--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What we get in steerage is not the…" description: "\"What we get in steerage is not the refuse, but the sinew and bone of all the nations.\" — Mary Antin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/mary-antin-16350_bones_what-we-get-in-steerage-is-not-the-refus_3227470.png" --- # What we get in steerage is not the refuse, but the sinew… ![“What we get in steerage is not the refuse, but the sinew and bone of all the nations.” quote by Mary Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/mary-antin-16350_bones_what-we-get-in-steerage-is-not-the-refus_3227470.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/mary-antin-16350_bones_what-we-get-in-steerage-is-not-the-refus_3227470.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/mary-antin-16350_bones_what-we-get-in-steerage-is-not-the-refus_3227470.png) > “What we get in steerage is not the refuse, but the sinew and bone of all the nations.” [Mary Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-antin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Immigrants bring the strongest, most resilient parts of their cultures, not just waste. **In simple terms:** Immigrants contribute strength and vitality. Key Takeaway Value the essential contributions of newcomers. Themes immigration cultural exchange strength Mood hopeful proud Type sociological inspirational When to use this quote - community building - policy making - education Key Concepts human resilience national identity Questions to Reflect On - What ' the 'sinew and bone' of a nation? - How can societies honor immigrant contributions? A Different Perspective Stereotypes may overlook immigrants' vital roles. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) ## Related quotes > [While Michael Angelo's Sistine roof, His "Morning" and his "Night" disclose How sinew that has been pulled tight, Or it may be loosened in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/while-michael-angelo-s-sistine-roof-his-morning-and-his-night/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [He that hath the steerage of my course, Direct my sail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/he-that-hath-the-steerage-of-my-course-direct-my-sail/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“In December of 2007 human bones including skulls, which have been radiocarbon dated back to between 1304 and 1424, were found in a museum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/in-december-of-2007-human-bones-including-skulls-which-have-been/) Captain Hank Bracker, "Seawater One > [“All right, you deadly little ghostlings,” I muttered. “Mama says go back to bed! - Cat”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/all-right-you-deadly-little-ghostlings-i-muttered-mama-says-go-back/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [REVIEW, v.t. To set your wisdom (holding not a doubt of it./ Although in truth there's neither bone nor skin to it)/ At work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/review-v-t-to-set-your-wisdom-holding-not-a-doubt-of-it-although-in/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Death and burial were a public spectacle. Shakespeare may have seen for himself the gravediggers at St Ann's, Soho, playing skittles with skulls and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-arnold/death-and-burial-were-a-public-spectacle-shakespeare-may-have-seen/) [Catharine Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-arnold/) > [One of my favorite poets, Neruda, writes close to the bone. Though I know only a little Spanish, I like to compare the Spanish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-diament/one-of-my-favorite-poets-neruda-writes-close-to-the-bone-though-i/) [Anita Diament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-diament/) > [Flesh forgets. Bone remembers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefferson-bass/flesh-forgets-bone-remembers/) [Jefferson Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefferson-bass/) > [I separated the joints, the arm joints, the leg joints, and had to do two boilings. I think I used four boxes of Soilex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-dahmer/i-separated-the-joints-the-arm-joints-the-leg-joints-and-had-to-do/) [Jeffrey Dahmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-dahmer/) > [Men are fair, and they have learned not to personalize anger - they can disagree with you and argue to the bone, but afterward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/men-are-fair-and-they-have-learned-not-to-personalize-anger-they-can/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [“We are preaching hope, standing on the bones of the past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rucyahana/we-are-preaching-hope-standing-on-the-bones-of-the-past/) [John Rucyahana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rucyahana/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [May nothing entice me till I happily make my way to Jesus Christ! Fire, cross, struggles with wild beasts, wrenching of bones, mangling of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ignatius-of-antioch/may-nothing-entice-me-till-i-happily-make-my-way-to-jesus-christ-fire/) [Ignatius of Antioch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ignatius-of-antioch/) > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) ## More by Mary Antin > [On a royal birthday every house must fly a flag, or the owner would be dragged to a police station and be fined twenty-five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-antin/on-a-royal-birthday-every-house-must-fly-a-flag-or-the-owner-would-be/) [Mary Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-antin/) > [A proper autobiography is a death-bed confession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-antin/a-proper-autobiography-is-a-death-bed-confession/) [Mary Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-antin/) > [One current of continuity runs underneath all the abortive phases of my life. From childhood on I have been obliged to drop anything I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-antin/one-current-of-continuity-runs-underneath-all-the-abortive-phases-of/) [Mary Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-antin/) > [A proper autobiography is a death-bed confession. A true man finds so much work to do that he has no time to contemplate his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-antin/a-proper-autobiography-is-a-death-bed-confession-a-true-man-finds-so/) [Mary Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-antin/) > [“The Wandering Jew in me seeks forgetfulness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-antin/the-wandering-jew-in-me-seeks-forgetfulness/) [Mary Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-antin/) > [The past was only my cradle, and now it cannot hold me, because I am grown too big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-antin/the-past-was-only-my-cradle-and-now-it-cannot-hold-me-because-i-am/) [Mary Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-antin/) > [It is painful to be consciously of two worlds. The Wandering Jew in me seeks forgetfulness. I am not afraid to live on and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-antin/it-is-painful-to-be-consciously-of-two-worlds-the-wandering-jew-in-me/) [Mary Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-antin/) > [“The tongue am I of those who lived before me, as those that are to come will be the voice of my unspoken