--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Already they’d stopped asking questions…" description: "\"“Already they’d stopped asking questions, unless they had to.”\" — Margaret Atwood" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7e/margaret-atwood-40_asking-questions_already-they-d-stopped-asking-questions_2193470.jpg" --- # Already they’d stopped asking questions, unless they had to. ![“Already they’d stopped asking questions, unless they had to.” quote by Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7e/margaret-atwood-40_asking-questions_already-they-d-stopped-asking-questions_2193470.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7e/margaret-atwood-40_asking-questions_already-they-d-stopped-asking-questions_2193470.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7e/margaret-atwood-40_asking-questions_already-they-d-stopped-asking-questions_2193470.jpg) > ““Already they’d stopped asking questions, unless they had to.”” [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People stop questioning unless forced, indicating complacency without necessity. **In simple terms:** Questions cease when not needed. Key Takeaway Encourage curiosity even without pressure. Themes curiosity complacency critical thinking society Mood thoughtful critical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - education - journalism - science research - civic engagement Key Concepts philosophy psychology literature Questions to Reflect On - Why do we stop asking questions? - How can we foster continual inquiry? A Different Perspective May overlook the value of questioning for its own sake. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Asking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asking/) [Asking Question](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asking-question/) [Asking questions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asking-questions/) [Questions Unless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/questions-unless-4787268/) [Stopped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stopped/) [Stopped Asking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stopped-asking-856240/) ## Related quotes > [“If I had stopped asking questions, that’s where I would have remained.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-strobel/if-i-had-stopped-asking-questions-that-s-where-i-would-have-remained/) [Lee Strobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-strobel/) > [“There are no foolish questions and no man becomes a fool until he has stopped asking questions.”—Charles Steinmetz”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-colkmire/there-are-no-foolish-questions-and-no-man-becomes-a-fool-until-he-has-2/) [Lance Colkmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-colkmire/) > [“There are no foolish questions and no man becomes a fool until he has stopped asking questions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-proteus-steinmetz/there-are-no-foolish-questions-and-no-man-becomes-a-fool-until-he-has/) [Charles Proteus Steinmetz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-proteus-steinmetz/) > [I love that my dad has stopped asking me when I'm going to get a real job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/i-love-that-my-dad-has-stopped-asking-me-when-i-m-going-to-get-a-real/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [I stopped beating up on myself. I stopped asking myself why I didn't sell this number of records, why I don't have corporate sponsorship.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meshell-ndegeocello/i-stopped-beating-up-on-myself-i-stopped-asking-myself-why-i-didn-t/) [Meshell Ndegeocello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meshell-ndegeocello/) > [“The truth." Dumbledore sighed. "It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution. However, I shall answer your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling/the-truth-dumbledore-sighed-it-is-a-beautiful-and-terrible-thing-and-3/) [J.K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling/) > [“So quit asking everybody else questions, unless you’re ready to answer some questions yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolee-dean/so-quit-asking-everybody-else-questions-unless-you-re-ready-to-answer/) [Carolee Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolee-dean/) > [The first time I had a secretary, I was sheepish about being demanding or even asking questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bing-gordon/the-first-time-i-had-a-secretary-i-was-sheepish-about-being-demanding/) [Bing Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bing-gordon/) > [I think all good architecture should challenge you, make you start asking questions. You don't have to understand it. You may not like it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/i-think-all-good-architecture-should-challenge-you-make-you-start/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [In mathematics, the art of asking questions is more valuable than solving problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-cantor/in-mathematics-the-art-of-asking-questions-is-more-valuable-than/) [Georg Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-cantor/) > [“Asking questions is an opportunity for creativity and personal expression, both for the person asking and the person answering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-salzberg/asking-questions-is-an-opportunity-for-creativity-and-personal/) [Sharon Salzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-salzberg/) > [To go beyond the mind, you must be silent and quiet. Peace and silence, silence and peace - this is the way beyond. Stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/to-go-beyond-the-mind-you-must-be-silent-and-quiet-peace-and-silence/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [Going online and asking questions is the best way to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-felton/going-online-and-asking-questions-is-the-best-way-to-learn/) [Tom Felton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-felton/) > [And when I started college, I think I was good at two things: arguing and asking questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hughes/and-when-i-started-college-i-think-i-was-good-at-two-things-arguing/) [Karen Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hughes/) > [And in your new lives you'll have to live entirely for that one sensation-that of imminent truth. And you're going to have to holler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/and-in-your-new-lives-you-ll-have-to-live-entirely-for-that-one/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) ## More by Margaret Atwood > [“I'm fine," said Pilar, "for the moment. And the moment is the only time we can be fine in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-m-fine-said-pilar-for-the-moment-and-the-moment-is-the-only-time-we/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [And yet it disturbs me to learn I have hurt someone unintentionally. I want all my hurts to be intentional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/and-yet-it-disturbs-me-to-learn-i-have-hurt-someone-unintentionally-i/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Mary: Some call this "Eve's curse," but I think that is stupid because the real curse of Eve was having to put up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/mary-some-call-this-eve-s-curse-but-i-think-that-is-stupid-because/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The birds were singing around me, but I reflected that the very birds were strangers to me, for I did not even know their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-birds-were-singing-around-me-but-i-reflected-that-the-very-birds/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Strange how we decorate pain. These ribbons, for instance, and the small hard teardrops of blood. Who are they for? Do we think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/strange-how-we-decorate-pain-these-ribbons-for-instance-and-the-small/) [margaret atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I wanted to forget the past, but it refused to forget me; it waited for sleep, then cornered me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-wanted-to-forget-the-past-but-it-refused-to-forget-me-it-waited-for/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Back at home they drew the curtains and read, with disapproval, with relish, with avidity and glee - even the ones who'd never thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/back-at-home-they-drew-the-curtains-and-read-with-disapproval-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“It's my fault. I am forgetting too much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-s-my-fault-i-am-forgetting-too-much/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [All fiction is about people, unless it's about rabbits pretending to be people. It's all essentially characters in action, which means characters moving through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/all-fiction-is-about-people-unless-it-s-about-rabbits-pretending-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Simon walks back to the house alone. The night is clear and warm, with a moon, almost full, enclosed in a nimbus of mist;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/simon-walks-back-to-the-house-alone-the-night-is-clear-and-warm-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“There is indeed something delightful about being able to combine obedience and disobedience in the same act.