--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have been shark to one another, but…" description: "\"We have been shark to one another, but also lifeboat.\" — Margaret Atwood" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/margaret-atwood-40_lifeboat_we-have-been-shark-to-one-another-but-al_530780.jpg" --- # We have been shark to one another, but also lifeboat. ![“We have been shark to one another, but also lifeboat.” quote by Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/margaret-atwood-40_lifeboat_we-have-been-shark-to-one-another-but-al_530780.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/margaret-atwood-40_lifeboat_we-have-been-shark-to-one-another-but-al_530780.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/margaret-atwood-40_lifeboat_we-have-been-shark-to-one-another-but-al_530780.jpg) > “We have been shark to one another, but also lifeboat.” [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. Human relationships can be both supportive and exploitative, reflecting mutual reliance and danger. **In simple terms:** People can be both help and harm. Key Takeaway Recognize and balance dependence and risk. Themes dependence risk humanity Mood reflective cautious Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - friendships - workplace - family - community - survival Key Concepts social dynamics power imbalance Questions to Reflect On - How do you protect yourself while helping others? - When does assistance become control? A Different Perspective Support can become oppression if not checked. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Lifeboat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lifeboat/) [Lifeboats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lifeboats/) [Shark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shark/) [Sharks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sharks/) ## Related quotes > [“We are survivors, of each other. We have been shark to one another, but also lifeboat. That counts for something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/we-are-survivors-of-each-other-we-have-been-shark-to-one-another-but/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Life on a lifeboat isn't much of a life. It is like an end game in chess, a game with a few pieces. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/life-on-a-lifeboat-isn-t-much-of-a-life-it-is-like-an-end-game-in-3/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [There was no lifeboat here in these deep, killing waters, not even a lighthouse, marking the way back to shore with its soft amber…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/there-was-no-lifeboat-here-in-these-deep-killing-waters-not-even-a/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Many who would not take the last cookie would take the last lifeboat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/many-who-would-not-take-the-last-cookie-would-take-the-last-lifeboat/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [What to do, when a ship carrying a hundred passengers suddenly capsizes and there is only one lifeboat? When the lifeboat is full, those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pentti-linkola/what-to-do-when-a-ship-carrying-a-hundred-passengers-suddenly/) [Pentti Linkola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pentti-linkola/) > [As an editor, I read Charlotte Rogan's amazing debut novel, 'The Lifeboat,' when it was still in manuscript. I read it in one night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/as-an-editor-i-read-charlotte-rogan-s-amazing-debut-novel-the/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [I guess it wasn't everyday they see a yellow lifeboat with no engine going a hundred knots an hour, manned by three kids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/i-guess-it-wasn-t-everyday-they-see-a-yellow-lifeboat-with-no-engine/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [the captain is supposed to go down with the ship" . "unless the first mate knocks him out and throws him in a lifeboat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/the-captain-is-supposed-to-go-down-with-the-ship-unless-the-first/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [She gave me this look – she might have been watching from a lifeboat as the ship went down. Or maybe it was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/she-gave-me-this-look-she-might-have-been-watching-from-a-lifeboat-as/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Titanic got 14 nominations one per lifeboat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-mullen/titanic-got-14-nominations-one-per-lifeboat/) [Jim Mullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-mullen/) > [Life on a lifeboat isn't much of a life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/life-on-a-lifeboat-isn-t-much-of-a-life/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [The first joke I got on the air I remember clearly. Dennis McNicholas and Robert Carlock wrote a sketch where they were evacuating the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-schur/the-first-joke-i-got-on-the-air-i-remember-clearly-dennis-mcnicholas/) [Michael Schur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-schur/) > [Life on a lifeboat isn’t much of a life. It is like an end game in chess, a game with few pieces. The elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/life-on-a-lifeboat-isn-t-much-of-a-life-it-is-like-an-end-game-in/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > ["I look upon this world as a wrecked vessel. God has given me a lifeboat and said, 'Moody, save all you