--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The dead are like puppets: even when…" description: "\"“The dead are like puppets: even when their own words are brought forth, they are ventriloquized by the living.”\" — Nicole Rudick" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ae/nicole-rudick-97777_dead_the-dead-are-like-puppets-even-when-thei_2380007.jpg" --- # The dead are like puppets: even when their own words are… ![“The dead are like puppets: even when their own words are brought forth, they are ventriloquized by the living.” quote by Nicole Rudick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ae/nicole-rudick-97777_dead_the-dead-are-like-puppets-even-when-thei_2380007.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ae/nicole-rudick-97777_dead_the-dead-are-like-puppets-even-when-thei_2380007.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ae/nicole-rudick-97777_dead_the-dead-are-like-puppets-even-when-thei_2380007.jpg) > ““The dead are like puppets: even when their own words are brought forth, they are ventriloquized by the living.”” [Nicole Rudick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-rudick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The dead become mere puppets, their words used by the living to serve present narratives. **In simple terms:** The dead are used as puppets by the living. Key Takeaway Respect the dead’s voice without manipulation. Themes death memory voice manipulation legacy Mood somber thoughtful Type Dead:1 Death:1 Life:0 Puppets:1 Like Puppets:0 Words Brought:0 Puppets Words:0 Ventriloquized Living:1 When to use this quote - memorials - journalism - family narratives Key Concepts ethical storytelling historical integrity Questions to Reflect On - How do we honor authentic voices of the departed? - When is it appropriate to speak for them? A Different Perspective Living may distort the dead’s true intent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Like Puppets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-puppets-403174/) [Puppets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/puppets/) [Puppets Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/puppets-words-5891966/) [Ventriloquized Living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ventriloquized-living-5891967/) [Words Brought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-brought-1619418/) ## Related quotes > [I have always been scared or skeeved out by anything that resembles people like puppets or things like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-blunt/i-have-always-been-scared-or-skeeved-out-by-anything-that-resembles/) [Emily Blunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-blunt/) > [“Like they were puppets, and the puppeteer had sneezed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-child/like-they-were-puppets-and-the-puppeteer-had-sneezed/) [Lee Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-child/) > [I probably shouldn't say this about all animals, but at least the farm animals that I've hung out with, and even when I go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-schaal/i-probably-shouldn-t-say-this-about-all-animals-but-at-least-the-farm/) [Kristen Schaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-schaal/) > [Reporters are like puppets. They simply respond to the pull of the most powerful strings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/reporters-are-like-puppets-they-simply-respond-to-the-pull-of-the/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [We're like so many puppets hung on the wall, waiting for someone to come and move us or make us talk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luigi-pirandello/we-re-like-so-many-puppets-hung-on-the-wall-waiting-for-someone-to/) [Luigi Pirandello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luigi-pirandello/) > [A lot of the strings that hold us like puppets are really inventions of our own minds. I'm not saying that there aren't armies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/a-lot-of-the-strings-that-hold-us-like-puppets-are-really-inventions/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [“we are like puppets synchronized by god…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mayank-prasad/we-are-like-puppets-synchronized-by-god/) [mayank prasad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mayank-prasad/) > [Having watched 'X Factor' over the years, they just haven't got it right. The male winners haven't been believable. They look like puppets; they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/having-watched-x-factor-over-the-years-they-just-haven-t-got-it-right/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [“Frink and Blevins had an uber-mission (I wonder, shall it seem antiquated or inconceivable, if these words are ever brought to light?).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/frink-and-blevins-had-an-uber-mission-i-wonder-shall-it-seem/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [Good manners and soft words have brought many a difficult thing to pass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/good-manners-and-soft-words-have-brought-many-a-difficult-thing-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Here are the words that have brought me to a new understanding. Here are the words that will bind us forever. From this day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lang-leav/here-are-the-words-that-have-brought-me-to-a-new-understanding-here/) [Lang Leav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lang-leav/) > [“She gave her a reason to write her own words, to see that words had also brought her to life. "Don't punish yourself," she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/she-gave-her-a-reason-to-write-her-own-words-to-see-that-words-had/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [“I’m getting high on the scent of her, when she says, “We’re home.” If I’d been standing, her words would have brought me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-hodkin/i-m-getting-high-on-the-scent-of-her-when-she-says-we-re-home-if-i-d/) [Michelle Hodkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-hodkin/) > [“People play roles like puppets, as if wound up by other people, to an alien music that is absolutely incomprehensible and unintelligible to them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krle-a-miroslav/people-play-roles-like-puppets-as-if-wound-up-by-other-people-to-an/) [Krleža, Miroslav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krle-a-miroslav/) > [ If the State does not acquire supremacy over \[vast private\] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy-over-vast-private-enterprises/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) ## More by Nicole Rudick > [“The aftermath of someone’s death is vertiginous, a murky, shimmering mass; to look at it head-on is to see only the fog of emotion.