--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's always possible to wake someone from…" description: "\"“It's always possible to wake someone from sleep, but no amount of noise will wake someone who is pretending to be asleep.”\" — Jonathan Safran Foer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d54/jonathan-safran-foer-136_asleep_it-s-always-possible-to-wake-someone-fro_2768950.png" --- # It's always possible to wake someone from sleep, but no… ![“It's always possible to wake someone from sleep, but no amount of noise will wake someone who is pretending to be asleep.” quote by Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d54/jonathan-safran-foer-136_asleep_it-s-always-possible-to-wake-someone-fro_2768950.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d54/jonathan-safran-foer-136_asleep_it-s-always-possible-to-wake-someone-fro_2768950.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d54/jonathan-safran-foer-136_asleep_it-s-always-possible-to-wake-someone-fro_2768950.png) > ““It's always possible to wake someone from sleep, but no amount of noise will wake someone who is pretending to be asleep.”” [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Awareness can be forced, but genuine awakening requires honesty; pretending to be unaware blocks true change. **In simple terms:** True change needs honesty, not just noise. Key Takeaway Encourage honest self‑assessment. Themes self‑awareness authenticity growth Mood thoughtful motivational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal development - coaching - education - leadership Key Concepts psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What are you pretending to ignore? - How can you create space for honest awakening? A Different Perspective People may resist confronting uncomfortable truths. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Asleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asleep/) [Pretending Asleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretending-asleep-930443/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) [Sleep Noise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep-noise-3227016/) [Wake Pretending](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wake-pretending-3227015/) [Wake Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wake-sleep-367939/) ## Related quotes > [“Killing an animals oneself is more often then not a way to forget the problem while pretending to remember. This is perhaps more harmful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/killing-an-animals-oneself-is-more-often-then-not-a-way-to-forget-the/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“One of the worst ways of being aroused from sound sleep, is by the noise of a dragon and a unicorn playing tag.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lynn-asprin/one-of-the-worst-ways-of-being-aroused-from-sound-sleep-is-by-the/) [Robert Lynn Asprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lynn-asprin/) > [You cannot wake a man pretending to be asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-cannot-wake-a-man-pretending-to-be-asleep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You can't wake a person who is pretending to be asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-t-wake-a-person-who-is-pretending-to-be-asleep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Pretending to be asleep so your parents won't make you do SOMETHING.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/pretending-to-be-asleep-so-your-parents-won-t-make-you-do-something/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You cant wake a person,who is pretending to be asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikkie/you-cant-wake-a-person-who-is-pretending-to-be-asleep/) [Nikkie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikkie/) > [Sometimes it's called passing out and sometimes it's just pretending to be asleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/sometimes-it-s-called-passing-out-and-sometimes-it-s-just-pretending/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [You cannot not wake a man pretending to be asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-cannot-not-wake-a-man-pretending-to-be-asleep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [While it is always possible to wake a person who's sleeping, no amount of noise will wake a person who is pretending to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/while-it-is-always-possible-to-wake-a-person-who-s-sleeping-no-amount/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow. 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As soon as she saw him coming she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-edwards/she-had-seen-daniel-here-earlier-he-had-come-onto-the-ward-sat-beside/) [Mark Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-edwards/) > [Emma was no asleep, she was pretending to be asleep; and, while he was dozing off at her side, she lay awake, dreaming other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/emma-was-no-asleep-she-was-pretending-to-be-asleep-and-while-he-was/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [There is nothing more difficult than waking someone who is only pretending to be asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/there-is-nothing-more-difficult-than-waking-someone-who-is-only/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [There's a saying that you can't awaken somebody who's pretending to be asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-parker/there-s-a-saying-that-you-can-t-awaken-somebody-who-s-pretending-to/) [Willie Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-parker/) ## More by Jonathan Safran Foer > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [I try not to remember the life that I didn’t want to lose but lost and have to remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/i-try-not-to-remember-the-life-that-i-didn-t-want-to-lose-but-lost/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“I have an aristocratic smile and like to punch people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/i-have-an-aristocratic-smile-and-like-to-punch-people/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [He removed several pages of death certificates, which were picked up by another breeze and sent into the trees. Some would fall with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/he-removed-several-pages-of-death-certificates-which-were-picked-up/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [I would have done anything for him. Maybe that was my sickness. We made love in nothing places and turned the lights off. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/i-would-have-done-anything-for-him-maybe-that-was-my-sickness-we-made/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“One day I wandered away from her and hid. I liked the way it felt to have someone look for me, to hear my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/one-day-i-wandered-away-from-her-and-hid-i-liked-the-way-it-felt-to/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [If nothing matters, there's nothing to save.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/if-nothing-matters-there-s-nothing-to-save/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“It was one of the best days of my life, a day during which I lived my life and didn't think about it at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/it-was-one-of-the-best-days-of-my-life-a-day-during-which-i-lived-my/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“The appearance was misleading- human dreams; rubbish heaps abundant yet ephemeral sudden and splendid, only to wilt and perish”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/the-appearance-was-misleading-human-dreams-rubbish-heaps-abundant-yet/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“the entirety of human society and moral progress represents an explicit transcendence of what’s “natural.