--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We all enter the world little plastic…" description: "\"We all enter the world little plastic beings, with so much natural force, perhaps, but for the rest--blank; and the world tells uswhat we are to be, an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/olive-schreiner-10332_arms_we-all-enter-the-world-little-plastic-be_1669093.png" --- # We all enter the world little plastic beings, with so much… ![“We all enter the world little plastic beings, with so much natural force, perhaps, but for the rest--blank; and the world tells uswhat we are to be, and shapes us by the ends it sets before us. To you it says--Work; and to us it says--Seem! To you it says--As you approximate to man's highest ideal…” quote by Olive Schreiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/olive-schreiner-10332_arms_we-all-enter-the-world-little-plastic-be_1669093.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/olive-schreiner-10332_arms_we-all-enter-the-world-little-plastic-be_1669093.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/olive-schreiner-10332_arms_we-all-enter-the-world-little-plastic-be_1669093.png) > “We all enter the world little plastic beings, with so much natural force, perhaps, but for the rest--blank; and the world tells uswhat we are to be, and shapes us by the ends it sets before us. To you it says--Work; and to us it says--Seem! To you it says--As you approximate to man's highest ideal of God, as your arm is strong and your knowledge great, and the power to labour is with you, so you shall gain all that human heart desires. To us it says--Strength shall not help you, nor knowledge, nor labour. You shall gain what men gain, but by other means. And so the world makes men and women.” [Olive Schreiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olive-schreiner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society imposes expectations that shape individuals, but personal strength and knowledge alone may not fulfill deeper desires; alternative paths exist. **In simple terms:** Society shapes us, but true fulfillment may need other means. Key Takeaway Seek personal meaning beyond societal expectations. Themes society identity purpose Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - career choices - personal relationships - spiritual quests Key Concepts existentialism social conditioning Questions to Reflect On - What does "the world tells us" mean to you? - How can you define your own ideals? A Different Perspective Societal pressure can limit authentic self‑discovery. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Heart Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-desire/) [Human heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-heart/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Ideals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideals/) [Labour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labour/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men and women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-and-women/) [Shapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shapes/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [You'd never be able to convince someone to give you money to do a bilingual story where you're not translating half of it -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-k-vaughan/you-d-never-be-able-to-convince-someone-to-give-you-money-to-do-a/) [Brian K. Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-k-vaughan/) > [The heart desires, the hand refrains. The Godhead fires, the soul attains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/the-heart-desires-the-hand-refrains-the-godhead-fires-the-soul-attains/) [William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/) > [May you be blessed with everything your heart desires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakti-gawain/may-you-be-blessed-with-everything-your-heart-desires/) [Shakti Gawain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakti-gawain/) > [Potential counts for a lot; but heart, desire, and will can take a dream from potential to possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cheeke/potential-counts-for-a-lot-but-heart-desire-and-will-can-take-a-dream/) [Robert Cheeke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cheeke/) > [What your heart desires is not too good to be true. It is good enough to be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/what-your-heart-desires-is-not-too-good-to-be-true-it-is-good-enough/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [Are you doing what your heart desires, or living up to society's expectations, what friends and family think? Because the moment you start doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-smart/are-you-doing-what-your-heart-desires-or-living-up-to-society-s/) [Ralph Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-smart/) > [The dreams that you hold for your future are what you dream about at night. Theyre always at the back of your mind. Theyre…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/the-dreams-that-you-hold-for-your-future-are-what-you-dream-about-at/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [Memory is not what the heart desires. That is only a mirror, be it clear as Kheled-zaram. Or so says the heart of Gimli…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/memory-is-not-what-the-heart-desires-that-is-only-a-mirror-be-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Fairyland is the loveliest word because it means everything the human heart desires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fairyland-is-the-loveliest-word-because-it-means-everything-the-human/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Whatever