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-rudick/the-aftermath-of-someone-s-death-is-vertiginous-a-murky-shimmering/) [Nicole Rudick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-rudick/) [Explore all 2 Nicole Rudick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-rudick/) ## More Dead quotes > [I'm going to stay on stage until I drop dead. Then I'm going to have myself stuffed, like Trigger, and I'm going to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-reynolds/i-m-going-to-stay-on-stage-until-i-drop-dead-then-i-m-going-to-have/) [Debbie Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-reynolds/) > [I can't be a legend yet. I'm not dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/i-can-t-be-a-legend-yet-i-m-not-dead/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [Okay, so I'll admit I'm curious. Big deal. We both know what that leads to. Dead cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/okay-so-i-ll-admit-i-m-curious-big-deal-we-both-know-what-that-leads/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [It's a really dark, emotionally wrenching world that we've created on 'The Walking Dead.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-holden/it-s-a-really-dark-emotionally-wrenching-world-that-we-ve-created-on/) [Laurie Holden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-holden/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [“I’m just–” She wanted to say “not in the mood,” but that was not only a cliché but a vast understatement. She was dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-mcintosh/i-m-just-she-wanted-to-say-not-in-the-mood-but-that-was-not-only-a/) [Will McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-mcintosh/) > [Library: A place where the dead lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/library-a-place-where-the-dead-lie/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [When we dead awaken ... we see that we have never lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/when-we-dead-awaken-we-see-that-we-have-never-lived/) [Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/) > [Rather be dead than cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-cobain/rather-be-dead-than-cool/) [Kurt Cobain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-cobain/) > [He was obviously dead. But since he was a vampire that wasn't as hopless a thing as it might have been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/he-was-obviously-dead-but-since-he-was-a-vampire-that-wasn-t-as/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [Ireland starts for me with the end of 'The Dead,' which my father read to me from his desk in his basement office in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-jeremiah-sullivan/ireland-starts-for-me-with-the-end-of-the-dead-which-my-father-read/) [John Jeremiah Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-jeremiah-sullivan/) > [“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.’ – Ben Franklin,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/three-may-keep-a-secret-if-two-of-them-are-dead-ben-franklin/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I intend to do the Penn & Teller show until they pry my cheesy magic wand from my cold dead fingers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/i-intend-to-do-the-penn-teller-show-until-they-pry-my-cheesy-magic/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > ['Misery' left a lasting mark on me. When I die, it will be 'Kathy 'Misery' Bates Is Dead.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-bates/misery-left-a-lasting-mark-on-me-when-i-die-it-will-be-kathy-misery/) [Kathy Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-bates/) > [The only good Indian is a dead Indian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-tecumseh-sherman/the-only-good-indian-is-a-dead-indian/) [William Tecumseh Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-tecumseh-sherman/) [Browse all 3,376 Dead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The dead are like puppets: even when their own words are brought forth, they are ventriloquized by the living.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nicole Rudick" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-rudick/the-dead-are-like-puppets-even-when-their-own-words-are-brought-forth/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dead" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-rudick/the-dead-are-like-puppets-even-when-their-own-words-are-brought-forth/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ae/nicole-rudick-97777_dead_the-dead-are-like-puppets-even-when-thei_2380007.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ae/nicole-rudick-97777_dead_the-dead-are-like-puppets-even-when-thei_2380007.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ae/nicole-rudick-97777_dead_the-dead-are-like-puppets-even-when-thei_2380007.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The dead are like puppets: even when their own words are brought forth, they are ventriloquized by the living.” — Nicole Rudick", "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": "Nicole Rudick", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-rudick/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The dead are like puppets: even...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-rudick/the-dead-are-like-puppets-even-when-their-own-words-are-brought-forth/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-rudick/the-dead-are-like-puppets-even-when-their-own-words-are-brought-forth/#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 } } ] } ```