--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Why do you want to talk about ugly…" description: "\"“Why do you want to talk about ugly things?\" she said. ... \"We should think only beautiful things, as much as we can. There is so much beautiful in the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a6/margaret-atwood-40_things-said_why-do-you-want-to-talk-about-ugly-thing_2883110.jpg" --- # Why do you want to talk about ugly things?" she said… ![“Why do you want to talk about ugly things?" she said. ... "We should think only beautiful things, as much as we can. There is so much beautiful in the world if you look around. You are looking only at the dirt under your feet, Jimmy. It's not good for you." She would never tell him. Why did this…” quote by Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a6/margaret-atwood-40_things-said_why-do-you-want-to-talk-about-ugly-thing_2883110.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a6/margaret-atwood-40_things-said_why-do-you-want-to-talk-about-ugly-thing_2883110.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a6/margaret-atwood-40_things-said_why-do-you-want-to-talk-about-ugly-thing_2883110.jpg) > ““Why do you want to talk about ugly things?" she said. ... "We should think only beautiful things, as much as we can. There is so much beautiful in the world if you look around. You are looking only at the dirt under your feet, Jimmy. It's not good for you." She would never tell him. Why did this drive him so crazy? "It wasn't real sex was it?" he asked. "In the movies. It was only acting. Wasn't it?" "But Jimmy, you should know. All sex is real.”” [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. The passage contrasts focusing on negativity with seeking beauty, urging a shift in perception to improve mental well‑being. **In simple terms:** Look for beauty instead of dirt. Key Takeaway Choose optimism over cynicism. Themes perception beauty mental health optimism relationships Mood reflective hopeful Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - personal relationships - creative writing - self‑help - counseling Key Concepts Cognitive reframing mindfulness psychology Questions to Reflect On - What beauty can you notice today? - How does focusing on negativity affect your mood? A Different Perspective Focusing solely on negativity can ignore real problems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“Why do you want to talk about ugly things?” she said. Her voice was silvery, like a music box. She waved one hand in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/why-do-you-want-to-talk-about-ugly-things-she-said-her-voice-was/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“I thought to myself how we were so wrapped up in this animal act, that he couldn’t care less about his tea shop business,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-thrust/i-thought-to-myself-how-we-were-so-wrapped-up-in-this-animal-act-that/) [Fiona Thrust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-thrust/) > [“If I met you last night, and brought you back to my place, or followed you to yours, and we had sex, that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammara-webber/if-i-met-you-last-night-and-brought-you-back-to-my-place-or-followed/) [Tammara Webber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammara-webber/) > [“After we had sex?" I asked Dank shook his head "No, Pagan, that was making love. Don't confuse the two”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbi-glines/after-we-had-sex-i-asked-dank-shook-his-head-no-pagan-that-was-making/) [Abbi Glines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbi-glines/) > [“Did we have sex?" he asked directly. For about two minutes, this might actually be fun. "Eric," I said, "we had sex in every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/did-we-have-sex-he-asked-directly-for-about-two-minutes-this-might/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [“ 'Still too thin. You've let your hair grow out a bit, though. Trying to look pretty for your prince? I've told you time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-derr/still-too-thin-you-ve-let-your-hair-grow-out-a-bit-though-trying-to/) [Megan Derr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-derr/) > [“It is amazing how much you can see in other people - the good and the bad, we won't even talk about the ugly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-baratz-logsted/it-is-amazing-how-much-you-can-see-in-other-people-the-good-and-the/) [Lauren Baratz-Logsted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-baratz-logsted/) > [“It doesn't have any effect on your life. What do you care?! People try to talk about it like it's a social issue. Like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-c-k/it-doesn-t-have-any-effect-on-your-life-what-do-you-care-people-try/) [Louis C. K](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-c-k/) > [“I would have taken Zeb, purely for entertainment value, but he had an actual date, with a real girl. That hadn't happened in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-harper/i-would-have-taken-zeb-purely-for-entertainment-value-but-he-had-an/) [Molly Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-harper/) > [Statistics show 50% of the people use the internet. The rest have sex with real people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/statistics-show-50-of-the-people-use-the-internet-the-rest-have-sex/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [If He Can Lay Down & Cuddle With You Without Sex...Its Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melania/if-he-can-lay-down-cuddle-with-you-without-sex-its-real/) [Melania](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melania/) > [People over 30 are interested in sex too, but they get real movies about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-fiorentino/people-over-30-are-interested-in-sex-too-but-they-get-real-movies/) [Linda Fiorentino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-fiorentino/) > [ \[Sex\] is of real interest to every human being and so why gloss over it, and it's fun, it's interesting, it has so many… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khushwant-singh/sex-is-of-real-interest-to-every-human-being-and-so-why-gloss-over-it/) [Khushwant Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khushwant-singh/) > [“There was this girl,” I said. "l mean-” All of a sudden I felt flustered, and added, ”We were just friends.” ”No such thing.