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/the-entirety-of-human-society-and-moral-progress-represents-an/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“Food is not so much a symbol of freedom as the first requirement of freedom. We eat foods that are native to America on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/food-is-not-so-much-a-symbol-of-freedom-as-the-first-requirement-of/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“Rationally, factory farming is so obviously wrong, in so many ways. In all of my reading and conversations, I’ve yet to find a credible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/rationally-factory-farming-is-so-obviously-wrong-in-so-many-ways-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [Just because you're an atheist, that doesn't mean you wouldn't love for things to have reasons for why they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/just-because-you-re-an-atheist-that-doesn-t-mean-you-wouldn-t-love/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [Do you think I'm wonderful? she asked him one day as they leaned against the trunk of a petrified maple. No, he said. Why?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/do-you-think-i-m-wonderful-she-asked-him-one-day-as-they-leaned/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [My insides don't match up with my outsides. -Do anyone's inside and outsides match up? -I don't know. I'm only me. -Maybe that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/my-insides-don-t-match-up-with-my-outsides-do-anyone-s-inside-and/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) [Explore all 1,117 Jonathan Safran Foer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) ## More Asleep quotes > [So sick of being single! Ready to fall asleep & wake next to someone special!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-sick-of-being-single-ready-to-fall-asleep-wake-next-to-someone/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We are asleep people, unconscious people, and this is what is serious. Unfortunately, we think the best of ourselves and not even suspect that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samael-aun-weor/we-are-asleep-people-unconscious-people-and-this-is-what-is-serious/) [Samael Aun Weor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samael-aun-weor/) > [But even before I was in the military, I was extremely jumpy when asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kyle/but-even-before-i-was-in-the-military-i-was-extremely-jumpy-when/) [Chris Kyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kyle/) > [“80. It normally takes 5-9 minutes for most healthy people to fall asleep.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-shaw/80-it-normally-takes-5-9-minutes-for-most-healthy-people-to-fall/) [Lena Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-shaw/) > [I don't usually have time for TV. When I get home at night, I just want to fall asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-zakarian/i-don-t-usually-have-time-for-tv-when-i-get-home-at-night-i-just-want/) [Geoffrey Zakarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-zakarian/) > [I think about you every night before I sleep. I imagine you are here with me. With one arm around me and your legs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-about-you-every-night-before-i-sleep-i-imagine-you-are-here/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Trying to fall asleep is as hard as trying to wake up in the morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/trying-to-fall-asleep-is-as-hard-as-trying-to-wake-up-in-the-morning/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm running on adrenalin when we're shooting. It's non-stop. As soon as I have time to sit down, then I fall asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatiana-maslany/i-m-running-on-adrenalin-when-we-re-shooting-it-s-non-stop-as-soon-as/) [Tatiana Maslany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatiana-maslany/) > [99% of the time my brain is thinking blah, meh, why, huh, WTF, food and computers. The other 1% I'm usually asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/99-of-the-time-my-brain-is-thinking-blah-meh-why-huh-wtf-food-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Lit up the world as I fell asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owl-city/lit-up-the-world-as-i-fell-asleep/) [Owl City](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owl-city/) > [You can get anywhere on earth by falling asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/feist/you-can-get-anywhere-on-earth-by-falling-asleep/) [Feist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/feist/) > [Your the First thing I think about when I wake up & your the last thing I think about when I fall asleep .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-lechuga/your-the-first-thing-i-think-about-when-i-wake-up-your-the-last-thing/) [Alejandro Lechuga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-lechuga/) > [I love reading but I never last very long because I fall asleep right away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-rieu/i-love-reading-but-i-never-last-very-long-because-i-fall-asleep-right/) [Andre Rieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-rieu/) > [What if I find someone new but still fall asleep to the thought of you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn/what-if-i-find-someone-new-but-still-fall-asleep-to-the-thought-of-you/) [Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn/) > [“We fell asleep wrapped in each other as if we could not bear to part, even in sleep we could not bear to let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-gregory/we-fell-asleep-wrapped-in-each-other-as-if-we-could-not-bear-to-part/) [Philippa Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-gregory/) [Browse all 472 Asleep quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asleep/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It's always possible to wake someone from sleep, but no amount of noise will wake someone who is pretending to be asleep.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jonathan Safran Foer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/it-s-always-possible-to-wake-someone-from-sleep-but-no-amount-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Asleep" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/it-s-always-possible-to-wake-someone-from-sleep-but-no-amount-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d54/jonathan-safran-foer-136_asleep_it-s-always-possible-to-wake-someone-fro_2768950.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d54/jonathan-safran-foer-136_asleep_it-s-always-possible-to-wake-someone-fro_2768950.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d54/jonathan-safran-foer-136_asleep_it-s-always-possible-to-wake-someone-fro_2768950.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's always possible to wake someone from sleep, but no amount of noise will wake someone who is pretending…” — Jonathan Safran Foer", "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": "Jonathan Safran Foer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It's always possible to wake someone...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/it-s-always-possible-to-wake-someone-from-sleep-but-no-amount-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/it-s-always-possible-to-wake-someone-from-sleep-but-no-amount-of/#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 } } ] } ```