--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is New York. If people found out…" description: "\"“This is New York. If people found out worshipping the devil actually worked, every ambitious type A would be practicing it in their studio apartments...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adc/marisha-pessl-1802_devil_this-is-new-york-if-people-found-out-wor_1552374.jpg" --- # This is New York. If people found out worshipping the… ![“This is New York. If people found out worshipping the devil actually worked, every ambitious type A would be practicing it in their studio apartments.” quote by Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adc/marisha-pessl-1802_devil_this-is-new-york-if-people-found-out-wor_1552374.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adc/marisha-pessl-1802_devil_this-is-new-york-if-people-found-out-wor_1552374.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adc/marisha-pessl-1802_devil_this-is-new-york-if-people-found-out-wor_1552374.jpg) > ““This is New York. If people found out worshipping the devil actually worked, every ambitious type A would be practicing it in their studio apartments.”” [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote satirically suggests that if devil worship were effective, ambitious people would adopt it secretly. **In simple terms:** People would secretly adopt harmful practices if they seemed successful. Key Takeaway Beware of shortcuts that promise success without effort. Themes satire critique ambition Mood wry critical contemplative Type satirical observational When to use this quote - urban life - career pressure - secretive practices Key Concepts cultural commentary social satire Questions to Reflect On - What temptations do you resist in your ambition? - How does satire reveal societal anxieties? A Different Perspective The humor may downplay real dangers of harmful beliefs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Devil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devil/) ## Related quotes > [I happen to be a Christian, but I know that there is one God. People worshipping goodness and love and kindness and truth are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-happen-to-be-a-christian-but-i-know-that-there-is-one-god-people/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“Someone told me you were worshipping the devil with the punk rocks!" he said, opening the jug. Ma walked into the apartment, and Grandpa…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-patrick-macdonald/someone-told-me-you-were-worshipping-the-devil-with-the-punk-rocks-he/) [Michael Patrick MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-patrick-macdonald/) > [“If the devil be actually among us, then for the sake of much which has seemed crass in orthodox religion, thus completely exonerated; for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-edward-waite/if-the-devil-be-actually-among-us-then-for-the-sake-of-much-which-has/) [Arthur Edward Waite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-edward-waite/) > [What nearly everybody in my life had misunderstood about Satanism was that it is not about ritual sacrifices, digging up graves and worshipping the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/what-nearly-everybody-in-my-life-had-misunderstood-about-satanism-was/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) > [Show business is one of the few businesses that the devil will actually agree to own just a portion of your soul because he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-maron/show-business-is-one-of-the-few-businesses-that-the-devil-will/) [Marc Maron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-maron/) > [The Jews emerge into history, not a nation of keen spiritual aspirations and altruistic ethics, but that pagan people, worshipping rocks, sheep and cattle,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-shotwell/the-jews-emerge-into-history-not-a-nation-of-keen-spiritual/) James T. Shotwell > [“They but appear a solemn People,— worshipping Laughter, rather, as a serious, indeed holy, Force in Nature, never to be invok'd idly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/they-but-appear-a-solemn-people-worshipping-laughter-rather-as-a/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“You know how it goes: at some point in your life, you fell in love with someone and had a glimpse of God. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/you-know-how-it-goes-at-some-point-in-your-life-you-fell-in-love-with/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [All music is worship. It just depends on what you’re worshipping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-foreman/all-music-is-worship-it-just-depends-on-what-you-re-worshipping/) [Jon Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-foreman/) > [I want everybody to worship the God of love instead of worshipping the God of hate and torture. But in the meantime, we don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mosab-hassan-yousef/i-want-everybody-to-worship-the-god-of-love-instead-of-worshipping/) [Mosab Hassan Yousef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mosab-hassan-yousef/) > [“WHEN a man conceives within his own mind an image of God with the intent to worship it, he does not, in worshipping it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-a-man-conceives-within-his-own-mind-an-image-of-god-with-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“These are pious, clean-living men, worshipping at the temple of their own bodies.” “Hmm. Sounds distinctly erotic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-k-morgan/these-are-pious-clean-living-men-worshipping-at-the-temple-of-their/) [Richard K. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-k-morgan/) > [Raise up the people beside you & quit worshipping those above you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-brogan/raise-up-the-people-beside-you-quit-worshipping-those-above-you/) [Chris Brogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-brogan/) > [“I said it was embarrassing. It is, having all these eyes worshipping me,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-hayes/i-said-it-was-embarrassing-it-is-having-all-these-eyes-worshipping-me/) [Drew Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-hayes/) > [he cult of productivity has its place, but worshipping at its altar daily robs us of the very capacity for joy and wonder that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-popova/he-cult-of-productivity-has-its-place-but-worshipping-at-its-altar/) [Maria Popova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-popova/) ## More by Marisha Pessl > [“America's greatest revelation was not the atom bomb, not Fundamentalism, not fat farms, not Elvis, not even the quite astute observation that gentlemen prefer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/america-s-greatest-revelation-was-not-the-atom-bomb-not/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [“I remembered what Dad said once, that some people have all of life's answers worked out the day they're born and there's no use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/i-remembered-what-dad-said-once-that-some-people-have-all-of-life-s/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [“But you go through with it, continue to fight, because you hope one day it won’t be like this. Life can be so cruel.