--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: 'Look at Me' started with Rockford…" description: "\"'Look at Me' started with Rockford, Illinois and New York and the question of how much image culture was changing our inner lives. That's an abstract i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b60/jennifer-egan-825_abstract_look-at-me-started-with-rockford-illinoi_3159806.jpg" --- # 'Look at Me' started with Rockford, Illinois and New York… ![“'Look at Me' started with Rockford, Illinois and New York and the question of how much image culture was changing our inner lives. That's an abstract idea; you don't think that's going to be a rocking work of fiction, but it seemed to fuse in a way that was interesting.” quote by Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b60/jennifer-egan-825_abstract_look-at-me-started-with-rockford-illinoi_3159806.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b60/jennifer-egan-825_abstract_look-at-me-started-with-rockford-illinoi_3159806.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b60/jennifer-egan-825_abstract_look-at-me-started-with-rockford-illinoi_3159806.jpg) > “'Look at Me' started with Rockford, Illinois and New York and the question of how much image culture was changing our inner lives. That's an abstract idea; you don't think that's going to be a rocking work of fiction, but it seemed to fuse in a way that was interesting.” [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. Cultural images shape inner experiences, and fiction can explore this interplay, even when initially abstract. **In simple terms:** Images influence our inner lives; fiction can reveal that. Key Takeaway Observe how media shapes thoughts. Themes culture media influence inner life fiction creative process Mood analytical creative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - media literacy - personal reflection - creative therapy Key Concepts Semiotics psychology narrative theory Questions to Reflect On - How does visual culture affect your self‑image? - In what ways can fiction make hidden influences visible? A Different Perspective Abstract concepts may be hard to translate into concrete narrative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Illinois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illinois/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [I am fascinated by how images and motifs move between and adjust to different cultures. I'm a Norwegian living in Los Angeles showing a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbj-rn-r-dland/i-am-fascinated-by-how-images-and-motifs-move-between-and-adjust-to/) [Torbjørn Rødland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbj-rn-r-dland/) > [“The concrete life of the individual is destroyed in order that the abstract idea of the whole may drag out its sorry existence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-von-schiller/the-concrete-life-of-the-individual-is-destroyed-in-order-that-the/) [Friedrich von Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-von-schiller/) > [It is a good deal easier for most people to state an abstract idea than to describe and thus re-create some object they actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/it-is-a-good-deal-easier-for-most-people-to-state-an-abstract-idea/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [My stories often begin with a situation or character rather than an insight about the human condition. It's always been difficult for me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-iagnemma/my-stories-often-begin-with-a-situation-or-character-rather-than-an/) [Karl Iagnemma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-iagnemma/) > [“The air-conditioning was more like a vague gesture toward the abstract idea of air-conditioning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-air-conditioning-was-more-like-a-vague-gesture-toward-the/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“The abstract idea of a spirit certainly implies that it has neither substance, form, shape, voice, or anything which can render its presence visible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/the-abstract-idea-of-a-spirit-certainly-implies-that-it-has-neither/) [Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/) > [How badly I want that nameless thing! First there must be an idea, a feeling... Maybe it was an abstract idea that you've got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/how-badly-i-want-that-nameless-thing-first-there-must-be-an-idea-a/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [Even the recognition of an individual whom we see every day is only possible as the result of an abstract idea of him formed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-g-frazer/even-the-recognition-of-an-individual-whom-we-see-every-day-is-only/) [James G. Frazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-g-frazer/) > [My own physicality, not an abstract idea, makes me a choreographer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/my-own-physicality-not-an-abstract-idea-makes-me-a-choreographer/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [Goon Squad' took about three years to write and that's the short end. My second novel, 'Look at Me,' took six years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/goon-squad-took-about-three-years-to-write-and-that-s-the-short-end/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [You and your horse. His strength and beauty. Your knowledge and patience and determination and understanding and love. That's what fuses the two of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-dickens/you-and-your-horse-his-strength-and-beauty-your-knowledge-and/) [Monica Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-dickens/) > [Every forward step achieved by man has been due to the adventurous attitude. This attitude inspires dissatisfaction with the world as it is; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilferd-peterson/every-forward-step-achieved-by-man-has-been-due-to-the-adventurous/) [Wilferd Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilferd-peterson/) > [Working on television is like being shot out of a cannon. They cram you all up with rehearsals, then someone lights a fuse and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tallulah-bankhead/working-on-television-is-like-being-shot-out-of-a-cannon-they-cram/) [Tallulah Bankhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tallulah-bankhead/) > [When your Super Bowl guests arrive, they should find a mound of potato chips large enough to conceal a pony sitting in front of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/when-your-super-bowl-guests-arrive-they-should-find-a-mound-of-potato/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) ## 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. I clutch at Dad's arm: "Why are they doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/thousands-of-solar-panels-lift-and-tilt-at-the-same-time-in-the-same/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [It was the hat. He looked sweet in the hat. How could a man in a fuzzy blue hat have used human bones to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/it-was-the-hat-he-looked-sweet-in-the-hat-how-could-a-man-in-a-fuzzy/) [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/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [“The seconds pass. 