--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Is that why you do good deeds, Richie? To…" description: "\"“Is that why you do good deeds, Richie? To shorten your time in Purgatory?' 'Oh, honey,' he said, brushing lint from an orange sleeve. 'I'm going to he..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/michael-nava-35812_good-deeds_is-that-why-you-do-good-deeds-richie-to_330096.jpg" --- # Is that why you do good deeds, Richie? To shorten your… ![“Is that why you do good deeds, Richie? To shorten your time in Purgatory?' 'Oh, honey,' he said, brushing lint from an orange sleeve. 'I'm going to hell. That's where the action is.” quote by Michael Nava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/michael-nava-35812_good-deeds_is-that-why-you-do-good-deeds-richie-to_330096.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/michael-nava-35812_good-deeds_is-that-why-you-do-good-deeds-richie-to_330096.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/michael-nava-35812_good-deeds_is-that-why-you-do-good-deeds-richie-to_330096.jpg) > ““Is that why you do good deeds, Richie? To shorten your time in Purgatory?' 'Oh, honey,' he said, brushing lint from an orange sleeve. 'I'm going to hell. That's where the action is.”” [Michael Nava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-nava/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character jokes that doing good deeds shortens time in purgatory, but the speaker claims they’re headed to hell because it’s where the excitement is. **In simple terms:** Doing good to avoid hell, but hell is exciting. Key Takeaway Embrace excitement, not just moral duty. Themes morality afterlife excitement Mood wry irreverent Type philosophical humorous When to use this quote - personal decisions - spiritual beliefs - risk taking Key Concepts ethical paradox life choices Questions to Reflect On - Do you prioritize excitement over moral duty? - How do you define “action” in life? A Different Perspective The humor relies on specific religious concepts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-deeds/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Purgatory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purgatory/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Time is a purgatory that has cleansed all fury from my memories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-ndor-m-rai/time-is-a-purgatory-that-has-cleansed-all-fury-from-my-memories/) [Sándor Márai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-ndor-m-rai/) > [The same fire" (which he decides to be material) " torments the damned in hell and the just in purgatory...The least pain in purgatory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/the-same-fire-which-he-decides-to-be-material-torments-the-damned-in/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [ From the time of Dante \[Alighieri\], when you have the Ptolemaic universe, you had God on the outside like a hypersphere, and then in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/from-the-time-of-dante-alighieri-when-you-have-the-ptolemaic-universe/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [Supernatural hasn't spent a lot of time on relationship stories, and this is a really nice mechanism to do that without imposing that on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-carver/supernatural-hasn-t-spent-a-lot-of-time-on-relationship-stories-and/) Jeremy Carver > [“True, the doctrine of purgatory was not so popular outside Roman circles in the nineteenth century. But “penal substitution,” which had been emphasized partly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/true-the-doctrine-of-purgatory-was-not-so-popular-outside-roman/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [The life we led was a proof of man's capacity for adaptation.I think that even the condemned souls in purgatory after time develop a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-life-we-led-was-a-proof-of-man-s-capacity-for-adaptation-i-think/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [God -- if he really exist -- is good, alive, self-conscious, and governs all things according to his benevolent and holy providence; but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-batchelder-greene/god-if-he-really-exist-is-good-alive-self-conscious-and-governs-all/) [William Batchelder Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-batchelder-greene/) > [“If Hell is other people... then Purgatory is airports.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/if-hell-is-other-people-then-purgatory-is-airports/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“For me, dear reader, that place was purgatory incarnate; neither good nor bad, but a gateway to great rewards or even greater punishments.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-sheldon/for-me-dear-reader-that-place-was-purgatory-incarnate-neither-good/) [Joss Sheldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-sheldon/) > [We live with incessant music, all the time. It's like some weird musical purgatory, there is absolutely no rest for the ears, no space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-blake/we-live-with-incessant-music-all-the-time-it-s-like-some-weird/) [James Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-blake/) > [A prison! heav'ns, I loath the hated name, Famine's metropolis, the sink of shame, A nauseous sepulchre, whose craving womb Hourly inters poor mortals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brown-jr/a-prison-heav-ns-i-loath-the-hated-name-famine-s-metropolis-the-sink/) [Tom Brown, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brown-jr/) > [I want to serve. I love my country. I love service above self and I don't want my talents to go to waste. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-broadwell/i-want-to-serve-i-love-my-country-i-love-service-above-self-and-i-don/) [Paula Broadwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-broadwell/) > [If the politics of inaction and delay that have triumphed in this country continues for another decade, then Planetary Purgatory in the likely future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-j-romm/if-the-politics-of-inaction-and-delay-that-have-triumphed-in-this/) [Joseph J. Romm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-j-romm/) > [I see no reason why I should not live on indefinitely just as I have done, and on the whole I am more comfortable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-borden/i-see-no-reason-why-i-should-not-live-on-indefinitely-just-as-i-have/) [Mary Borden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-borden/) > [ \[Jules\] slides into a seat beside me with her hot lunch tray, sighing. “Four hours, thirty-six minutes, and twelve seconds till we’re out of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/jules-slides-into-a-seat-beside-me-with-her-hot-lunch-tray-sighing/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) ## More by Michael Nava > [“Her work was indeed elliptical, she left out everything that was essential, including logic and meaning. Her words neither described nor observed things. