--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A deaf man lived next door to a known…" description: "\"“A deaf man lived next door to a known robber and one day decided to help himself to the spoils of the latest bank job. The robber, suspecting the deaf..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/deb/lou-ann-walker-11436_next-door_a-deaf-man-lived-next-door-to-a-known-ro_935761.jpg" --- # A deaf man lived next door to a known robber and one day… ![“A deaf man lived next door to a known robber and one day decided to help himself to the spoils of the latest bank job. The robber, suspecting the deaf man, got an interpreter and went to the deaf man’s house to confront him. “I don’t know anything about it,” the deaf man told the interpreter, who…” quote by Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/deb/lou-ann-walker-11436_next-door_a-deaf-man-lived-next-door-to-a-known-ro_935761.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/deb/lou-ann-walker-11436_next-door_a-deaf-man-lived-next-door-to-a-known-ro_935761.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/deb/lou-ann-walker-11436_next-door_a-deaf-man-lived-next-door-to-a-known-ro_935761.jpg) > ““A deaf man lived next door to a known robber and one day decided to help himself to the spoils of the latest bank job. The robber, suspecting the deaf man, got an interpreter and went to the deaf man’s house to confront him. “I don’t know anything about it,” the deaf man told the interpreter, who relayed that to the robber. The robber brandished a gun in the deaf man’s face. “Okay, okay, I’ll tell. Don’t shoot me,” the deaf man signed to the interpreter. “The money is stashed in the oak tree in the backyard!” The interpreter turned to the robber and said aloud: “He signs he’ll never tell. He says he’d rather be shot.”” [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Deception and fear can force truth, but communication barriers complicate outcomes. **In simple terms:** Fearful lies can be broken by threats. Key Takeaway Beware of coercion as a path to truth. Themes trust communication fear Mood tense ethical Type philosophical cautionary When to use this quote - crime investigation - interrogation - disability advocacy Key Concepts coercion misinterpretation ethical dilemmas Questions to Reflect On - Is it ever justified to threaten for information? - How can trust be built without force? A Different Perspective Coercion may produce false confessions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Oak tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oak-tree/) ## Related quotes > [“Now, you get to ask five questions. No more. Make them count.” “How old is he?” Kori blurted. “That wasn’t even a good question,”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-j-klune/now-you-get-to-ask-five-questions-no-more-make-them-count-how-old-is/) [T.J. Klune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-j-klune/) > [ \[When I die\] if I leave behind me ten pounds...you and all mankind \[may\] bear witness against me, that I have lived and died… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley/when-i-die-if-i-leave-behind-me-ten-pounds-you-and-all-mankind-may/) [John Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley/) > [“Of all the times - Time be the recorder, Of all the things - Time be the robber, Of all the sorrows - Time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/munindra-munnan-misra/of-all-the-times-time-be-the-recorder-of-all-the-things-time-be-the/) [Munindra (Munnan) Misra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/munindra-munnan-misra/) > [I've always been, in games, the bad guy. If there was ever cops and robbers I was always a robber.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-m-johnson/i-ve-always-been-in-games-the-bad-guy-if-there-was-ever-cops-and/) [Jake M. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-m-johnson/) > [I pray like a robber asking alms at the door of a farmhouse to which he is ready to set fire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-on-bloy/i-pray-like-a-robber-asking-alms-at-the-door-of-a-farmhouse-to-which/) [Leon Bloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-on-bloy/) > [“Ye are a scoundrel, a black-hearted robber and a rogue,' Stubble said cheerily to the grumbling captain. It was his usual way of haggling,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-livingstone/ye-are-a-scoundrel-a-black-hearted-robber-and-a-rogue-stubble-said/) [Ian Livingstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-livingstone/) > [“He ignored her apology. “Jayne? For once, could you drive like you didn’t just knock over a bank?” Jayne laughed. “Sorry, boss. Old habits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/he-ignored-her-apology-jayne-for-once-could-you-drive-like-you-didn-t/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [I was known as the chief grave robber of my state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-quayle/i-was-known-as-the-chief-grave-robber-of-my-state/) [Dan Quayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-quayle/) > [“Brand a man as a thief and no one will ever hire him for honest labour – he will be a hardened robber within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/brand-a-man-as-a-thief-and-no-one-will-ever-hire-him-for-honest/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [They sent me to the pen for five years for a crime that was never committed. I aint no bank robber but that five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-dre/they-sent-me-to-the-pen-for-five-years-for-a-crime-that-was-never/) [Mac Dre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-dre/) > [“Well, what you do with your farm is none of my business,” said Hooper. “It darn sure isn’t!” yelled Ben. “Because your business is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-berenstain/well-what-you-do-with-your-farm-is-none-of-my-business-said-hooper-it/) [Stan Berenstain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-berenstain/) > [They say the average bank robber lives within say about 20 miles of the bank that he robs There's this little bank not