it is your heart desires, please go for it, it's yours to have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-estefan/whatever-it-is-your-heart-desires-please-go-for-it-it-s-yours-to-have/) [Gloria Estefan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-estefan/) > [Memory is not what the heart desires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/memory-is-not-what-the-heart-desires/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [True prayer is only another name for the love of God. Its excellence does not consist in the multitude of our words; for our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-fenelon/true-prayer-is-only-another-name-for-the-love-of-god-its-excellence/) [Francois Fenelon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-fenelon/) > [Heart, Desire, and Intensity and those have been the three words I kind of latched onto.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauryn-hill/heart-desire-and-intensity-and-those-have-been-the-three-words-i-kind/) [Lauryn Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauryn-hill/) > [Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated, I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/out-of-the-darkness-of-my-life-so-much-frustrated-i-put-before-you/) [J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/) > [You only have to believe that you can succeed, that you can be whatever your heart desires, be willing to work for it, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/you-only-have-to-believe-that-you-can-succeed-that-you-can-be/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) ## More by Olive Schreiner > [A word may become so defiled by bad use that it will take a century before it can be purifed, and brought into use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olive-schreiner/a-word-may-become-so-defiled-by-bad-use-that-it-will-take-a-century/) [Olive Schreiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olive-schreiner/) > [No woman who is a woman says of a human body, 'it is nothing' ... On this one point, and on this point alone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olive-schreiner/no-woman-who-is-a-woman-says-of-a-human-body-it-is-nothing-on-this/) [Olive Schreiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olive-schreiner/) > [genius has no limit of sex or race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olive-schreiner/genius-has-no-limit-of-sex-or-race/) [Olive Schreiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olive-schreiner/) > [Perhaps the old monks were right when they tried to root love out; perhaps the poets are right when they try to water it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olive-schreiner/perhaps-the-old-monks-were-right-when-they-tried-to-root-love-out/) [Olive Schreiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olive-schreiner/) > [“Marriage for love is the beautifulest external symbol of the union of souls, marriage without it is the uncleanliest traffic that defiles the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olive-schreiner/marriage-for-love-is-the-beautifulest-external-symbol-of-the-union-of/) [Olive Schreiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olive-schreiner/) > [Everything has two sides - the outside that is ridiculous, and the inside that is solemn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olive-schreiner/everything-has-two-sides-the-outside-that-is-ridiculous-and-the/) [Olive Schreiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olive-schreiner/) > [To us, from the beginning, Nature has been but a poor plastic thing, to be toyed with this way or that, as man happens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olive-schreiner/to-us-from-the-beginning-nature-has-been-but-a-poor-plastic-thing-to/) [Olive Schreiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olive-schreiner/) > [They are called finishing-schools and the name tells accurately what they are. They finish everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olive-schreiner/they-are-called-finishing-schools-and-the-name-tells-accurately-what/) [Olive Schreiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olive-schreiner/) > [“I think,' said Lyndall, 'that he is like a thorn-tree, which grows up very quietly, without any one's caring for it, and one day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olive-schreiner/i-think-said-lyndall-that-he-is-like-a-thorn-tree-which-grows-up-very/) [Olive Schreiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olive-schreiner/) > [“This dirty little world full of confusion, and the blue rag, stretched overhead for a sky, is so low we could touch it with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olive-schreiner/this-dirty-little-world-full-of-confusion-and-the-blue-rag-stretched/) [Olive Schreiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olive-schreiner/) > [Men are like the earth and we are the moon; we turn always one side to them, and they think there is no other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olive-schreiner/men-are-like-the-earth-and-we-are-the-moon-we-turn-always-one-side-to/) [Olive Schreiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olive-schreiner/) > [For those of us who have a ground of knowledge which we cannot transmit to outsiders, it is perhaps more profitable to act fearlessly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olive-schreiner/for-those-of-us-who-have-a-ground-of-knowledge-which-we-cannot/) [Olive Schreiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olive-schreiner/) > [“Only the sea is like a human being . . .always moving, always something deep in itself is stirring it. It never rests; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olive-schreiner/only-the-sea-is-like-a-human-being-always-moving-always-something/) [Olive Schreiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olive-schreiner/) > [The surest sign of fitness is success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olive-schreiner/the-surest-sign-of-fitness-is-success/) [Olive Schreiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olive-schreiner/) > [“The meanest girl who dances and dresses becomes something higher when her children look up into her face and ask her questions. