--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Monkey John looked at the dead boy. \"By…" description: "\"“Monkey John looked at the dead boy. \"By God, life is cheap up here on the goddamned Canadian River.\" \"Cheap,\" Blue Duck answered. \"And it might get ch..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/280/larry-mcmurtry-2540_god-life_monkey-john-looked-at-the-dead-boy-by-go_745436.jpg" --- # Monkey John looked at the dead boy. "By God, life is cheap… ![“Monkey John looked at the dead boy. "By God, life is cheap up here on the goddamned Canadian River." "Cheap," Blue Duck answered. "And it might get cheaper.” quote by Larry McMurtry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/280/larry-mcmurtry-2540_god-life_monkey-john-looked-at-the-dead-boy-by-go_745436.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/280/larry-mcmurtry-2540_god-life_monkey-john-looked-at-the-dead-boy-by-go_745436.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/280/larry-mcmurtry-2540_god-life_monkey-john-looked-at-the-dead-boy-by-go_745436.jpg) > ““Monkey John looked at the dead boy. "By God, life is cheap up here on the goddamned Canadian River." "Cheap," Blue Duck answered. "And it might get cheaper.”” [Larry McMurtry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-mcmurtry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights the harsh reality that life can be devalued in dangerous, lawless environments, suggesting a bleak acceptance of mortality. **In simple terms:** Life feels cheap in perilous places. Key Takeaway Recognize the value of life despite hardship. Themes danger survival morality environment despair Mood grim reflective Type literary cautionary When to use this quote - frontier life - war zones - high‑risk jobs - disaster response Key Concepts existentialism human cost risk assessment Questions to Reflect On - How does danger change your view of life's worth? - What can be done to preserve dignity in harsh settings? 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I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) [Browse all 446 God life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Monkey John looked at the dead boy. \"By God, life is cheap up here on the goddamned Canadian River.\" \"Cheap,\" Blue Duck answered. \"And it might get cheaper.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Larry McMurtry" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-mcmurtry/monkey-john-looked-at-the-dead-boy-by-god-life-is-cheap-up-here-on/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "God life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-mcmurtry/monkey-john-looked-at-the-dead-boy-by-god-life-is-cheap-up-here-on/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/280/larry-mcmurtry-2540_god-life_monkey-john-looked-at-the-dead-boy-by-go_745436.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/280/larry-mcmurtry-2540_god-life_monkey-john-looked-at-the-dead-boy-by-go_745436.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/280/larry-mcmurtry-2540_god-life_monkey-john-looked-at-the-dead-boy-by-go_745436.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Monkey John looked at the dead boy. \"By God, life is cheap up here on the goddamned Canadian River.\"…” — Larry McMurtry", "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": "Larry McMurtry", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-mcmurtry/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Monkey John looked at the dead...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-mcmurtry/monkey-john-looked-at-the-dead-boy-by-god-life-is-cheap-up-here-on/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-mcmurtry/monkey-john-looked-at-the-dead-boy-by-god-life-is-cheap-up-here-on/#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 } } ] } ```