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-horner/there-was-this-girl-i-said-l-mean-all-of-a-sudden-i-felt-flustered/) [Emily Horner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-horner/) > [Sex was like a world so mysterious to me, I really couldn't believe there was this fantastic texture to life that I was getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lynch/sex-was-like-a-world-so-mysterious-to-me-i-really-couldn-t-believe/) [David Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lynch/) ## 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 Things Said quotes > [I never said most of the things I said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yogi-berra/i-never-said-most-of-the-things-i-said/) [Yogi Berra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yogi-berra/) > [I think that probably in some areas the Labour message about some of the things that they said we were going to do -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theresa-may/i-think-that-probably-in-some-areas-the-labour-message-about-some-of/) [Theresa May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theresa-may/) > [And the air was full of Thoughts and Things to Say. But at times like these, only the Small Things are ever said. Big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/and-the-air-was-full-of-thoughts-and-things-to-say-but-at-times-like/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Its amazing the things you realize when you lose someone. You get mad at yourself for not saying the things you could have said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-amazing-the-things-you-realize-when-you-lose-someone-you-get-mad/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“She wants you to see things she's never shown you. She wants you to hear things she's never said. She wants you to spoon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfa-h/she-wants-you-to-see-things-she-s-never-shown-you-she-wants-you-to/) [Alfa H](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfa-h/) > [“Suddenly he knew all the things he should have said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/suddenly-he-knew-all-the-things-he-should-have-said/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [Sometimes things are said on the pitch that people won't see at home. There's a bit of banter on the pitch as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-welbeck/sometimes-things-are-said-on-the-pitch-that-people-won-t-see-at-home/) [Danny Welbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-welbeck/) > [What could you hope to achieve When I'm cryin' and you know why? How do you find your reasons In my deepest, darkest night?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/what-could-you-hope-to-achieve-when-i-m-cryin-and-you-know-why-how-do/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [Most of us would be far enough from vanity if we heard all the things that are said about us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-rickaby/most-of-us-would-be-far-enough-from-vanity-if-we-heard-all-the-things/) Joseph Rickaby > [A young lady had only one complaint about her good husband: "My husband always praises me to other people," she said, "Often I hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-keller/a-young-lady-had-only-one-complaint-about-her-good-husband-my-husband/) [James Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-keller/) > [It feels like people talk a lot, in their relationships and in therapy. But my family wasn't like that. My dad wasn't and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-newman/it-feels-like-people-talk-a-lot-in-their-relationships-and-in-therapy/) [Leigh Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-newman/) > [“No one said anything. We all just looked up at the sky and we breathed out and in and we all thought the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/no-one-said-anything-we-all-just-looked-up-at-the-sky-and-we-breathed/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I've took stock of things and said, 'Right I've got to think of me.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ant-mcpartlin/i-ve-took-stock-of-things-and-said-right-i-ve-got-to-think-of-me/) [Ant McPartlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ant-mcpartlin/) > [“After all, they were just words, and she had learned long ago that a man's actions displayed his truer nature more than the things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-e-woodiwiss/after-all-they-were-just-words-and-she-had-learned-long-ago-that-a/) [Kathleen E. Woodiwiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-e-woodiwiss/) > [Little things I should have said and done I just never took the time You were always on my mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-nelson/little-things-i-should-have-said-and-done-i-just-never-took-the-time/) [Willie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-nelson/) Browse all 232 Things Said quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Why do you want to talk about ugly things?\" she said. ... \"We should think only beautiful things, as much as we can. There is so much beautiful in the world if you look around. You are looking only at the dirt under your feet, Jimmy. It's not good for you.\" She would never tell him. Why did this drive him so crazy? \"It wasn't real sex was it?\" he asked. \"In the movies. It was only acting. Wasn't it?\" \"But Jimmy, you should know. All sex is real.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret Atwood" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/why-do-you-want-to-talk-about-ugly-things-she-said-we-should-think/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Things Said" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/why-do-you-want-to-talk-about-ugly-things-she-said-we-should-think/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a6/margaret-atwood-40_things-said_why-do-you-want-to-talk-about-ugly-thing_2883110.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a6/margaret-atwood-40_things-said_why-do-you-want-to-talk-about-ugly-thing_2883110.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a6/margaret-atwood-40_things-said_why-do-you-want-to-talk-about-ugly-thing_2883110.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Why do you want to talk about ugly things?\" she said. ... \"We should think only beautiful things, as much as…” — 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": "“Why do you want to talk...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/why-do-you-want-to-talk-about-ugly-things-she-said-we-should-think/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/why-do-you-want-to-talk-about-ugly-things-she-said-we-should-think/#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 } } ] } ```