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 Abstract quotes > [Love is like that, fragile and light. No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wisdom is the abstract of the past, but beauty is the promise of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wisdom-is-the-abstract-of-the-past-but-beauty-is-the-promise-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Where human eyes have never seen, where human beings have never been, I build a world of abstract dreams, and I wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-ra/where-human-eyes-have-never-seen-where-human-beings-have-never-been-i/) [Sun Ra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-ra/) > [A little too abstract, a little too wise, It is time for us to kiss the earth again, It is time to let the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/a-little-too-abstract-a-little-too-wise-it-is-time-for-us-to-kiss-the/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [“Happy is very abstract, you can't touch it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-veal/happy-is-very-abstract-you-can-t-touch-it/) [Julius Veal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-veal/) > [Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-new-york-drunks/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [The more horrible this world (as today, for instance), the more abstract our art, whereas a happy world brings forth an art of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-more-horrible-this-world-as-today-for-instance-the-more-abstract/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [Describing comic sensibility is near impossible. It's sort of an abstract silliness, that sometimes the joke isn't the star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-carvey/describing-comic-sensibility-is-near-impossible-it-s-sort-of-an/) [Dana Carvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-carvey/) > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [The word of the Lord never comes to us as an opinion, no attempt is made to support it by argument, it comes as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-w-ivins/the-word-of-the-lord-never-comes-to-us-as-an-opinion-no-attempt-is/) Anthony W. Ivins > [A mobile is an abstract sculpture made chiefly out of sheet metal, steel rods, wire and wood. Some or all of these elements move,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/a-mobile-is-an-abstract-sculpture-made-chiefly-out-of-sheet-metal/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [I'm this superphilosophical kind of person. Stuck in a prison of abstract ideas and overpowering emotions, I have this personality that makes it really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natsuo-kirino/i-m-this-superphilosophical-kind-of-person-stuck-in-a-prison-of/) [Natsuo Kirino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natsuo-kirino/) > [Future lawyers should be more aware that law is not a system of abstract logic, but the web of arrangements, rooted in history but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/future-lawyers-should-be-more-aware-that-law-is-not-a-system-of/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [The trouble is that when you read criticisms about the other films that I've made you get the impression that they're all about themes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-haneke/the-trouble-is-that-when-you-read-criticisms-about-the-other-films/) [Michael Haneke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-haneke/) > [Painting is... a richer language than words... Painting operates through signs which are not abstract and incorporeal like words. The signs of painting are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/painting-is-a-richer-language-than-words-painting-operates-through/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) [Browse all 1,403 Abstract quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "'Look at Me' started with Rockford, Illinois and New York and the question of how much image culture was changing our inner lives. That's an abstract idea; you don't think that's going to be a rocking work of fiction, but it seemed to fuse in a way that was interesting.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jennifer Egan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/look-at-me-started-with-rockford-illinois-and-new-york-and-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abstract" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/look-at-me-started-with-rockford-illinois-and-new-york-and-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b60/jennifer-egan-825_abstract_look-at-me-started-with-rockford-illinoi_3159806.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b60/jennifer-egan-825_abstract_look-at-me-started-with-rockford-illinoi_3159806.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b60/jennifer-egan-825_abstract_look-at-me-started-with-rockford-illinoi_3159806.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“'Look at Me' started with Rockford, Illinois and New York and the question of how much image culture 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": "'Look at Me' started with Rockford,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/look-at-me-started-with-rockford-illinois-and-new-york-and-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/look-at-me-started-with-rockford-illinois-and-new-york-and-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 } } ] } ```