--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I felt expendable, throw-away, swallowed…" description: "\"“I felt expendable, throw-away, swallowed by a big biological project that I didn't initiate or choose, that produced me but would also chew me up and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/473/lionel-shriver-744_quote_i-felt-expendable-throw-away-swallowed-b_1105507.jpg" --- # I felt expendable, throw-away, swallowed by a big… ![“I felt expendable, throw-away, swallowed by a big biological project that I didn't initiate or choose, that produced me but would also chew me up and spit me out. I felt used.” quote by Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/473/lionel-shriver-744_quote_i-felt-expendable-throw-away-swallowed-b_1105507.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/473/lionel-shriver-744_quote_i-felt-expendable-throw-away-swallowed-b_1105507.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/473/lionel-shriver-744_quote_i-felt-expendable-throw-away-swallowed-b_1105507.jpg) > ““I felt expendable, throw-away, swallowed by a big biological project that I didn't initiate or choose, that produced me but would also chew me up and spit me out. I felt used.”” [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator feels dehumanized, like a disposable part of a larger, indifferent system that creates and destroys. **In simple terms:** Feeling used and replaceable in a big project. Key Takeaway Recognize your intrinsic value beyond roles. Themes identity exploitation agency meaning power dynamics Mood disillusioned reflective Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - workplace - academic research - creative projects - personal relationships Key Concepts existentialism psychology systems theory Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of your life make you feel indispensable? - How can you assert agency in large structures? A Different Perspective The feeling may stem from personal insecurities, not just external forces. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Away Swallowed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/away-swallowed-680089/) [Felt Expendable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt-expendable-2919479/) [Felt Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt-used-1448936/) [Swallowed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swallowed/) [Swallowed Big](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swallowed-big-2919480/) ## Related quotes > [“He walked away from me, and I swallowed, trying to keep the tears at bay. Travis stopped and came back, leaning into my face.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-mcguire/he-walked-away-from-me-and-i-swallowed-trying-to-keep-the-tears-at/) [Jamie McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-mcguire/) > [“I should’ve just made something up and gotten the favor over with.” “You probably should have. But you didn’t, so . . . I win!” He shook…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-messenger/i-should-ve-just-made-something-up-and-gotten-the-favor-over-with-you/) [Shannon Messenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-messenger/) > [“But I won’t touch you like this anymore.” He trailed his fingers over her hip, tracing slow circles. “I’ll stand by your side and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivienne-savage/but-i-won-t-touch-you-like-this-anymore-he-trailed-his-fingers-over/) [Vivienne Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivienne-savage/) > [I know a lot of athletes and models are written off as just bodies. I never felt used for my body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-schwarzenegger/i-know-a-lot-of-athletes-and-models-are-written-off-as-just-bodies-i/) [Arnold Schwarzenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-schwarzenegger/) > [I felt like a piece of trash. I felt dirty and I felt used and I was disappointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-lewinsky/i-felt-like-a-piece-of-trash-i-felt-dirty-and-i-felt-used-and-i-was/) [Monica Lewinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-lewinsky/) > [“I felt I'd used up most of my life's words in the palace, among folk who were never really mine, in a place that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-french/i-felt-i-d-used-up-most-of-my-life-s-words-in-the-palace-among-folk/) [Jackie French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-french/) > [“The best I ever got was that woman who kept having me come up to fix her TV. There was a lot of bending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-johnson/the-best-i-ever-got-was-that-woman-who-kept-having-me-come-up-to-fix/) [Maureen Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-johnson/) > [Felt so used every time…i know you wont be mine…without you I am fine…so get lost because it's the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishant-grover/felt-so-used-every-time-i-know-you-wont-be-mine-without-you-i-am-fine/) [Nishant Grover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishant-grover/) > [“I felt used, in a way, just a hole for him to spunk in, but it felt good too, to know I could make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shukyou/i-felt-used-in-a-way-just-a-hole-for-him-to-spunk-in-but-it-felt-good/) [shukyou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shukyou/) > [I miss who we were, how we felt, and mostly who you used to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-miss-who-we-were-how-we-felt-and-mostly-who-you-used-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Here, I meant to put you at your ease but instead I've got you closed up against me again like a pretty little clam."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-anne-warren/here-i-meant-to-put-you-at-your-ease-but-instead-i-ve-got-you-closed/) [Tracy Anne Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-anne-warren/) > [“You get everything you need?” She squealed like an idiot and whirled around to see him smirking at her. “JeSUS!” She glared at him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-young/you-get-everything-you-need-she-squealed-like-an-idiot-and-whirled/) [Samantha Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-young/) > [I've been told I looked like I swallowed an elephant or a pig, whichever was more fitting that day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katelyn-ohashi/i-ve-been-told-i-looked-like-i-swallowed-an-elephant-or-a-pig/) [Katelyn Ohashi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katelyn-ohashi/) > [Is it true? You had a clean getaway and risked it all for me?" I Swallowed. "It wouldn't have been a clean getaway without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/is-it-true-you-had-a-clean-getaway-and-risked-it-all-for-me-i/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [“For a long time before I met you, I felt my life was this kind of test. I was in deep, cold water, swimming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-raeder/for-a-long-time-before-i-met-you-i-felt-my-life-was-this-kind-of-test/) [Leah Raeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-raeder/) ## More by Lionel Shriver > [The discovery that heartbreak is indeed heartbreaking consoles us about our humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-discovery-that-heartbreak-is-indeed-heartbreaking-consoles-us/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“I’m a journalist, and journalists need news. Deprive them of it, and they go a bit barking. Deprive them of news long enough, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-m-a-journalist-and-journalists-need-news-deprive-them-of-it-and/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“One of the things I learned with Charles," said Gray carefully, "was that finding someone like you does not necessarily mean that either of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/one-of-the-things-i-learned-with-charles-said-gray-carefully-was-that/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [In the particular dwells the tawdry. In the conceptual dwells the grand, the transcendent, the everlasting. Earthly countries and single malignant boys can go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/in-the-particular-dwells-the-tawdry-in-the-conceptual-dwells-the/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“The idea is that you don't only have one destiny. Younger and younger, kids are pressed to decide what they want to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-idea-is-that-you-don-t-only-have-one-destiny-younger-and-younger/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [Oddly, for a book to do well merely because people like it is surprisingly rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/oddly-for-a-book-to-do-well-merely-because-people-like-it-is/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“And there's a freedom in apathy, a wild, dizzying liberation on which you can almost get drunk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/and-there-s-a-freedom-in-apathy-a-wild-dizzying-liberation-on-which/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [The sign that I don't like the book I'm reading is finding myself watching reruns of 'Come Dine With Me.