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/but-you-go-through-with-it-continue-to-fight-because-you-hope-one-day/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [“The dark side of life has a way of finding us all anyway, so stop chasing it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/the-dark-side-of-life-has-a-way-of-finding-us-all-anyway-so-stop/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [“ Secrets —even in hardened criminals, they were just air pockets lodged under debris at the bottom of an ocean. It might take an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/secrets-even-in-hardened-criminals-they-were-just-air-pockets-lodged/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [It's kind of funny...the moments on which life hinges. I think growing up you always imagine your life--your success--depends on your family and how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/it-s-kind-of-funny-the-moments-on-which-life-hinges-i-think-growing/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [“It was the cause of many of Dad's outrages too, when people elected themselves his personal oracle of Delphi... They'd made the mistake of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/it-was-the-cause-of-many-of-dad-s-outrages-too-when-people-elected/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [“Today dies a crooked and gluttonus man' - it was true, at least literally; McCullough allegedly weighed three hundred pounds and suffered from scoliosis.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/today-dies-a-crooked-and-gluttonus-man-it-was-true-at-least-literally/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [Always live your life with your biography in mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/always-live-your-life-with-your-biography-in-mind/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [Life was a freight train barreling toward just one stop, our loved ones streaking past our windows in blurs of color and light. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/life-was-a-freight-train-barreling-toward-just-one-stop-our-loved/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [“Whilst man is in one location, he thinks of another. Dancing with one woman, he can't help but long to see the quiet curve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/whilst-man-is-in-one-location-he-thinks-of-another-dancing-with-one/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [His characters are ravaged, beaten. They walk through infernos and emerged charred doves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/his-characters-are-ravaged-beaten-they-walk-through-infernos-and/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [“A deus ex machina will never appear in real life so you best make other arrangements.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/a-deus-ex-machina-will-never-appear-in-real-life-so-you-best-make/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [“Well, everyone and their grandmother knows she's still banging Charles after all these years —" "Like a screen in a tornado. Sure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/well-everyone-and-their-grandmother-knows-she-s-still-banging-charles/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [I think every writer has a book that haunts them, and on some level, every book you write is a reaction to it. 'Lolita'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/i-think-every-writer-has-a-book-that-haunts-them-and-on-some-level/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) [Explore all 205 Marisha Pessl quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) ## More Devil quotes > [“The Devil can cite Scripture for his purpose, Sergeant,’ Anthony Payne replied. ‘That is from The Merchant of Venice, but it holds great truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arnold/the-devil-can-cite-scripture-for-his-purpose-sergeant-anthony-payne/) Michael Arnold > [Alimony - the ransom that the happy pay to the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/alimony-the-ransom-that-the-happy-pay-to-the-devil/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“Beauty is not only a terrible thing, it is also a mysterious thing. There God and the Devil strive for mastery, and the battleground…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/beauty-is-not-only-a-terrible-thing-it-is-also-a-mysterious-thing/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [The devil has been defeated, stop trying to defeat him. What we have left is the fight of faith, and it's a good fight!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-oyakhilome/the-devil-has-been-defeated-stop-trying-to-defeat-him-what-we-have/) [Chris Oyakhilome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-oyakhilome/) > [You gonna take the case?" It's not a case. It's a missing person. Sort of." You're gonna have a devil of a time finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/you-gonna-take-the-case-it-s-not-a-case-it-s-a-missing-person-sort-of/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [Your head's like mine, like all our heads; big enough to contain every god and devil there ever was. Big enough to hold the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/your-head-s-like-mine-like-all-our-heads-big-enough-to-contain-every/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [And so it is, that both the Devil and the angelic Spirit present us with objects of desire to awaken our power of choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/and-so-it-is-that-both-the-devil-and-the-angelic-spirit-present-us/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Remember that Abraham Lincoln was a Whig far longer than he was a Republican. As a whole, the Whigs looked upon banks and corporations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/remember-that-abraham-lincoln-was-a-whig-far-longer-than-he-was-a/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [Wine is the first weapon that devils use in attacking the young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/wine-is-the-first-weapon-that-devils-use-in-attacking-the-young/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [“I tend to agree with that little devil more and more these days.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elle-casey/i-tend-to-agree-with-that-little-devil-more-and-more-these-days/) [Elle Casey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elle-casey/) > [This is the gift of your species and this is the danger, because you do not choose to control your imaginings. You imagine wonderful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/this-is-the-gift-of-your-species-and-this-is-the-danger-because-you/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [“The devil?” Jason heaved the tick over his shoulder like a collier with his sack. “Satan. The adversary. The enemy of the plan of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/the-devil-jason-heaved-the-tick-over-his-shoulder-like-a-collier-with/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [God never talks. But the devil keeps advertising, Father. The devil does a lot of commercials.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-peter-blatty/god-never-talks-but-the-devil-keeps-advertising-father-the-devil-does/) [William Peter Blatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-peter-blatty/) > [If it was a sin for you to choose me . . . then I would go to the Devil himself and bless him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/if-it-was-a-sin-for-you-to-choose-me-then-i-would-go-to-the-devil/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [“The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist”—Charles Baudelaire “The second greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/the-greatest-trick-the-devil-ever-pulled-was-convincing-the-world-he/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) [Browse all 4,283 Devil quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devil/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“This is New York. 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