---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Somewhere along the line, the pearl would…"
description: "\"Somewhere along the line, the pearl would be handed to me.\" — Jack Kerouac"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/jack-kerouac-182_lines_somewhere-along-the-line-the-pearl-would_1140363.jpg"
---

#  Somewhere along the line, the pearl would be handed to me.

![“Somewhere along the line, the pearl would be handed to me.” quote by Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/jack-kerouac-182_lines_somewhere-along-the-line-the-pearl-would_1140363.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/jack-kerouac-182_lines_somewhere-along-the-line-the-pearl-would_1140363.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/jack-kerouac-182_lines_somewhere-along-the-line-the-pearl-would_1140363.jpg)

> “Somewhere along the line, the pearl would be handed to me.”

[Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

## About This Quote

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

The journey’s reward arrives unexpectedly, often when least anticipated.

**In simple terms:** Rewards come unexpectedly on the journey.

Key Takeaway

Stay open to unexpected gifts.

Themes

journey expectation serendipity

Mood

hopeful contemplative

Type

literary inspirational

When to use this quote

- travel
- career changes
- personal growth
- creative projects

Key Concepts

Existentialism adventure life’s unpredictability

Questions to Reflect On

- What unexpected reward have you received?
- How do you handle unmet expectations?

A Different Perspective

Expectations can cause disappointment.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Pearl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pearl/)

## Related quotes

> [Somewhere along the line I knew there'd be girls, visions, everything; somewhere along the line the pearl would be handed to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/somewhere-along-the-line-i-knew-there-d-be-girls-visions-everything/)

[Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

> [Yet is there one true line, the pearl of pearls: Man dreams of Fame while woman wakes to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/yet-is-there-one-true-line-the-pearl-of-pearls-man-dreams-of-fame/)

[Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/)

> [From a grain of sand in the Pearl comes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/from-a-grain-of-sand-in-the-pearl-comes/)

[Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/)

> [A pearl goes up for auction. No one has enough, so the pearl buys itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/a-pearl-goes-up-for-auction-no-one-has-enough-so-the-pearl-buys-itself/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [If that a pearl may in a toad's head dwell, And may be found too in an oyster shell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/if-that-a-pearl-may-in-a-toad-s-head-dwell-and-may-be-found-too-in-an/)

[John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/)

> [“Even a grain of sand united with an oyster can make a pearl.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truth-devour/even-a-grain-of-sand-united-with-an-oyster-can-make-a-pearl/)

Truth Devour

> [“poetry is not—except in a very limited sense—a form of self-expression. Who on earth supposes that the pearl expresses the oyster?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-day-lewis/poetry-is-not-except-in-a-very-limited-sense-a-form-of-self/)

[Cecil Day-Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-day-lewis/)

> [“My mother was an oyster,” he said with a wink. “And I’m the pearl.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/my-mother-was-an-oyster-he-said-with-a-wink-and-i-m-the-pearl/)

[Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/)

> [“In the sea of my emotions, his presence is like a pearl in the oyster. Very hard to locate, yet very precious and still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehek-bassi/in-the-sea-of-my-emotions-his-presence-is-like-a-pearl-in-the-oyster/)

[Mehek Bassi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehek-bassi/)

> [“It's the grit that makes the pearl.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-cupala/it-s-the-grit-that-makes-the-pearl/)

[Holly Cupala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-cupala/)

> [“Frank Pearl eats paste,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mcdonald/frank-pearl-eats-paste/)

[Megan McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mcdonald/)

> [“Seawater begs the pearl to break its shell”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-hashimi/seawater-begs-the-pearl-to-break-its-shell/)

[Nadia Hashimi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-hashimi/)

> [Pearl is a disease of oysters. Levant is a disease of Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-tynan/pearl-is-a-disease-of-oysters-levant-is-a-disease-of-hollywood/)

[Kenneth Tynan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-tynan/)

> [ “A pearl is a beautiful thing that is produced by an injured life. It is the tear \[that results\] from the injury of the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-hoeller/a-pearl-is-a-beautiful-thing-that-is-produced-by-an-injured-life-it/)

Stephan Hoeller

> [The world may be your oyster, but it doesn't mean you'll get its pearl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-world-may-be-your-oyster-but-it-doesn-t-mean-you-ll-get-its-pearl/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

## More by Jack Kerouac

> [Bein Crazy is the least of my worries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/bein-crazy-is-the-least-of-my-worries/)

[Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

> [I'm Catholic and I can't commit suicide, but I plan to drink myself to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-m-catholic-and-i-can-t-commit-suicide-but-i-plan-to-drink-myself-to/)

[Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

> [The Beat Generation, that was a vision that we had, John Clellon Holmes and I, and Allen Ginsberg in an even wilder way, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/the-beat-generation-that-was-a-vision-that-we-had-john-clellon-holmes/)

[Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

> [But, outside of being a sweet little girl, she was awfully dumb and capable of doing horrible things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/but-outside-of-being-a-sweet-little-girl-she-was-awfully-dumb-and/)

[Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

> [“For when you realized that God is Everything you know that you've got to love everything no matter how bad it is, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/for-when-you-realized-that-god-is-everything-you-know-that-you-ve-got/)

[Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

> [“I'm an idealist who has outgrown my idealism I have nothing to do the rest of my life but do it and the rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-m-an-idealist-who-has-outgrown-my-idealism-i-have-nothing-to-do-the/)

[Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

> [“Most of them were running away from something―usually the law.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/most-of-them-were-running-away-from-something-usually-the-law/)

[Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

> [“Non lo so, non importa e non fa nessuna differenza.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/non-lo-so-non-importa-e-non-fa-nessuna-differenza/)

[Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

> [“And in the flush of the first few days of joy I confidently tell myself (not expecting what I'll do in three weeks only)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/and-in-the-flush-of-the-first-few-days-of-joy-i-confidently-tell/)

[Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

> [I want a blaze of light to flame in me forever in a timeless, dear love of everything. And why should I pretend to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-want-a-blaze-of-light-to-flame-in-me-forever-in-a-timeless-dear/)

[Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

> [“For the next week that was all I heard - manana, a lovely word and one that probably means heaven.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/for-the-next-week-that-was-all-i-heard-manana-a-lovely-word-and-one/)

[Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

> [“O how wonderful life is, how miraculous, God made this and God made that", "how do you know he doesn't hate what He did:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/o-how-wonderful-life-is-how-miraculous-god-made-this-and-god-made/)

[Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

> [Notoriety and public confession in the literary form is a frazzler of the heart you were born with, believe me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/notoriety-and-public-confession-in-the-literary-form-is-a-frazzler-of/)

[Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

> [I promise I shall never give up, and that I'll die yelling &amp; laughing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-promise-i-shall-never-give-up-and-that-i-ll-die-yelling-laughing/)

[Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

> [“The hot water pools are steaming, Fagan and Monsanto and the others are all sitting peacefully up to their necks, they're all naked, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/the-hot-water-pools-are-steaming-fagan-and-monsanto-and-the-others/)

[Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

[Explore all 936 Jack Kerouac quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

## More Handed quotes

> [I was really, really stagnating and getting bored in the steady work of television and didn't really know what movies I would be making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-graves/i-was-really-really-stagnating-and-getting-bored-in-the-steady-work/)

[Alex Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-graves/)

> [If I had a choice, I'd say I'm right-handed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-conley-jr/if-i-had-a-choice-i-d-say-i-m-right-handed/)

[Mike Conley Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-conley-jr/)

> [After all, crime is only a left-handed form of human endeavor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/after-all-crime-is-only-a-left-handed-form-of-human-endeavor/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I never had a belt handed to me as a gift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricio-freire/i-never-had-a-belt-handed-to-me-as-a-gift/)

[Patricio Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricio-freire/)

> [When a grown man reaches forty, we change him for an old one. He has completely disappeared. There's only the most superficial resemblance between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraudoux/when-a-grown-man-reaches-forty-we-change-him-for-an-old-one-he-has/)

[Jean Giraudoux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraudoux/)

> [We have a core value here at Twitter that says we want to defend and respect the user's voice. And that's important to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-costolo/we-have-a-core-value-here-at-twitter-that-says-we-want-to-defend-and/)

[Dick Costolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-costolo/)

> [As far as I am concerned, Don Quixote is the most metal fictional character that I know. Single handed, he is trying to change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lee/as-far-as-i-am-concerned-don-quixote-is-the-most-metal-fictional/)

[Christopher Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lee/)

> [Yet thousands of slaves throughout the southern states are thus handed over by the masters who own them to masters who do not; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fanny-kemble/yet-thousands-of-slaves-throughout-the-southern-states-are-thus/)

[Fanny Kemble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fanny-kemble/)

> [85 percent of people are right handed 15 percent makes me different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mcafee/85-percent-of-people-are-right-handed-15-percent-makes-me-different/)

Leonard Mcafee

> [I can punch, I'm heavy-handed, and I can box.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rocky-fielding/i-can-punch-i-m-heavy-handed-and-i-can-box/)

[Rocky Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rocky-fielding/)

> ['Showgirls' was a critical point in my life. I had my head handed to me. At 21 years old, I had to find my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berkley/showgirls-was-a-critical-point-in-my-life-i-had-my-head-handed-to-me/)

[Elizabeth Berkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berkley/)

> [Respect is earned and not handed on a platter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-moores/respect-is-earned-and-not-handed-on-a-platter/)

[Sarah Moores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-moores/)

> [I'm right-handed, whereas the fellow in my mirror is left-handed. I start shaving from the left; he starts from the right. Differences only in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/i-m-right-handed-whereas-the-fellow-in-my-mirror-is-left-handed-i/)

[Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/)

> [Writing has been handed to me on a plate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/writing-has-been-handed-to-me-on-a-plate/)

[Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/)

> [I punch left-handed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-weir/i-punch-left-handed/)

[Mike Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-weir/)

Browse all 114 Handed quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Somewhere along the line, the pearl would be handed to me.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Jack Kerouac"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/somewhere-along-the-line-the-pearl-would-be-handed-to-me/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Handed"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/somewhere-along-the-line-the-pearl-would-be-handed-to-me/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/jack-kerouac-182_lines_somewhere-along-the-line-the-pearl-would_1140363.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/jack-kerouac-182_lines_somewhere-along-the-line-the-pearl-would_1140363.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/jack-kerouac-182_lines_somewhere-along-the-line-the-pearl-would_1140363.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Somewhere along the line, the pearl would be handed to me.” — Jack Kerouac",
                "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": "Jack Kerouac",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Somewhere along the line, the pearl...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/somewhere-along-the-line-the-pearl-would-be-handed-to-me/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/somewhere-along-the-line-the-pearl-would-be-handed-to-me/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