so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-snider/they-say-the-average-bank-robber-lives-within-say-about-20-miles-of/) [Todd Snider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-snider/) > [“A premature death does not only rob one of the countless instances where one would have experienced pleasure, it also saves one from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-premature-death-does-not-only-rob-one-of-the-countless-instances/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“The one thing I learned in my youth as a grave robber was that everyone looks the same when they're dead. We're all equal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorraine-heath/the-one-thing-i-learned-in-my-youth-as-a-grave-robber-was-that/) [Lorraine Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorraine-heath/) > [“Not one spark of spirit, not one symptom of resistance, would they have shown till the hand of the Corsican bandit had grasped that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/not-one-spark-of-spirit-not-one-symptom-of-resistance-would-they-have/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) ## More by Lou Ann Walker > [“From 1963 through 1965, a nationwide epidemic of rubella—German measles—caused thousands of women to deliver babies who were handicapped in some way:”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/from-1963-through-1965-a-nationwide-epidemic-of-rubella-german/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“there are signs that are parodies of actual objects and that retain a cleverness even for deaf people. Indeed, these signs are to sight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/there-are-signs-that-are-parodies-of-actual-objects-and-that-retain-a/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“I was the only student she’d taught who’d actually known any deaf people. Most of the students in my courses were there because they’d…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/i-was-the-only-student-she-d-taught-who-d-actually-known-any-deaf/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“It was like the old joke: the operation was a success but the patient died. Theories and goals of education don’t matter a whit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/it-was-like-the-old-joke-the-operation-was-a-success-but-the-patient/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“One story was about a deaf man who was driving in the country, when safety bars were lowered across the road at a railroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/one-story-was-about-a-deaf-man-who-was-driving-in-the-country-when/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“Mom turned to me, puzzled. In sign language, she asked, “What was Grandpa saying in the kitchen?” My heart froze.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/mom-turned-to-me-puzzled-in-sign-language-she-asked-what-was-grandpa/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“Less and less we were freaks. More and more we were curiosities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/less-and-less-we-were-freaks-more-and-more-we-were-curiosities/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“By the time we got back to his house, Grandpa couldn’t reproduce the two signs he’d learned, but he hurried inside to describe to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/by-the-time-we-got-back-to-his-house-grandpa-couldn-t-reproduce-the/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“her parents had no way of telling her she was going away to school.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/her-parents-had-no-way-of-telling-her-she-was-going-away-to-school/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“And then she made a sign that sent a chill up my spine. It was a slang sign meaning “I’m deaf,” but it’s crudely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/and-then-she-made-a-sign-that-sent-a-chill-up-my-spine-it-was-a-slang/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“Like virtually all schools for the deaf at that time, the Indiana State School emphasized oral skills: speaking and lipreading.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/like-virtually-all-schools-for-the-deaf-at-that-time-the-indiana/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“So much had been lost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/so-much-had-been-lost/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“Over the centuries people have blamed everything from eating a green chestnut to being cursed by a gypsy. Others have cited being frightened by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/over-the-centuries-people-have-blamed-everything-from-eating-a-green/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“to leave a child without language for a moment longer than is absolutely necessary seems cruel to me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/to-leave-a-child-without-language-for-a-moment-longer-than-is/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“This work was throwing me into the intimate functioning of people’s lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/this-work-was-throwing-me-into-the-intimate-functioning-of-people-s/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) [Explore all 60 Lou Ann Walker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) ## More Next door quotes > [I feel that between my experience and my mother's, breast cancer is a little bit like someone who lives next door. I know what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-nixon/i-feel-that-between-my-experience-and-my-mother-s-breast-cancer-is-a/) [Cynthia Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-nixon/) > [If you have a hit, the best thing that can happen to you is having a bigger hit open next door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-otway/if-you-have-a-hit-the-best-thing-that-can-happen-to-you-is-having-a/) Howard Otway > [“She gave Rachel her usual obsessively loving smile, including Phin in it, too, as her future son-in-law. Such a nice couple , her