thoughts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-antin/the-tongue-am-i-of-those-who-lived-before-me-as-those-that-are-to/) [Mary Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-antin/) > [It is not that I belong to the past, but the past that belongs to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-antin/it-is-not-that-i-belong-to-the-past-but-the-past-that-belongs-to-me/) [Mary Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-antin/) > [The first meal was an object lesson of much variety. My father produced several kinds of food, ready to eat, without any cooking, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-antin/the-first-meal-was-an-object-lesson-of-much-variety-my-father/) [Mary Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-antin/) > [There was one public school for boys, and one for girls, but Jewish children were admitted in limited numbers - only ten to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-antin/there-was-one-public-school-for-boys-and-one-for-girls-but-jewish/) [Mary Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-antin/) > [You went up to be examined with the other Jewish children, your heart heavy about that matter of your nose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-antin/you-went-up-to-be-examined-with-the-other-jewish-children-your-heart/) [Mary Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-antin/) > [We are not born all at once, but by bits. The body first, and the spirit later; and the birth and growth of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-antin/we-are-not-born-all-at-once-but-by-bits-the-body-first-and-the-spirit/) [Mary Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-antin/) > [No, the czar did not want us in the schools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-antin/no-the-czar-did-not-want-us-in-the-schools/) [Mary Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-antin/) > [As we moved along in a little procession, I was delighted with the illumination of the streets. So many lamps, and they burned until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-antin/as-we-moved-along-in-a-little-procession-i-was-delighted-with-the/) [Mary Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-antin/) [Explore all 40 Mary Antin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-antin/) ## More Bones quotes > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [May nothing entice me till I happily make my way to Jesus Christ! Fire, cross, struggles with wild beasts, wrenching of bones, mangling of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ignatius-of-antioch/may-nothing-entice-me-till-i-happily-make-my-way-to-jesus-christ-fire/) [Ignatius of Antioch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ignatius-of-antioch/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [“We are preaching hope, standing on the bones of the past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rucyahana/we-are-preaching-hope-standing-on-the-bones-of-the-past/) [John Rucyahana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rucyahana/) > [Men are fair, and they have learned not to personalize anger - they can disagree with you and argue to the bone, but afterward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/men-are-fair-and-they-have-learned-not-to-personalize-anger-they-can/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [I separated the joints, the arm joints, the leg joints, and had to do two boilings. I think I used four boxes of Soilex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-dahmer/i-separated-the-joints-the-arm-joints-the-leg-joints-and-had-to-do/) [Jeffrey Dahmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-dahmer/) > [Flesh forgets. Bone remembers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefferson-bass/flesh-forgets-bone-remembers/) [Jefferson Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefferson-bass/) > [One of my favorite poets, Neruda, writes close to the bone. Though I know only a little Spanish, I like to compare the Spanish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-diament/one-of-my-favorite-poets-neruda-writes-close-to-the-bone-though-i/) [Anita Diament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-diament/) > [Death and burial were a public spectacle. Shakespeare may have seen for himself the gravediggers at St Ann's, Soho, playing skittles with skulls and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-arnold/death-and-burial-were-a-public-spectacle-shakespeare-may-have-seen/) [Catharine Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-arnold/) > [REVIEW, v.t. To set your wisdom (holding not a doubt of it./ Although in truth there's neither bone nor skin to it)/ At work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/review-v-t-to-set-your-wisdom-holding-not-a-doubt-of-it-although-in/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [“All right, you deadly little ghostlings,” I muttered. “Mama says go back to bed! - Cat”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/all-right-you-deadly-little-ghostlings-i-muttered-mama-says-go-back/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [“In December of 2007 human bones including skulls, which have been radiocarbon dated back to between 1304 and 1424, were found in a museum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/in-december-of-2007-human-bones-including-skulls-which-have-been/) Captain Hank Bracker, "Seawater One > [When I look at the human brain I'm still in awe of it. Every single time you lift off the bone and open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/when-i-look-at-the-human-brain-i-m-still-in-awe-of-it-every-single/) [Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/) > [I’m in, Cat. I’d never leave you. Especially when you’ve got death breathing down your neck.” “Very funny,” I retorted, since Bones was inches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/i-m-in-cat-i-d-never-leave-you-especially-when-you-ve-got-death/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) Browse all 2,113 Bones quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What we get in steerage is not the refuse, but the sinew and bone of all the nations.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Antin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-antin/what-we-get-in-steerage-is-not-the-refuse-but-the-sinew-and-bone-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bones" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-antin/what-we-get-in-steerage-is-not-the-refuse-but-the-sinew-and-bone-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/mary-antin-16350_bones_what-we-get-in-steerage-is-not-the-refus_3227470.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/mary-antin-16350_bones_what-we-get-in-steerage-is-not-the-refus_3227470.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/mary-antin-16350_bones_what-we-get-in-steerage-is-not-the-refus_3227470.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What we get in steerage is not the refuse, but the sinew and bone of all the nations.” — Mary Antin", "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": "Mary Antin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-antin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What we get in steerage is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-antin/what-we-get-in-steerage-is-not-the-refuse-but-the-sinew-and-bone-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-antin/what-we-get-in-steerage-is-not-the-refuse-but-the-sinew-and-bone-of/#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 } } ] } ```