--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They had come down from the back…" description: "\"“They had come down from the back mountains and higher places to hold forth their hands for something they though civilisation could offer, and they ne..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/610/jack-kerouac-182_come-mountains_they-had-come-down-from-the-back-mountai_2404635.jpg" --- # They had come down from the back mountains and higher… ![“They had come down from the back mountains and higher places to hold forth their hands for something they though civilisation could offer, and they never dreamed the sadness and the poor broken delusion of it. They didn't know that a bomb had come that could crack all our bridges and roads and…” quote by Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/610/jack-kerouac-182_come-mountains_they-had-come-down-from-the-back-mountai_2404635.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/610/jack-kerouac-182_come-mountains_they-had-come-down-from-the-back-mountai_2404635.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/610/jack-kerouac-182_come-mountains_they-had-come-down-from-the-back-mountai_2404635.jpg) > ““They had come down from the back mountains and higher places to hold forth their hands for something they though civilisation could offer, and they never dreamed the sadness and the poor broken delusion of it. They didn't know that a bomb had come that could crack all our bridges and roads and reduce them to jumbles, and we would be as poor as they someday and stretching out our hands in the same, same way.”” [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 passage reflects on people’s naive hopes for civilization’s offerings, unaware of looming destruction that will reduce everyone to poverty and desperation. **In simple terms:** People cling to false hopes despite impending ruin. Key Takeaway Recognize fragility of societal promises. Themes disillusionment civilization war poverty Mood somber critical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - post‑war reconstruction - political activism - social critique - historical analysis Key Concepts nihilism existential dread Questions to Reflect On - What does “hand‑out” symbolize? - How can we prepare for systemic collapse? A Different Perspective May romanticize struggle without actionable solutions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“They had come down from the back mountains and higher places to hold forth their hands for something they thought civilization could offer, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/they-had-come-down-from-the-back-mountains-and-higher-places-to-hold-2/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [Life was dense, dark, ancient. They watched Dean, serious and insane at his raving wheel, with eyes of hawks. 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"I made you a going-away present–a high-powered miniature smoke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-korman/you-two-have-to-promise-to-be-careful-sinead-handed-amy-a-small/) [Gordon Korman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-korman/) > [Come into the mountains, dear friend Leave society and take no one with you But your true self Get close to nature Your everyday…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-polis-schutz/come-into-the-mountains-dear-friend-leave-society-and-take-no-one/) [Susan Polis Schutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-polis-schutz/) > [“I've come down from the mountains, with an ass-full of specimens...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-o-brian/i-ve-come-down-from-the-mountains-with-an-ass-full-of-specimens/) [Patrick O'Brian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-o-brian/) > [The mountains are fountains of men as well as of rivers, of glaciers, of fertile soil. The great poets, philosophers, prophets, able men whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/the-mountains-are-fountains-of-men-as-well-as-of-rivers-of-glaciers/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [“I do come across mountains, I do experience hardships in life, but above all, I thank God For I live...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pastor-benjamin-elijah/i-do-come-across-mountains-i-do-experience-hardships-in-life-but/) Pastor Benjamin Elijah > [Will you come with me to the mountains? It will hurt at first, until your feet are hardened. Reality is harsh to the feet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/will-you-come-with-me-to-the-mountains-it-will-hurt-at-first-until/) [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. 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Reality is harsh to the feet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/will-you-come-with-me-to-the-mountains-it-will-hurt-at-first-until/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 6 Come Mountains quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“They had come down from the back mountains and higher places to hold forth their hands for something they though civilisation could offer, and they never dreamed the sadness and the poor broken delusion of it. 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