--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In real life it was like they were…" description: "\"“In real life it was like they were playing some children’s game. It was a little kid’s idea of a magical object. Though what did you expect from a bun..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bae/lev-grossman-747_children_in-real-life-it-was-like-they-were-playi_749460.png" --- # In real life it was like they were playing some children’s… ![“In real life it was like they were playing some children’s game. It was a little kid’s idea of a magical object. Though what did you expect from a bunch of talking” quote by Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bae/lev-grossman-747_children_in-real-life-it-was-like-they-were-playi_749460.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bae/lev-grossman-747_children_in-real-life-it-was-like-they-were-playi_749460.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bae/lev-grossman-747_children_in-real-life-it-was-like-they-were-playi_749460.png) > ““In real life it was like they were playing some children’s game. It was a little kid’s idea of a magical object. Though what did you expect from a bunch of talking”” [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) ## 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 likens a serious situation to a childish, naive game, highlighting the gap between expectation and reality. **In simple terms:** It compares a serious matter to a child's game. Key Takeaway Recognize when expectations are unrealistic. Themes naiveté illusion expectation reality playfulness Mood reflective playful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - family gatherings - first job - creative projects - conflict resolution Key Concepts Childhood imagination magical thinking disillusionment Questions to Reflect On - Are you treating serious matters as play? - How does this view affect your decisions? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify complex adult dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Real life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-life/) ## Related quotes > [Children are game for anything. I throw them hard words, and they backhand them over the net. They love words that give them a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/children-are-game-for-anything-i-throw-them-hard-words-and-they/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [“The human race, to which so many of my readers belong, has been playing at children's games from the beginning, and will probably do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/the-human-race-to-which-so-many-of-my-readers-belong-has-been-playing/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [There's no one with intelligence in this town except that man over there playing with the children, the one riding the stick horse. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/there-s-no-one-with-intelligence-in-this-town-except-that-man-over/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“Dads. Do you honestly expect anybody to believe that you can’t find 20 minutes to step away from your computer or turn off the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-pearce/dads-do-you-honestly-expect-anybody-to-believe-that-you-can-t-find-20/) [Dan Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-pearce/) > [Playing as children means playing is the most serious thing in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/playing-as-children-means-playing-is-the-most-serious-thing-in-the/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [And if you would know God, be not therefore a solver of riddles. Rather look about you and you shall see Him playing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/and-if-you-would-know-god-be-not-therefore-a-solver-of-riddles-rather-2/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [“I am not thinking in the manner of Peter Pan,” said the other. “With all reverence for the author of that masterpiece I should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saki/i-am-not-thinking-in-the-manner-of-peter-pan-said-the-other-with-all/) [Saki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saki/) > [“The average American shops six hours a week while spending forty minutes playing with his children.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-alcorn/the-average-american-shops-six-hours-a-week-while-spending-forty/) [Randy Alcorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-alcorn/) > [Since I was a child, I've been playing children. When I was little, I was the kid that you'd hire to do the reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-galvin/since-i-was-a-child-i-ve-been-playing-children-when-i-was-little-i/) [Noah Galvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-galvin/) > [Acting is playing pretend, playing a children's game at an adult level, but with children's rules. It's fun to play bad guys. I've never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-liotta/acting-is-playing-pretend-playing-a-children-s-game-at-an-adult-level/) [Ray Liotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-liotta/) > [When I was playing with the children, I felt I ought to be working, and when I was working, I felt I ought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hawking/when-i-was-playing-with-the-children-i-felt-i-ought-to-be-working-and/) [Jane Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hawking/) > [I don't believe in playing down to children, either in life or in motion pictures. I didn't treat my own youngsters like fragile flowers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/i-don-t-believe-in-playing-down-to-children-either-in-life-or-in/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [This is the A innermost desire Every father, are playing her children are always with beautiful smile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/this-is-the-a-innermost-desire-every-father-are-playing-her-children/) Mak\_786 > [The human race, to which so many of my readers belong, has been playing at children's games from the beginning, and will probably do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/the-human-race-to-which-so-many-of-my-readers-belong-has-been-playing-2/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [“Your magician self, that loopy doppelgänger, was always with you, tugging at your sleeve, whispering silently that your real life was a fake life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/your-magician-self-that-loopy-doppelg-nger-was-always-with-you/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) ## More by Lev Grossman > [“It was about damn time something happened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/it-was-about-damn-time-something-happened/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [We're wired to expect the world to be brighter and more meaningful and more obviously interesting than it actually is. And when we realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/we-re-wired-to-expect-the-world-to-be-brighter-and-more-meaningful/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [“He was going to sign the papers and he was going to be a motherfucking magician.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/he-was-going-to-sign-the-papers-and-he-was-going-to-be-a/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [“Being brave was easy when you would rather die than give up. Fatigue meant nothing when you actually wanted to suffer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/being-brave-was-easy-when-you-would-rather-die-than-give-up-fatigue/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [As a writer I'm more drawn to villains who are just slightly mad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/as-a-writer-i-m-more-drawn-to-villains-who-are-just-slightly-mad/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [“He wasn't in a safe little story where wrongs were automatically righted; he was still in the real world, where bad bitter things happened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/he-wasn-t-in-a-safe-little-story-where-wrongs-were-automatically/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [I love rare books. Not that I own a lot of them, mind you. You couldn't quite call me a rare-book collector. 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