--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By and large, prisons are survivable…" description: "\"By and large, prisons are survivable, though hope is indeed what you need least upon entering here; a lump of sugar would be more useful.\" — Joseph Bro..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5be/joseph-brodsky-1225_hope_by-and-large-prisons-are-survivable-thou_1751573.png" --- # By and large, prisons are survivable, though hope is… ![“By and large, prisons are survivable, though hope is indeed what you need least upon entering here; a lump of sugar would be more useful.” quote by Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5be/joseph-brodsky-1225_hope_by-and-large-prisons-are-survivable-thou_1751573.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5be/joseph-brodsky-1225_hope_by-and-large-prisons-are-survivable-thou_1751573.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5be/joseph-brodsky-1225_hope_by-and-large-prisons-are-survivable-thou_1751573.png) > “By and large, prisons are survivable, though hope is indeed what you need least upon entering here; a lump of sugar would be more useful.” [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He notes that basic comforts are more valuable than abstract hope in harsh confinement. **In simple terms:** Sugar beats hope in prison. Key Takeaway Focus on tangible needs first. Themes prison hope basic needs Mood reflective pragmatic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - incarceration - hospital stays - disaster shelters - loneliness Key Concepts material comfort psychological survival Questions to Reflect On - What small comforts sustain you? - How can hope be cultivated in hardship? A Different Perspective Hope can be vital for long‑term morale. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison/) [Prisons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prisons/) ## Related quotes > [Little islands are all large prisons: one cannot look at the sea without wishing for the wings of a swallow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-burton/little-islands-are-all-large-prisons-one-cannot-look-at-the-sea/) [Richard Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-burton/) > [“I hope some one will always need me,” said Anne to Dusty Miller. “And it’s wonderful, Dusty Miller, to be able to give happiness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/i-hope-some-one-will-always-need-me-said-anne-to-dusty-miller-and-it/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [Can you become The hope I need? Can you help me be More than it is written in my future Or past? Is there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/can-you-become-the-hope-i-need-can-you-help-me-be-more-than-it-is/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [Where there's life there's hope, and need of vittles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/where-there-s-life-there-s-hope-and-need-of-vittles/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are plenty of reasons for hope. There need be no war with Russia, and those who would fight her now, on the theory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-w-dodds/there-are-plenty-of-reasons-for-hope-there-need-be-no-war-with-russia/) Harold W. Dodds > [We have to inspire people and give them a sense of hope. 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I really want to give somebody that hope that they need to keep going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pattie-mallette/i-really-want-to-help-people-i-really-want-to-give-somebody-that-hope/) [Pattie Mallette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pattie-mallette/) > [“We need more hope. We need more mercy. And we need more justice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/we-need-more-hope-we-need-more-mercy-and-we-need-more-justice/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [We need new words for what this is, this hunger entering our loneliness like birds, stunning our eyes into rays of hope. we need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucille-clifton/we-need-new-words-for-what-this-is-this-hunger-entering-our/) [Lucille Clifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucille-clifton/) > [Sometimes the hardest journeys are the ones that begin with little hope. 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The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/a-poet-is-a-combination-of-an-instrument-and-a-human-being-in-one/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [On the whole, love comes with the speed of light; separation, with that of sound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/on-the-whole-love-comes-with-the-speed-of-light-separation-with-that/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [“In the business of writing, what one accumulates is not experience but uncertainties.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/in-the-business-of-writing-what-one-accumulates-is-not-experience-but/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [I haven't shifted language. I'm writing in English because I like it. 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Unfortunately, it remains in schools and universities; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/americans-have-been-tremendously-fortunate-in-poetry-regarding-both/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [Life—the way it really is—is a battle not between good and bad, but between bad and worse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/life-the-way-it-really-is-is-a-battle-not-between-good-and-bad-but/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [Poems, novels - these things belong to the nation, to the culture, and the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/poems-novels-these-things-belong-to-the-nation-to-the-culture-and-the/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [“If there is any substitute for love, it is memory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/if-there-is-any-substitute-for-love-it-is-memory/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) [Explore all 264 Joseph Brodsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) ## More Hope quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“What can we do in any hardship? We can hope with prayerful praise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/what-can-we-do-in-any-hardship-we-can-hope-with-prayerful-praise/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [If one truly has lost hope, one would not be on hand to say so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bentley/if-one-truly-has-lost-hope-one-would-not-be-on-hand-to-say-so/) [Eric Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bentley/) > [“too—I realized that my only hope was to give up the life that had been, in order to make room for the life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-lesser/too-i-realized-that-my-only-hope-was-to-give-up-the-life-that-had/) [Elizabeth Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-lesser/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Stop trying to give me hope ... I have no room left for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenn-f/stop-trying-to-give-me-hope-i-have-no-room-left-for-it/) [Jenn F](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenn-f/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Give me love, give me peace on earth, give me light, give me life, keep me free from birth, give me hope, help me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/give-me-love-give-me-peace-on-earth-give-me-light-give-me-life-keep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Pray, hope, don't worry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pio-of-pietrelcina/pray-hope-don-t-worry/) [Pio of Pietrelcina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pio-of-pietrelcina/) > [Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/do-not-pray-for-tasks-equal-to-your-powers-pray-for-powers-equal-to/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [I am at a point in my life where everything I have worked for starts to look like a burden, a weight on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-abou-samra/i-am-at-a-point-in-my-life-where-everything-i-have-worked-for-starts/) Simone Abou Samra > [Im really happy that I met you I hope you know that](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/im-nothing/im-really-happy-that-i-met-you-i-hope-you-know-that/) Im Nothing > [All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/all-that-i-am-or-ever-hope-to-be-i-owe-to-my-angel-mother/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) [Browse all 24,868 Hope quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "By and large, prisons are survivable, though hope is indeed what you need least upon entering here; a lump of sugar would be more useful.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joseph Brodsky" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/by-and-large-prisons-are-survivable-though-hope-is-indeed-what-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hope" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/by-and-large-prisons-are-survivable-though-hope-is-indeed-what-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5be/joseph-brodsky-1225_hope_by-and-large-prisons-are-survivable-thou_1751573.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5be/joseph-brodsky-1225_hope_by-and-large-prisons-are-survivable-thou_1751573.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5be/joseph-brodsky-1225_hope_by-and-large-prisons-are-survivable-thou_1751573.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“By and large, prisons are survivable, though hope is indeed what you need least upon entering here; a lump…” — Joseph Brodsky", "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": "Joseph Brodsky", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "By and large, prisons are survivable,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/by-and-large-prisons-are-survivable-though-hope-is-indeed-what-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/by-and-large-prisons-are-survivable-though-hope-is-indeed-what-you/#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 } } ] } ```