields_878056.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/532/irvine-welsh-843_slaves_we-re-all-like-the-slaves-in-the-fields_878056.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We're all like the slaves in the fields now, putting on the front that says 'Everything's fine, boss' while…” — Irvine Welsh", "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": "Irvine Welsh", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“We're all like the slaves in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/we-re-all-like-the-slaves-in-the-fields-now-putting-on-the-front-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/we-re-all-like-the-slaves-in-the-fields-now-putting-on-the-front-that/#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 } } ] } ```