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-is-indeed-something-delightful-about-being-able-to-combine/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Every time the women appear, Snowman is astonished all over again. They're every known colour from the deepest black to whitest white, they're various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/every-time-the-women-appear-snowman-is-astonished-all-over-again-they/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Once you publish a book, it is out of your control. You cannot dictate how people read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-you-publish-a-book-it-is-out-of-your-control-you-cannot-dictate/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The more difficult it was to love the particular man beside us, the more we believed in Love, abstract and total. We were waiting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-more-difficult-it-was-to-love-the-particular-man-beside-us-the/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“She knows she's deceiving herself about that, but she prefers to deceive herself. She desperately needs to believe such pure joy is still possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/she-knows-she-s-deceiving-herself-about-that-but-she-prefers-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) [Explore all 2,072 Margaret Atwood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## More Asking quotes > [Why did Erich von Stronheim leave Germany? Why did Hitchcock leave England? If you were a director you'd like to work in Hollywood too.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-polanski/why-did-erich-von-stronheim-leave-germany-why-did-hitchcock-leave/) [Roman Polanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-polanski/) > [And in your new lives you'll have to live entirely for that one sensation-that of imminent truth. And you're going to have to holler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/and-in-your-new-lives-you-ll-have-to-live-entirely-for-that-one/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“Stop asking yourself how or why and tell yourself you can." - Charmainism”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charmaine-smith-ladd/stop-asking-yourself-how-or-why-and-tell-yourself-you-can-charmainism/) [Charmaine Smith Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charmaine-smith-ladd/) > [Closing his eyes, he sent up a prayer to anyone who was listening, asking please, for God's sake, stop sending him signals that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/closing-his-eyes-he-sent-up-a-prayer-to-anyone-who-was-listening/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [People will identify with a persecuted minority without asking themselves what they are identifying with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/people-will-identify-with-a-persecuted-minority-without-asking/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [If you're having a bad day already and everybody is just asking you petty questions, it drives people to the edge, or something really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-weixler/if-you-re-having-a-bad-day-already-and-everybody-is-just-asking-you/) [Jess Weixler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-weixler/) > [You never give away your heart; you lend it from time to time. If it were not so, how could we take it back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-never-give-away-your-heart-you-lend-it-from-time-to-time-if-it/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [I'm not asking people to feel sorry for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-abramoff/i-m-not-asking-people-to-feel-sorry-for-me/) [Jack Abramoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-abramoff/) > [The boldness of asking deep questions may require unforeseen flexibility if we are to accept the answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-greene/the-boldness-of-asking-deep-questions-may-require-unforeseen/) [Brian Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-greene/) > [Use Google Before Asking A Stupid Question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muskaan/use-google-before-asking-a-stupid-question/) [Muskaan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muskaan/) > [There were people asking 'Can women be funny?' People still ask that. It's like asking: 'Can women breathe in and out?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-walters/there-were-people-asking-can-women-be-funny-people-still-ask-that-it/) [Julie Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-walters/) > [Whether that's speaking up in your job or asking for a promotion or saying, 'I think I can do that.' Using your voice in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-shriver/whether-that-s-speaking-up-in-your-job-or-asking-for-a-promotion-or/) [Maria Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-shriver/) > [Love cannot be had for the asking; it comes only as a gift from the heart of another](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/love-cannot-be-had-for-the-asking-it-comes-only-as-a-gift-from-the/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [The Baseball Hall of Fame is something every player dreams about, but being a member of God's Hall of Fame is the greatest achievement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-carter/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-is-something-every-player-dreams-about-but/) [Gary Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-carter/) > [“In such a regime, I say you died a good death if your life had inspired someone to come forward and shoot your murdered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/in-such-a-regime-i-say-you-died-a-good-death-if-your-life-had/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) [Browse all 3,313 Asking quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asking/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Already they’d stopped asking questions, unless they had to.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret Atwood" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/already-they-d-stopped-asking-questions-unless-they-had-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Asking" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/already-they-d-stopped-asking-questions-unless-they-had-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7e/margaret-atwood-40_asking-questions_already-they-d-stopped-asking-questions_2193470.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7e/margaret-atwood-40_asking-questions_already-they-d-stopped-asking-questions_2193470.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7e/margaret-atwood-40_asking-questions_already-they-d-stopped-asking-questions_2193470.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Already they’d stopped asking questions, unless they had to.” — Margaret Atwood", "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": "Margaret Atwood", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Already they’d stopped asking questions, unless...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/already-they-d-stopped-asking-questions-unless-they-had-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/already-they-d-stopped-asking-questions-unless-they-had-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 } } ] } ```