--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People ridiculed me. “What on earth are…" description: "\"“People ridiculed me. “What on earth are you doing?” they asked. “Why are you working so hard?” They didn’t understand that driving that tractor was th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85f/masaji-ishikawa-5495_nature_people-ridiculed-me-what-on-earth-are-yo_47298.jpg" --- # People ridiculed me. “What on earth are you doing?” they… ![“People ridiculed me. “What on earth are you doing?” they asked. “Why are you working so hard?” They didn’t understand that driving that tractor was the only freedom I had, my only respite from the orders and insults that assaulted us day in and day out. So no, I wasn’t crazy. Work was my only…” quote by Masaji Ishikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85f/masaji-ishikawa-5495_nature_people-ridiculed-me-what-on-earth-are-yo_47298.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85f/masaji-ishikawa-5495_nature_people-ridiculed-me-what-on-earth-are-yo_47298.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85f/masaji-ishikawa-5495_nature_people-ridiculed-me-what-on-earth-are-yo_47298.jpg) > ““People ridiculed me. “What on earth are you doing?” they asked. “Why are you working so hard?” They didn’t understand that driving that tractor was the only freedom I had, my only respite from the orders and insults that assaulted us day in and day out. So no, I wasn’t crazy. Work was my only refuge. And I just enjoyed driving that tractor.”” [Masaji Ishikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaji-ishikawa/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Finding solace and autonomy in labor when external life feels oppressive; work becomes a sanctuary and a source of identity. **In simple terms:** Labor as refuge Key Takeaway Work can be a liberating sanctuary Themes Resilience Freedom Identity Oppression Escape Purpose Mood Defiant Reflective Hopeful Type Narrative Testimonial Philosophical When to use this quote - Living under authoritarian rule - Rural hardship - Personal oppression - Finding meaning in routine Key Concepts Autonomy Psychological refuge Socioeconomic constraints Practical Applications - Therapeutic use of repetitive tasks - Narratives of resistance through labor Questions to Reflect On - How does routine work shape personal agency? - When can work become a form of resistance? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [Father was a good driver and enjoyed driving, but the sight of a female in charge of a vehicle was sometimes too much for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-cavendish-duchess-of-devonshire/father-was-a-good-driver-and-enjoyed-driving-but-the-sight-of-a/) [Deborah Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-cavendish-duchess-of-devonshire/) > [Work is the refuge of people who have nothing better to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/work-is-the-refuge-of-people-who-have-nothing-better-to-do/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [ \[A businessmen in plane after 9\\11\] asked me, "What are you working on now?" 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I'd find myself walking out of class, singing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hedlund/i-remember-driving-the-tractor-on-our-farm-and-tim-mcgraw-would-be-on/) [Garrett Hedlund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hedlund/) > [Where I'm from, there was more chance of me driving a tractor or milking a cow than becoming a Grand Prix driver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-coulthard/where-i-m-from-there-was-more-chance-of-me-driving-a-tractor-or/) [David Coulthard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-coulthard/) > [I was working on the farm to get in shape, about a mile away from my parents. You know, I did everything as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-lafleur/i-was-working-on-the-farm-to-get-in-shape-about-a-mile-away-from-my/) [Guy Lafleur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-lafleur/) > [Driving a tractor never appealed to me. But I never wanted to go into business. 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Party and military bigwigs, some guy known as the “combat commander,” the village headman, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaji-ishikawa/people-came-to-our-house-from-far-and-wide-party-and-military-bigwigs/) [Masaji Ishikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaji-ishikawa/) > [“This was laughable, of course, but that’s always the way with totalitarian regimes. Language gets turned on its head. Serfdom is freedom. Repression is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaji-ishikawa/this-was-laughable-of-course-but-that-s-always-the-way-with/) [Masaji Ishikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaji-ishikawa/) > [“I was amazed we’d got through the checkpoint so easily. I couldn’t help asking about it. “Well, these soldiers, you see . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaji-ishikawa/i-was-amazed-we-d-got-through-the-checkpoint-so-easily-i-couldn-t/) [Masaji Ishikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaji-ishikawa/) > [“My family was poor, but my childhood days in Mizonokuchi were the happiest of my life. Even now, when I think about my hometown,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaji-ishikawa/my-family-was-poor-but-my-childhood-days-in-mizonokuchi-were-the/) [Masaji Ishikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaji-ishikawa/) > [“I mean, this was the second half of the twentieth century, for pity’s sake, and they still saw communism as the road to utopia.