--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At the beginning he’d thought of his…" description: "\"“At the beginning he’d thought of his style as being his essence, the perfect expression of who he was inside, but lately the styles had started to fee..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/jennifer-egan-825_mind_at-the-beginning-he-d-thought-of-his-sty_178421.jpg" --- # At the beginning he’d thought of his style as being his… ![“At the beginning he’d thought of his style as being his essence, the perfect expression of who he was inside, but lately the styles had started to feel like disguises, distractions Danny could move around behind without being seen. 27” quote by Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/jennifer-egan-825_mind_at-the-beginning-he-d-thought-of-his-sty_178421.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/jennifer-egan-825_mind_at-the-beginning-he-d-thought-of-his-sty_178421.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/jennifer-egan-825_mind_at-the-beginning-he-d-thought-of-his-sty_178421.jpg) > ““At the beginning he’d thought of his style as being his essence, the perfect expression of who he was inside, but lately the styles had started to feel like disguises, distractions Danny could move around behind without being seen. 27”” [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creative expression can become a mask, obscuring true self‑identity over time. **In simple terms:** Styles may become disguises. Key Takeaway Stay authentic in artistic work. Themes authenticity creative identity self‑expression Mood reflective thoughtful Type literary self‑help When to use this quote - marketing - public performance Key Concepts writing process artistic evolution personal branding Questions to Reflect On - When did you notice your style feeling like a disguise? - How can you reconnect with your core self? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on style can dilute genuine voice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) ## Related quotes > [“At this point trillions of pictures have been taken of Kate Moss in an effort to capture her beauty, style and essence. 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To take the thought or style of another writer whom one has never, never read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/plagiarize-v-to-take-the-thought-or-style-of-another-writer-whom-one/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [The science of style as an organ of thought, of style in relation to the ideas and feelings, might be called the organology of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-de-quincey/the-science-of-style-as-an-organ-of-thought-of-style-in-relation-to/) [Thomas de Quincey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-de-quincey/) > [I don't really know if I am thought of as a style icon. I don't feel like that at all. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/when-it-was-time-to-write-and-he-took-his-pen-in-his-hand-he-never/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [I was working in this very bombastic style. I didn’t really know about style. I didn’t think about it: I did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lachapelle/i-was-working-in-this-very-bombastic-style-i-didn-t-really-know-about/) [David LaChapelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lachapelle/) > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [“William didn't look like he'd be difficult about anything - he was thin and sandy-haired and already wore eyeglasses like his father. Most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-c-wrede/william-didn-t-look-like-he-d-be-difficult-about-anything-he-was-thin/) [Patricia C. Wrede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-c-wrede/) > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) ## More by Jennifer Egan > [“Behind the desk was nothing but view-the whole city flung out in front of us the way street vendors fling out their towels packed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/behind-the-desk-was-nothing-but-view-the-whole-city-flung-out-in/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I just think that, for my particular personality, feeling slightly invisible is always a help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-just-think-that-for-my-particular-personality-feeling-slightly/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Between books, I have to throw out everything I did before, because the tools I've used to write the previous book will not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/between-books-i-have-to-throw-out-everything-i-did-before-because-the/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [As a reader and a writer, I'm happiest when apparently mutually exclusive states can somehow coexist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/as-a-reader-and-a-writer-i-m-happiest-when-apparently-mutually/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I teach intermittently, and while I enjoy it, I don't find that it's a calling for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-teach-intermittently-and-while-i-enjoy-it-i-don-t-find-that-it-s-a/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Like all failed experiments, that one taught me something I didn’t expect: one key ingredient of so-called experience is the delusional faith that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/like-all-failed-experiments-that-one-taught-me-something-i-didn-t/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [“Thousands of solar panels lift and tilt at the same time, in the same way. 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I know what’s going on because it’s the same thing that always happens: give me something nice, something I love or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/the-seconds-pass-i-know-what-s-going-on-because-it-s-the-same-thing/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I had this idea that I could hire myself out as a person to go on archeological digs and dig, without any training! I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-had-this-idea-that-i-could-hire-myself-out-as-a-person-to-go-on/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [At night, the house thick with sleep, she would peer out her bedroom window at the trees and sky and feel the presence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/at-night-the-house-thick-with-sleep-she-would-peer-out-her-bedroom/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I number my drafts, and by the time a book is done, I'll have 75 or 80 drafts of some sections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-number-my-drafts-and-by-the-time-a-book-is-done-i-ll-have-75-or-80/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Read at the level at which you want to write. Reading is the nourishment that feeds the kind of writing you want to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/read-at-the-level-at-which-you-want-to-write-reading-is-the/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I was a stepchild in two different families. The hardest thing about being a stepchild is you know that in some way everything would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-was-a-stepchild-in-two-different-families-the-hardest-thing-about-2/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) [Explore all 358 Jennifer Egan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) ## More Mind quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [“William didn't look like he'd be difficult about anything - he was thin and sandy-haired and already wore eyeglasses like his father. Most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-c-wrede/william-didn-t-look-like-he-d-be-difficult-about-anything-he-was-thin/) [Patricia C. Wrede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-c-wrede/) > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [“MIND & GRIND Self-belief and hard work can propel you past more talented peers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamil-ali/mind-grind-self-belief-and-hard-work-can-propel-you-past-more/) [Kamil Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamil-ali/) > [“He blinked. His eyes fell as he processed her response. 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A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [“Picking locks was not a skill he had ever cultivated, but he persisted day after day, turning the tip of his talon into different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/picking-locks-was-not-a-skill-he-had-ever-cultivated-but-he-persisted/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [Do you think that God would separate me from my husband if I killed myself? I feel as though I am going out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-you-think-that-god-would-separate-me-from-my-husband-if-i-killed/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm not here trying to convince anybody to vote for Donald Trump. 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It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) [Browse all 43,542 Mind quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“At the beginning he’d thought of his style as being his essence, the perfect expression of who he was inside, but lately the styles had started to feel like disguises, distractions Danny could move around behind without being seen. 27”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jennifer Egan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/at-the-beginning-he-d-thought-of-his-style-as-being-his-essence-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Mind" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/at-the-beginning-he-d-thought-of-his-style-as-being-his-essence-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/jennifer-egan-825_mind_at-the-beginning-he-d-thought-of-his-sty_178421.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/jennifer-egan-825_mind_at-the-beginning-he-d-thought-of-his-sty_178421.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/jennifer-egan-825_mind_at-the-beginning-he-d-thought-of-his-sty_178421.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“At the beginning he’d thought of his style as being his essence, the perfect expression of who he was…” — Jennifer Egan", "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": "Jennifer Egan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“At the beginning he’d thought of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/at-the-beginning-he-d-thought-of-his-style-as-being-his-essence-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/at-the-beginning-he-d-thought-of-his-style-as-being-his-essence-the/#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 } } ] } ```