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olive-schreiner/the-meanest-girl-who-dances-and-dresses-becomes-something-higher-when/) [Olive Schreiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olive-schreiner/) [Explore all 66 Olive Schreiner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olive-schreiner/) ## More Arms quotes > [I genuinely did not expect more than half our nation to choose to walk away from our long-term allies into the arms of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-reade/i-genuinely-did-not-expect-more-than-half-our-nation-to-choose-to/) Brian Reade > [I don't wear a watch because I want my arms to weigh the same. So if somebody asks me what time it is, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-don-t-wear-a-watch-because-i-want-my-arms-to-weigh-the-same-so-if/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [Preaching to the choir actually arms the choir with arguments and elevates the choir's discourse. There's a reason the right does it and does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-savage/preaching-to-the-choir-actually-arms-the-choir-with-arguments-and/) [Dan Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-savage/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Are we fighting?" I asked Morelli. "No. Were discussing." "Are you sure?" "Am I yelling?" Morelli asked. "Is my face purple? Are the cords…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/are-we-fighting-i-asked-morelli-no-were-discussing-are-you-sure-am-i/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [A home isn't just a roof over our heads. A home is a place where we feel loved and where we love others. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-home-isn-t-just-a-roof-over-our-heads-a-home-is-a-place-where-we/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Comerado, this is no book,Who touches this, touches a man,(Is it night? Are we here alone?)It is I you hold, and who holds you,I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/comerado-this-is-no-book-who-touches-this-touches-a-man-is-it-night/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Even the stove and the refrigerator looked human, I mean good human - they seemed to have arms and voices and they said, hang…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/even-the-stove-and-the-refrigerator-looked-human-i-mean-good-human/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [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/) > [More courage is required to forgive than is required to take up arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ramos-horta/more-courage-is-required-to-forgive-than-is-required-to-take-up-arms/) [Jose Ramos-Horta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ramos-horta/) > [It's been a long time since I asked anything of heaven, and my arms still haven't come down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-porchia/it-s-been-a-long-time-since-i-asked-anything-of-heaven-and-my-arms/) [Antonio Porchia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-porchia/) > [With those who are willing to join, let us cooperate to reduce the burden of arms, to strengthen the structure of peace, to lift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-nixon/with-those-who-are-willing-to-join-let-us-cooperate-to-reduce-the/) [Richard M. Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-nixon/) > [How shall freedom be defended? By arms when it is attacked by arms, by truth when it is attacked by lies, by faith when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/how-shall-freedom-be-defended-by-arms-when-it-is-attacked-by-arms-by/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [You don't have to say it out loud. I already know why you like me.' 'You do, huh?' 'Yep.' He wrapped his arms around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/you-don-t-have-to-say-it-out-loud-i-already-know-why-you-like-me-you/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [Another step had her backed up against the wall, and he braced his arms on both sides of her. "I'm beginning to look forward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-lindsey/another-step-had-her-backed-up-against-the-wall-and-he-braced-his/) [Johanna Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-lindsey/) Browse all 4,470 Arms quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We all enter the world little plastic beings, with so much natural force, perhaps, but for the rest--blank; and the world tells uswhat we are to be, and shapes us by the ends it sets before us. To you it says--Work; and to us it says--Seem! To you it says--As you approximate to man's highest ideal of God, as your arm is strong and your knowledge great, and the power to labour is with you, so you shall gain all that human heart desires. To us it says--Strength shall not help you, nor knowledge, nor labour. You shall gain what men gain, but by other means. 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