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-nava/her-work-was-indeed-elliptical-she-left-out-everything-that-was/) [Michael Nava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-nava/) > [“Grief is half of justice," she said, and added, a moment later, "the other half is a hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-nava/grief-is-half-of-justice-she-said-and-added-a-moment-later-the-other/) [Michael Nava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-nava/) > [“And what right do you have to judge me? He was nothing to you but a drink." "No," I said. "I loved him." She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-nava/and-what-right-do-you-have-to-judge-me-he-was-nothing-to-you-but-a/) [Michael Nava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-nava/) > [“Only very young people believe that change is always for the better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-nava/only-very-young-people-believe-that-change-is-always-for-the-better/) [Michael Nava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-nava/) > [“Bad feelings have a life of their own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-nava/bad-feelings-have-a-life-of-their-own/) [Michael Nava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-nava/) > [“We had not liked each other much at first. He mistook my shyness for arrogance and I failed to see that his arrogance masked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-nava/we-had-not-liked-each-other-much-at-first-he-mistook-my-shyness-for/) [Michael Nava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-nava/) > [“I'm sorry about today." "Do you want to talk about it?" "I was bored and lonely." "Some would call that the human condition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-nava/i-m-sorry-about-today-do-you-want-to-talk-about-it-i-was-bored-and/) [Michael Nava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-nava/) > [“You know, Henry, we're the only people who get born into the enemy camp. I mean, black babies get born into black families, Jewish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-nava/you-know-henry-we-re-the-only-people-who-get-born-into-the-enemy-camp/) [Michael Nava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-nava/) > [“People are basically screwed-up and often the best you can do for them is listen, hear the worst and then tell it's not so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-nava/people-are-basically-screwed-up-and-often-the-best-you-can-do-for/) [Michael Nava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-nava/) > [“La petite mort - that's what the French called orgasm. They believed that semen is sort of concentrated blood so that each time a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-nava/la-petite-mort-that-s-what-the-french-called-orgasm-they-believed/) [Michael Nava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-nava/) > [“She's a good poet but a very neurotic woman." "Don't the two go together?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-nava/she-s-a-good-poet-but-a-very-neurotic-woman-don-t-the-two-go-together/) [Michael Nava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-nava/) > [“What I remembered most clearly from my first sex with another man was the unexpected tenderness. It disturbed me - disoriented me. I guess.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-nava/what-i-remembered-most-clearly-from-my-first-sex-with-another-man-was/) [Michael Nava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-nava/) [Explore all 13 Michael Nava quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-nava/) ## More Good deeds quotes > [“What if I believed that God Himself was the One who decreed I would be a quiet person? What if I believed that God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-rajnus/what-if-i-believed-that-god-himself-was-the-one-who-decreed-i-would/) Julie Rajnus > [When Allah puts barakah (His blessings) in something, it will come beyond your expectations- never underestimate the power of one good deed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nouman-ali-khan/when-allah-puts-barakah-his-blessings-in-something-it-will-come/) [Nouman Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nouman-ali-khan/) > [Time, which wears down and diminishes all things, augments and increases good deeds, because a good turn liberally offered to a reasonable man grows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/time-which-wears-down-and-diminishes-all-things-augments-and/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Our Soul is a spark of the Divine. It is pure and perfect. Evil deeds merely obstruct our vision of the true nature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/our-soul-is-a-spark-of-the-divine-it-is-pure-and-perfect-evil-deeds/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [The church is never a place to show off. Do your good deeds quietly. Serve; don't seek to be seen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/the-church-is-never-a-place-to-show-off-do-your-good-deeds-quietly/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [“What is the present if not the graveyard of the past where, for each of our deeds we dig a grave. Everything we do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mladen-or-evi/what-is-the-present-if-not-the-graveyard-of-the-past-where-for-each/) [Mladen Đorđević](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mladen-or-evi/) > [One mistake can wash out your thousands of good deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-demdam/one-mistake-can-wash-out-your-thousands-of-good-deeds/) Catherine Demdam > [We are not to preach the doing of good things; good deeds are not to be preached, they are to be performed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/we-are-not-to-preach-the-doing-of-good-things-good-deeds-are-not-to/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [Every time you do a good deed you shine the light a little farther into the dark. And the thing is, when you're gone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-lint/every-time-you-do-a-good-deed-you-shine-the-light-a-little-farther/) [Charles de Lint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-lint/) > [I learned to read from Mrs. Augusta Baker, the children's librarian. ... If that was the only good deed that lady ever did in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-learned-to-read-from-mrs-augusta-baker-the-children-s-librarian-if/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Steal a chicken if you get a chance, Huck, because if you don't want it, someone else does and a good deed ain't never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/steal-a-chicken-if-you-get-a-chance-huck-because-if-you-don-t-want-it/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [True value lies in the good deeds that you put forward for the Hereafter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmad-bashir/true-value-lies-in-the-good-deeds-that-you-put-forward-for-the/) Ahmad Bashir > [Verily the kindness that gazes upon itself in a mirror turns to stone, and a good deed that calls itself by tender names becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/verily-the-kindness-that-gazes-upon-itself-in-a-mirror-turns-to-stone/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Let a good person do good deeds with the same zeal that an evil person does bad ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sholom-rokeach/let-a-good-person-do-good-deeds-with-the-same-zeal-that-an-evil/) Sholom Rokeach [Browse all 533 Good deeds quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-deeds/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Is that why you do good deeds, Richie? 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