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-sign-that-i-don-t-like-the-book-i-m-reading-is-finding-myself/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [We speak often of 'destroying the planet' when what we mean is destroying its habitability for humans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/we-speak-often-of-destroying-the-planet-when-what-we-mean-is/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [My agent had warned that, while a fine film would do my profile a world of good, a bad one wouldn't help me at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/my-agent-had-warned-that-while-a-fine-film-would-do-my-profile-a/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“I think that's the biggest favor you can grant anyone, don't you? Permission to be dull. I know Henry will sometimes say something so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-think-that-s-the-biggest-favor-you-can-grant-anyone-don-t-you/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“They were determined to find something mechanically wrong with him - because broken machines are easier to fix. p303”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/they-were-determined-to-find-something-mechanically-wrong-with-him/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“Bur Armenians have a talent for sorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/bur-armenians-have-a-talent-for-sorrow/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“What is cool changes; that there is such a thing as cool is immutable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/what-is-cool-changes-that-there-is-such-a-thing-as-cool-is-immutable/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“I have theorized that you can locate most people on a spectrum of the crudest sort and that it may be their position on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-have-theorized-that-you-can-locate-most-people-on-a-spectrum-of-the/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) [Explore all 375 Lionel Shriver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) ## More Swallowed quotes > [“For a long time before I met you, I felt my life was this kind of test. I was in deep, cold water, swimming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-raeder/for-a-long-time-before-i-met-you-i-felt-my-life-was-this-kind-of-test/) [Leah Raeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-raeder/) > [Is it true? You had a clean getaway and risked it all for me?" I Swallowed. "It wouldn't have been a clean getaway without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/is-it-true-you-had-a-clean-getaway-and-risked-it-all-for-me-i/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [I've been told I looked like I swallowed an elephant or a pig, whichever was more fitting that day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katelyn-ohashi/i-ve-been-told-i-looked-like-i-swallowed-an-elephant-or-a-pig/) [Katelyn Ohashi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katelyn-ohashi/) > [“You get everything you need?” She squealed like an idiot and whirled around to see him smirking at her. “JeSUS!” She glared at him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-young/you-get-everything-you-need-she-squealed-like-an-idiot-and-whirled/) [Samantha Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-young/) > [“Here, I meant to put you at your ease but instead I've got you closed up against me again like a pretty little clam."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-anne-warren/here-i-meant-to-put-you-at-your-ease-but-instead-i-ve-got-you-closed/) [Tracy Anne Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-anne-warren/) > [“Anna swallowed and pulled out a chair. She sat and folded her hands on her lap. She felt like she was in trouble. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-charlins/anna-swallowed-and-pulled-out-a-chair-she-sat-and-folded-her-hands-on/) [Claire Charlins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-charlins/) > [“How will you feel when you're being swallowed up?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-schneider/how-will-you-feel-when-you-re-being-swallowed-up/) [michel schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-schneider/) > [“Zoe swallowed, wishing she hadn’t started the list on her”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanya-anne-crosby/zoe-swallowed-wishing-she-hadn-t-started-the-list-on-her/) [Tanya Anne Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanya-anne-crosby/) > [“spills of mire I swallowed inside the tower”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-celan/spills-of-mire-i-swallowed-inside-the-tower/) [Paul Celan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-celan/) > [“I never swallowed before. The idea of it wigged me out, but not with him. Apparently, it was my inner porn star.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-lynn/i-never-swallowed-before-the-idea-of-it-wigged-me-out-but-not-with/) [J. Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-lynn/) > [“I live well! I may have been swallowed, but I have no intention of being eaten.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-barnett/i-live-well-i-may-have-been-swallowed-but-i-have-no-intention-of/) [Mac Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-barnett/) > [“She swallowed it. So bitter. "Vile," she said. "Vile." "I know, but it helps. Trust me. I know." "Trust you," she said. "Hah." "Clearly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-chase/she-swallowed-it-so-bitter-vile-she-said-vile-i-know-but-it-helps/) [Loretta Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-chase/) > [We're swallowed up only when we are willing for it to happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalie-sarraute/we-re-swallowed-up-only-when-we-are-willing-for-it-to-happen/) [Nathalie Sarraute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalie-sarraute/) > [“By lack of understanding they remained sane. They simply swallowed everything, and what they swallowed did them no harm, because it left no residue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/by-lack-of-understanding-they-remained-sane-they-simply-swallowed/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“She reminded me of the empty glass of a swallowed cocktail, and at the heart of the empty glass was a smashed lime rind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nic-pizzolatto/she-reminded-me-of-the-empty-glass-of-a-swallowed-cocktail-and-at-the/) [Nic Pizzolatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nic-pizzolatto/) [Browse all 322 Swallowed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swallowed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I felt expendable, throw-away, swallowed by a big biological project that I didn't initiate or choose, that produced me but would also chew me up and spit me out. 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