--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I feel not unlike a small boy, waking…" description: "\"I feel not unlike a small boy, waking from a bad dream to find reality not much of an improvement.\" — John Byrne" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/942/john-byrne-35836_bad-dream_i-feel-not-unlike-a-small-boy-waking-fro_1915223.jpg" --- # I feel not unlike a small boy, waking from a bad dream to… ![“I feel not unlike a small boy, waking from a bad dream to find reality not much of an improvement.” quote by John Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/942/john-byrne-35836_bad-dream_i-feel-not-unlike-a-small-boy-waking-fro_1915223.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/942/john-byrne-35836_bad-dream_i-feel-not-unlike-a-small-boy-waking-fro_1915223.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/942/john-byrne-35836_bad-dream_i-feel-not-unlike-a-small-boy-waking-fro_1915223.jpg) > “I feel not unlike a small boy, waking from a bad dream to find reality not much of an improvement.” [John Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-byrne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker compares waking from a bad dream to experiencing reality, suggesting both are unsatisfactory and disappointing. **In simple terms:** Reality feels as disappointing as a bad dream. Key Takeaway Recognize and address dissatisfaction with reality. Themes disillusionment reality expectation Mood melancholic reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal crisis - creative block - mental health - daily routine Key Concepts existential reflection comparative metaphor Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of reality could be improved? - How can you transform disappointment into motivation? A Different Perspective The comparison may overlook moments of improvement or hope. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-dream/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Improvement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/improvement/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) ## Related quotes > [“Waking from a bad dream does not necessarily console you. It can also make you fully aware of the horror you just dreamed, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernhard-schlink/waking-from-a-bad-dream-does-not-necessarily-console-you-it-can-also/) [Bernhard Schlink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernhard-schlink/) > [“Neil Abram Josten," Neil murmured, and it felt like waking up from a bad dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-sakavic/neil-abram-josten-neil-murmured-and-it-felt-like-waking-up-from-a-bad/) [Nora Sakavic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-sakavic/) > [Waking up after a bad dream starts your day off in the worst way .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/waking-up-after-a-bad-dream-starts-your-day-off-in-the-worst-way/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Waking up with a bad head in the morning is difficult sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-corr/waking-up-with-a-bad-head-in-the-morning-is-difficult-sometimes/) [Caroline Corr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-corr/) > [When among foolish ,feel unlike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wordfaith3/when-among-foolish-feel-unlike/) Wordfaith3 > [I hate having bad dreams about the people I love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-having-bad-dreams-about-the-people-i-love/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Tina thought about the idea of how much a person could take. People only survived because they turned the real into the surreal. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-trope/tina-thought-about-the-idea-of-how-much-a-person-could-take-people/) [Nicole Trope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-trope/) > [“Don't let what's happened spoil your life; it doesn't have to. If help is offered, take it if you want it. But in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-d-james-3/don-t-let-what-s-happened-spoil-your-life-it-doesn-t-have-to-if-help/) P D James > [I pray that fear would just be a dream, a bad dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anastasia-blanchard/i-pray-that-fear-would-just-be-a-dream-a-bad-dream/) [Anastasia Blanchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anastasia-blanchard/) > [The past was like a bad dream; the future was all happy holiday as I moved Southwards week by week, easily, lazily, lingering as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-grahame/the-past-was-like-a-bad-dream-the-future-was-all-happy-holiday-as-i/) [Kenneth Grahame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-grahame/) > [Life is perhaps best regarded as a bad dream between two awakenings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/life-is-perhaps-best-regarded-as-a-bad-dream-between-two-awakenings/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [“The only bad dreams are those not worth chasing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-bad-dreams-are-those-not-worth-chasing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Ben and Freda were happy for Cindy. She had recovered from the horrible abuses she had suffered the previous year. Her last bad dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shafter-bailey/ben-and-freda-were-happy-for-cindy-she-had-recovered-from-the/) [Shafter Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shafter-bailey/) > [“For a moment Dustfinger felt as if he had never been away- as if he had simply had a bad dream, and the memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/for-a-moment-dustfinger-felt-as-if-he-had-never-been-away-as-if-he/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [“The other day Nan said, 'Nothing can ever be quite the same for any of us again.' It made me feel rebellious. Why shouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/the-other-day-nan-said-nothing-can-ever-be-quite-the-same-for-any-of/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) ## More by John Byrne > [Imagine, 24 pages of superhero adventures produced by the same writer and artist every month!! How did they do it? (What? By being professional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-byrne/imagine-24-pages-of-superhero-adventures-produced-by-the-same-writer/) [John Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-byrne/) > [I have no interest in anybody's life that way so it defeats me why people go to that length to pry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-byrne/i-have-no-interest-in-anybody-s-life-that-way-so-it-defeats-me-why/) [John Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-byrne/) > [I think Daily Kos is a really great example of where it's really worked in terms of putting the opinions of a larger group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-byrne/i-think-daily-kos-is-a-really-great-example-of-where-it-s-really/) [John Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-byrne/) > [I think my work has become more interesting, well to me anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-byrne/i-think-my-work-has-become-more-interesting-well-to-me-anyway/) [John Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-byrne/) > [It's that invasive and puerile curiosity to feed a tabloid culture. I don't subscribe to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-byrne/it-s-that-invasive-and-puerile-curiosity-to-feed-a-tabloid-culture-i/) [John Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-byrne/) > [“I may be a criminal lunatic, but I'm an AMERICAN criminal lunatic!