smile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-crusie/she-gave-rachel-her-usual-obsessively-loving-smile-including-phin-in/) [Jennifer Crusie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-crusie/) > [“As a successful young man, I have developed myself to a level where physiological needs, safety and security needs, social needs and ego needs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anyaele-sam-chiyson/as-a-successful-young-man-i-have-developed-myself-to-a-level-where/) Anyaele Sam Chiyson > [“Mm-hmm, that’s what the heroine always says in the movies, and then less than two hours later she’s admitting she’s been madly in love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trisha-leigh/mm-hmm-that-s-what-the-heroine-always-says-in-the-movies-and-then/) [Trisha Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trisha-leigh/) > [“    Breakfast was ready. He could hear his father asking for coffee. Why did his father have to yell all the time? Couldn't he talk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/breakfast-was-ready-he-could-hear-his-father-asking-for-coffee-why/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [“She was using the water as she had used the fruit earlier—to calm herself, to assure herself of the possibility of normality. Yet all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/she-was-using-the-water-as-she-had-used-the-fruit-earlier-to-calm/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [About 25 years ago, I was in an apartment, and next door, they put on the radio, so I struck the wall with my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/klaus-kinski/about-25-years-ago-i-was-in-an-apartment-and-next-door-they-put-on/) [Klaus Kinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/klaus-kinski/) > [“For several months they'd been drifting toward political involvement, but the picture was hazy and one of the most confusing elements was their geographical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/for-several-months-they-d-been-drifting-toward-political-involvement/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [If it's a healthy day, I'll head to the gym, then have a steak salad at the cafe next door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steph-mcgovern/if-it-s-a-healthy-day-i-ll-head-to-the-gym-then-have-a-steak-salad-at/) [Steph McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steph-mcgovern/) > [You got to realize that the vision, the image, according to 1964 U.S. rock and roll standards, was mohair suit and tie, and nicey-nicey…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-keys/you-got-to-realize-that-the-vision-the-image-according-to-1964-u-s/) [Bobby Keys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-keys/) > [Then, I realized that there is an indigenous presence in the Solar System. It's us. So, then, I got to wondering what would happen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-zettel/then-i-realized-that-there-is-an-indigenous-presence-in-the-solar/) [Sarah Zettel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-zettel/) > [“was my first indication that the policies of Mamaw’s “party of the working man”—the Democrats—weren’t all they were cracked up to be. Political scientists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/was-my-first-indication-that-the-policies-of-mamaw-s-party-of-the/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“I lean my head back and stare at the stark white ceiling. “My friend Zoe used to say I had obsessive compulsive disorder when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siobhan-davis/i-lean-my-head-back-and-stare-at-the-stark-white-ceiling-my-friend/) [Siobhan Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siobhan-davis/) > [Over the years, the writers at DC Comics softened Wonder Woman's powers in ways that would have infuriated Marston. During the 1960s, she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/over-the-years-the-writers-at-dc-comics-softened-wonder-woman-s/) [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) Browse all 663 Next door quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A deaf man lived next door to a known robber and one day decided to help himself to the spoils of the latest bank job. The robber, suspecting the deaf man, got an interpreter and went to the deaf man’s house to confront him. “I don’t know anything about it,” the deaf man told the interpreter, who relayed that to the robber. The robber brandished a gun in the deaf man’s face. “Okay, okay, I’ll tell. Don’t shoot me,” the deaf man signed to the interpreter. “The money is stashed in the oak tree in the backyard!” The interpreter turned to the robber and said aloud: “He signs he’ll never tell. He says he’d rather be shot.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lou Ann Walker" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/a-deaf-man-lived-next-door-to-a-known-robber-and-one-day-decided-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Next door" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/a-deaf-man-lived-next-door-to-a-known-robber-and-one-day-decided-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/deb/lou-ann-walker-11436_next-door_a-deaf-man-lived-next-door-to-a-known-ro_935761.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/deb/lou-ann-walker-11436_next-door_a-deaf-man-lived-next-door-to-a-known-ro_935761.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/deb/lou-ann-walker-11436_next-door_a-deaf-man-lived-next-door-to-a-known-ro_935761.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A deaf man lived next door to a known robber and one day decided to help himself to the spoils of the latest…” — Lou Ann Walker", "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": "Lou Ann Walker", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“A deaf man lived next door...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/a-deaf-man-lived-next-door-to-a-known-robber-and-one-day-decided-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/a-deaf-man-lived-next-door-to-a-known-robber-and-one-day-decided-to/#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 } } ] } ```