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaji-ishikawa/i-mean-this-was-the-second-half-of-the-twentieth-century-for-pity-s/) [Masaji Ishikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaji-ishikawa/) > [“But the reality hit home late that night. I had a wife. And now two children. And however hard I worked, I would always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaji-ishikawa/but-the-reality-hit-home-late-that-night-i-had-a-wife-and-now-two/) [Masaji Ishikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaji-ishikawa/) > [“So we became masters at faking it. Everyone did. To do anything else could have gotten us killed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaji-ishikawa/so-we-became-masters-at-faking-it-everyone-did-to-do-anything-else/) [Masaji Ishikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaji-ishikawa/) > [“I still hope to rescue my remaining children. It is a terrible curse to not even know if they are still alive. But I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaji-ishikawa/i-still-hope-to-rescue-my-remaining-children-it-is-a-terrible-curse/) [Masaji Ishikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaji-ishikawa/) > [“But that’s the trouble with propaganda. It constantly contradicts itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaji-ishikawa/but-that-s-the-trouble-with-propaganda-it-constantly-contradicts/) [Masaji Ishikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaji-ishikawa/) > [“The consul was at a loss for words the first time he set eyes on me. “My God! How could they treat you like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaji-ishikawa/the-consul-was-at-a-loss-for-words-the-first-time-he-set-eyes-on-me/) [Masaji Ishikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaji-ishikawa/) > [“We were nothing but a bunch of ravenous ghosts. The barely living dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaji-ishikawa/we-were-nothing-but-a-bunch-of-ravenous-ghosts-the-barely-living-dead/) [Masaji Ishikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaji-ishikawa/) > [“Did the International Committee of the Red Cross know anything about this? Did the United States? The UN? Yes, yes, and yes. And what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaji-ishikawa/did-the-international-committee-of-the-red-cross-know-anything-about/) [Masaji Ishikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaji-ishikawa/) > [“When we got back to our house, the villagers who’d had helped carry her coffin as far as the mountainside were there, partaking enthusiastically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaji-ishikawa/when-we-got-back-to-our-house-the-villagers-who-d-had-helped-carry/) [Masaji Ishikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaji-ishikawa/) > [“Much later, I checked out the Ten Commandments of the Abrahamic religions. You know how many of them contain a reference to God? About…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaji-ishikawa/much-later-i-checked-out-the-ten-commandments-of-the-abrahamic/) [Masaji Ishikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaji-ishikawa/) > [“But the trouble is that some people really do end up brainwashed. They come to believe all the bullshit. But, thankfully, there are also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaji-ishikawa/but-the-trouble-is-that-some-people-really-do-end-up-brainwashed-they/) [Masaji Ishikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaji-ishikawa/) [Explore all 100 Masaji Ishikawa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaji-ishikawa/) ## More Nature quotes > [It is indeed a surprising and fortunate fact that nature can be expressed by relatively low-order mathematical functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-carnap/it-is-indeed-a-surprising-and-fortunate-fact-that-nature-can-be/) [Rudolf Carnap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-carnap/) > [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Borrow trouble for yourself, if that's your nature, but don't lend it to your neighbours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/borrow-trouble-for-yourself-if-that-s-your-nature-but-don-t-lend-it/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“Men mistook measurement for understanding. And they always had to put themselves at the center of everything. That was their greatest conceit. The earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/men-mistook-measurement-for-understanding-and-they-always-had-to-put/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [“She was, he knew- and had known very early, he supposed- one of those rare and always lovely humans whose moral nature was so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-williams/she-was-he-knew-and-had-known-very-early-he-supposed-one-of-those/) [John Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-williams/) > [“When the water covers the earth the sun will vanish the darkess and the cold will come.When the last dragon and the last Elf…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silvana-de-mari/when-the-water-covers-the-earth-the-sun-will-vanish-the-darkess-and/) [Silvana de Mari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silvana-de-mari/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... 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If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) [Browse all 47,383 Nature quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“People ridiculed me. “What on earth are you doing?” they asked. “Why are you working so hard?” They didn’t understand that driving that tractor was the only freedom I had, my only respite from the orders and insults that assaulted us day in and day out. 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