can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-look-upon-this-world-as-a-wrecked-vessel-god-has-given-me-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/be-a-lamp-or-a-lifeboat-or-a-ladder/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) ## 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 Lifeboat quotes > [the captain is supposed to go down with the ship" . "unless the first mate knocks him out and throws him in a lifeboat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/the-captain-is-supposed-to-go-down-with-the-ship-unless-the-first/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [“Over the lives borne from under the shadow of death there seems to fall the shadow of madness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/over-the-lives-borne-from-under-the-shadow-of-death-there-seems-to/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“I had never really stopped to consider what an extraordinary thing the Royal National Lifeboat Institution is. Think about it. A troubled ship calls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/i-had-never-really-stopped-to-consider-what-an-extraordinary-thing/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“Abel lifted her up - another gesture from former times, from when she'd been smaller - and carried her to the bathroom to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonia-michaelis/abel-lifted-her-up-another-gesture-from-former-times-from-when-she-d/) [Antonia Michaelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonia-michaelis/) > ["I look upon this world as a wrecked vessel. God has given me a lifeboat and said, 'Moody, save all you can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-look-upon-this-world-as-a-wrecked-vessel-god-has-given-me-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life on a lifeboat isn’t much of a life. It is like an end game in chess, a game with few pieces. The elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/life-on-a-lifeboat-isn-t-much-of-a-life-it-is-like-an-end-game-in/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“Jesus is offering you a lifeboat, but you would rather swim. Are you tired of swimming yet?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-ammon-vanderwood/jesus-is-offering-you-a-lifeboat-but-you-would-rather-swim-are-you/) Jill Ammon Vanderwood > [“Life on a lifeboat isn’t much of a life. It is like an end game in chess, a game with few pieces. The elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/life-on-a-lifeboat-isn-t-much-of-a-life-it-is-like-an-end-game-in-2/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“THE LANTERN IN THE LIFEBOAT I am nervous. I’m afraid. But I will stand here in the white hot heat of you. I will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pleasefindthis/the-lantern-in-the-lifeboat-i-am-nervous-i-m-afraid-but-i-will-stand/) pleasefindthis > [Love is like a lifeboat on the stormy sea of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-a-lifeboat-on-the-stormy-sea-of-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The first joke I got on the air I remember clearly. Dennis McNicholas and Robert Carlock wrote a sketch where they were evacuating the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-schur/the-first-joke-i-got-on-the-air-i-remember-clearly-dennis-mcnicholas/) [Michael Schur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-schur/) > [Life on a lifeboat isn't much of a life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/life-on-a-lifeboat-isn-t-much-of-a-life/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“I kept one eye on the horizon, one eye on the other end of the lifeboat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/i-kept-one-eye-on-the-horizon-one-eye-on-the-other-end-of-the-lifeboat/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“Poetry isn’t an island, it is the bridge. Poetry isn’t a ship, it is the lifeboat. Poetry isn’t swimming. Poetry is water.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/poetry-isn-t-an-island-it-is-the-bridge-poetry-isn-t-a-ship-it-is-the/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [Titanic got 14 nominations one per lifeboat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-mullen/titanic-got-14-nominations-one-per-lifeboat/) [Jim Mullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-mullen/) [Browse all 32 Lifeboat quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lifeboat/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We have been shark to one another, but also lifeboat.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret Atwood" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/we-have-been-shark-to-one-another-but-also-lifeboat/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Lifeboat" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/we-have-been-shark-to-one-another-but-also-lifeboat/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/margaret-atwood-40_lifeboat_we-have-been-shark-to-one-another-but-al_530780.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/margaret-atwood-40_lifeboat_we-have-been-shark-to-one-another-but-al_530780.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/margaret-atwood-40_lifeboat_we-have-been-shark-to-one-another-but-al_530780.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We have been shark to one another, but also lifeboat.” — 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": "We have been shark to one...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/we-have-been-shark-to-one-another-but-also-lifeboat/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/we-have-been-shark-to-one-another-but-also-lifeboat/#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 } } ] } ```