--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Oh, we\"re just scattering some dead fish…" description: "\"“Oh, we\"re just scattering some dead fish about town, breaking some windows, photographing naked guys, hanging out in sky-scraper lobbies at three-fift..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/424/john-green-12_quote_oh-we-re-just-scattering-some-dead-fish_1439512.jpg" --- # Oh, we"re just scattering some dead fish about town… ![“Oh, we"re just scattering some dead fish about town, breaking some windows, photographing naked guys, hanging out in sky-scraper lobbies at three-fifteen in the morning, that kind of thing. "Not much", I answered.” quote by John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/424/john-green-12_quote_oh-we-re-just-scattering-some-dead-fish_1439512.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/424/john-green-12_quote_oh-we-re-just-scattering-some-dead-fish_1439512.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/424/john-green-12_quote_oh-we-re-just-scattering-some-dead-fish_1439512.jpg) > ““Oh, we"re just scattering some dead fish about town, breaking some windows, photographing naked guys, hanging out in sky-scraper lobbies at three-fifteen in the morning, that kind of thing. "Not much", I answered.”” [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes youthful rebellion and chaotic late‑night antics as trivial yet meaningful experiences. **In simple terms:** Youthful chaos feels both trivial and meaningful. Key Takeaway Embrace spontaneity. Themes rebellion nightlife youth culture Mood defiant playful Type personal cultural When to use this quote - late night gatherings - urban exploration - creative projects Key Concepts existentialism nihilism Questions to Reflect On - What does “not much” truly mean? - How do such moments shape identity? A Different Perspective May overlook deeper consequences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dead Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-fish-791031/) [Just Scattering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just-scattering-5147400/) [Lobbies Morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lobbies-morning-5147399/) [Naked Guys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/naked-guys-2558789/) [Scattering Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scattering-dead-5147401/) ## Related quotes > [“Whats up, Q?" asked Gus. Oh, we're just scattering some dead fish about town, breaking some windows, photographing naked guys, hanging out in skyscraper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/whats-up-q-asked-gus-oh-we-re-just-scattering-some-dead-fish-about/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Picasso sure had a thing for naked women. Why not draw them with their clothes on? Who sits around without a shirt on, plucking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/picasso-sure-had-a-thing-for-naked-women-why-not-draw-them-with-their/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [Why not draw naked guys, just to be fair? Naked women is art, naked guys a no-no, I bet. Probably because most painters are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/why-not-draw-naked-guys-just-to-be-fair-naked-women-is-art-naked-guys/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [You can be the dead fish. I'll be the old stick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/you-can-be-the-dead-fish-i-ll-be-the-old-stick/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [Only dead fish go with the flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/only-dead-fish-go-with-the-flow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If you want a fried fish to fly and enter your mouth, you must keep waiting till the unending time ends. Dead fish doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/if-you-want-a-fried-fish-to-fly-and-enter-your-mouth-you-must-keep/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Only dead fish go with the current.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/only-dead-fish-go-with-the-current/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Drifting on the black, rippling surface were fingers. Thumbs. Dozens of them. Hundreds, floating like dead fish in a dynamited pond. I saw part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-hirshberg/drifting-on-the-black-rippling-surface-were-fingers-thumbs-dozens-of/) [Glen Hirshberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-hirshberg/) > [“Remember, a dead fish can float down stream, it takes a live one to swim against the current. W. C. Fields”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-k-prescott/remember-a-dead-fish-can-float-down-stream-it-takes-a-live-one-to/) [E.K. Prescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-k-prescott/) > [Even a dead fish can go with the flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-hightower/even-a-dead-fish-can-go-with-the-flow/) [Jim Hightower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-hightower/) > [“Only dead fish go with the flow .. I'm not dead yet, and I'm not fish either.. !!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmad-el-esseily/only-dead-fish-go-with-the-flow-i-m-not-dead-yet-and-i-m-not-fish/) [Ahmad El Esseily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmad-el-esseily/) > [“Nur tote Fische schwimmen mit dem Strom. Only dead fish go with the flow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nur-tote-fische-schwimmen-mit-dem-strom-only-dead-fish-go-with-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ In ten years \[i.e., 1980\] all important animal life in the sea will be extinct. Large areas of coastline will have to be evacuated… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-r-ehrlich/in-ten-years-i-e-1980-all-important-animal-life-in-the-sea-will-be/) [Paul R. Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-r-ehrlich/) > [People say 'go with the flow' but do you know what goes with the flow? Dead fish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-keane/people-say-go-with-the-flow-but-do-you-know-what-goes-with-the-flow/) [Roy Keane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-keane/) > [“Only dead fishes go with the flow.. I guess that make me a dead fish!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shanai-campbell/only-dead-fishes-go-with-the-flow-i-guess-that-make-me-a-dead-fish/) [Shanai Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shanai-campbell/) ## More by John Green > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I just want to stay away from people and read books and think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-just-want-to-stay-away-from-people-and-read-books-and-think/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/she-smiled-with-all-the-delight-of-a-kid-on-christmas-morning-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [A Margo for each of us--and each more mirror than window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/a-margo-for-each-of-us-and-each-more-mirror-than-window/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“No one ever says good-bye unless they want to see you again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/no-one-ever-says-good-bye-unless-they-want-to-see-you-again/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Traffic's not too bad on Sheridan, and I'm cornering the car like it's the Indy 500, and we're listening to my favorite NMH song,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/traffic-s-not-too-bad-on-sheridan-and-i-m-cornering-the-car-like-it-s/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Praise God for good nurses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/praise-god-for-good-nurses/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [So I was ugly. I was never fat, really, and I never wore headgear or had zits or anything. But I was ugly. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/so-i-was-ugly-i-was-never-fat-really-and-i-never-wore-headgear-or-had/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Nothing has ever looked like that ever in all of human history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/nothing-has-ever-looked-like-that-ever-in-all-of-human-history/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“said to him quietly, as if I couldn’t hear or something. Dad was about to respond but I interrupted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/said-to-him-quietly-as-if-i-couldn-t-hear-or-something-dad-was-about/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I believe humans have souls, and I believe in the conservation of souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-believe-humans-have-souls-and-i-believe-in-the-conservation-of-souls/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“He was hot. A nonhotboy stares at you relentlessly and it is, at best, awkward and, at worst, a form of assault. But a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/he-was-hot-a-nonhotboy-stares-at-you-relentlessly-and-it-is-at-best/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I think if you keep the box closed long enough you do kill the cat, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-if-you-keep-the-box-closed-long-enough-you-do-kill-the-cat/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. (...) You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/imagining-the-future-is-a-kind-of-nostalgia-you-spend-your-whole-life/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) [Explore all 3,614 John Green quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More Dead Fish quotes > [“Only dead fishes go with the flow.. I guess that make me a dead fish!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shanai-campbell/only-dead-fishes-go-with-the-flow-i-guess-that-make-me-a-dead-fish/) [Shanai Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shanai-campbell/) > [People say 'go with the flow' but do you know what goes with the flow? Dead fish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-keane/people-say-go-with-the-flow-but-do-you-know-what-goes-with-the-flow/) [Roy Keane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-keane/) > [ In ten years \[i.e., 1980\] all important animal life in the sea will be extinct. Large areas of coastline will have to be evacuated… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-r-ehrlich/in-ten-years-i-e-1980-all-important-animal-life-in-the-sea-will-be/) [Paul R. Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-r-ehrlich/) > [“Nur tote Fische schwimmen mit dem Strom. Only dead fish go with the flow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nur-tote-fische-schwimmen-mit-dem-strom-only-dead-fish-go-with-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Only dead fish go with the flow .. I'm not dead yet, and I'm not fish either.. !!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmad-el-esseily/only-dead-fish-go-with-the-flow-i-m-not-dead-yet-and-i-m-not-fish/) [Ahmad El Esseily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmad-el-esseily/) > [Even a dead fish can go with the flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-hightower/even-a-dead-fish-can-go-with-the-flow/) [Jim Hightower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-hightower/) > [“Remember, a dead fish can float down stream, it takes a live one to swim against the current. W. C. Fields”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-k-prescott/remember-a-dead-fish-can-float-down-stream-it-takes-a-live-one-to/) [E.K. Prescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-k-prescott/) > [“Drifting on the black, rippling surface were fingers. Thumbs. Dozens of them. Hundreds, floating like dead fish in a dynamited pond. I saw part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-hirshberg/drifting-on-the-black-rippling-surface-were-fingers-thumbs-dozens-of/) [Glen Hirshberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-hirshberg/) > [“Whats up, Q?" asked Gus. Oh, we're just scattering some dead fish about town, breaking some windows, photographing naked guys, hanging out in skyscraper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/whats-up-q-asked-gus-oh-we-re-just-scattering-some-dead-fish-about/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Only dead fish go with the current.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/only-dead-fish-go-with-the-current/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If you want a fried fish to fly and enter your mouth, you must keep waiting till the unending time ends. Dead fish doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/if-you-want-a-fried-fish-to-fly-and-enter-your-mouth-you-must-keep/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Only dead fish go with the flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/only-dead-fish-go-with-the-flow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You can be the dead fish. I'll be the old stick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/you-can-be-the-dead-fish-i-ll-be-the-old-stick/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [If you believe in your heart that you are right, you must fight with all your might to do it your way. Only dead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-ellerbee/if-you-believe-in-your-heart-that-you-are-right-you-must-fight-with/) [Linda Ellerbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-ellerbee/) > [“My sperm came out into the water, unaccustomed to the light, and instantly it became a misty, stringy kind of thing and swirled out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brautigan/my-sperm-came-out-into-the-water-unaccustomed-to-the-light-and/) [Richard Brautigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brautigan/) [Browse all 39 Dead Fish quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-fish-791031/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Oh, we\"re just scattering some dead fish about town, breaking some windows, photographing naked guys, hanging out in sky-scraper lobbies at three-fifteen in the morning, that kind of thing. \"Not much\", I answered.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Green" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/oh-we-re-just-scattering-some-dead-fish-about-town-breaking-some/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dead Fish" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/oh-we-re-just-scattering-some-dead-fish-about-town-breaking-some/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/424/john-green-12_quote_oh-we-re-just-scattering-some-dead-fish_1439512.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/424/john-green-12_quote_oh-we-re-just-scattering-some-dead-fish_1439512.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/424/john-green-12_quote_oh-we-re-just-scattering-some-dead-fish_1439512.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Oh, we\"re just scattering some dead fish about town, breaking some windows, photographing naked guys…” — John Green", "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 Green", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Oh, we\"re just scattering some dead...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/oh-we-re-just-scattering-some-dead-fish-about-town-breaking-some/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/oh-we-re-just-scattering-some-dead-fish-about-town-breaking-some/#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 } } ] } ```