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-byrne/i-may-be-a-criminal-lunatic-but-i-m-an-american-criminal-lunatic/) [John Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-byrne/) > [John Conyers' office has been very responsive to citizen concerns and the Internet has presented a way to communicate with them in a way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-byrne/john-conyers-office-has-been-very-responsive-to-citizen-concerns-and/) [John Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-byrne/) > [Online fundraising is so important to the Democratic Party.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-byrne/online-fundraising-is-so-important-to-the-democratic-party/) [John Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-byrne/) > [Personal prejudice: Hispanic and Latino women with blond hair look like hookers to me, no matter how clean or cute they are. Somehow those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-byrne/personal-prejudice-hispanic-and-latino-women-with-blond-hair-look/) [John Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-byrne/) > [“Who are we to make such a decision? To allow another living being - any living being - to die, when ours is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-byrne/who-are-we-to-make-such-a-decision-to-allow-another-living-being-any/) [John Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-byrne/) > [One of the things that kept most comics from being monthly was that very few artists could produce 24 pages per month. Jack Kirby…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-byrne/one-of-the-things-that-kept-most-comics-from-being-monthly-was-that/) [John Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-byrne/) > [Getting older is fine. There is nothing you can do to stop it so you might as well stay on the bus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-byrne/getting-older-is-fine-there-is-nothing-you-can-do-to-stop-it-so-you/) [John Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-byrne/) [Explore all 13 John Byrne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-byrne/) ## More Bad dream quotes > [“The other day Nan said, 'Nothing can ever be quite the same for any of us again.' It made me feel rebellious. Why shouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/the-other-day-nan-said-nothing-can-ever-be-quite-the-same-for-any-of/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“For a moment Dustfinger felt as if he had never been away- as if he had simply had a bad dream, and the memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/for-a-moment-dustfinger-felt-as-if-he-had-never-been-away-as-if-he/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [“Ben and Freda were happy for Cindy. She had recovered from the horrible abuses she had suffered the previous year. Her last bad dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shafter-bailey/ben-and-freda-were-happy-for-cindy-she-had-recovered-from-the/) [Shafter Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shafter-bailey/) > [“The only bad dreams are those not worth chasing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-bad-dreams-are-those-not-worth-chasing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is perhaps best regarded as a bad dream between two awakenings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/life-is-perhaps-best-regarded-as-a-bad-dream-between-two-awakenings/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [The past was like a bad dream; the future was all happy holiday as I moved Southwards week by week, easily, lazily, lingering as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-grahame/the-past-was-like-a-bad-dream-the-future-was-all-happy-holiday-as-i/) [Kenneth Grahame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-grahame/) > [I pray that fear would just be a dream, a bad dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anastasia-blanchard/i-pray-that-fear-would-just-be-a-dream-a-bad-dream/) [Anastasia Blanchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anastasia-blanchard/) > [“Don't let what's happened spoil your life; it doesn't have to. If help is offered, take it if you want it. But in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-d-james-3/don-t-let-what-s-happened-spoil-your-life-it-doesn-t-have-to-if-help/) P D James > [“Tina thought about the idea of how much a person could take. People only survived because they turned the real into the surreal. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-trope/tina-thought-about-the-idea-of-how-much-a-person-could-take-people/) [Nicole Trope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-trope/) > [I hate having bad dreams about the people I love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-having-bad-dreams-about-the-people-i-love/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I only have two kinds of dreams: the bad and the terrible. Bad dreams I can cope with. They're just nightmares, and they end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-only-have-two-kinds-of-dreams-the-bad-and-the-terrible-bad-dreams-i/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [When you are having bad dreams, turn your pillow over. The good dreams are on the other side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohit/when-you-are-having-bad-dreams-turn-your-pillow-over-the-good-dreams/) [Rohit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohit/) > [“By now you must have guessed: I come from another planet. But I will never say to you, Take me to your leaders. Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/by-now-you-must-have-guessed-i-come-from-another-planet-but-i-will/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Sometimes life begins like a bad dream and ends up like a kid's fairytale. The kind our grandmothers used to tell us about sitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-kakalopoulou/sometimes-life-begins-like-a-bad-dream-and-ends-up-like-a-kid-s/) [Georgia Kakalopoulou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-kakalopoulou/) > [Close your eyes and pretend it's all a bad dream. That's how I get by. -Jack Sparrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirates-of-the-caribbean/close-your-eyes-and-pretend-it-s-all-a-bad-dream-that-s-how-i-get-by/) Pirates Of The Caribbean [Browse all 257 Bad dream quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-dream/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I feel not unlike a small boy, waking from a bad dream to find reality not much of an improvement.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Byrne" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-byrne/i-feel-not-unlike-a-small-boy-waking-from-a-bad-dream-to-find-reality/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bad dream" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-byrne/i-feel-not-unlike-a-small-boy-waking-from-a-bad-dream-to-find-reality/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/942/john-byrne-35836_bad-dream_i-feel-not-unlike-a-small-boy-waking-fro_1915223.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/942/john-byrne-35836_bad-dream_i-feel-not-unlike-a-small-boy-waking-fro_1915223.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/942/john-byrne-35836_bad-dream_i-feel-not-unlike-a-small-boy-waking-fro_1915223.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I feel not unlike a small boy, waking from a bad dream to find reality not much of an improvement.” — John Byrne", "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": "John Byrne", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-byrne/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I feel not unlike a small...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-byrne/i-feel-not-unlike-a-small-boy-waking-from-a-bad-dream-to-find-reality/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-byrne/i-feel-not-unlike-a-small-boy-waking-from-a-bad-dream-to-find-reality/#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 } } ] } ```