--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I question whether I want to be…" description: "\"I question whether I want to be integrated into America as it stands now, with its complacency and materialism, its soullessness.\" — Paule Marshall" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/311/paule-marshall-37422_america_i-question-whether-i-want-to-be-integrat_1021898.png" --- # I question whether I want to be integrated into America as… ![“I question whether I want to be integrated into America as it stands now, with its complacency and materialism, its soullessness.” quote by Paule Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/311/paule-marshall-37422_america_i-question-whether-i-want-to-be-integrat_1021898.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/311/paule-marshall-37422_america_i-question-whether-i-want-to-be-integrat_1021898.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/311/paule-marshall-37422_america_i-question-whether-i-want-to-be-integrat_1021898.png) > “I question whether I want to be integrated into America as it stands now, with its complacency and materialism, its soullessness.” [Paule Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paule-marshall/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker critiques America’s current state, seeing it as complacent, materialistic, and lacking spiritual depth. **In simple terms:** America feels empty and materialistic. Key Takeaway Question and values and seek deeper meaning. Themes critique materialism spirituality identity society Mood disillusioned thoughtful Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - social commentary - political discourse - artistic expression Key Concepts cultural criticism existential reflection Questions to Reflect On - How does materialism affect personal fulfillment? - What alternatives to complacency exist? A Different Perspective The view may overlook positive aspects of American culture. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Complacency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complacency/) [Complacency Materialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complacency-materialism-2283642/) [Integrated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integrated/) [Integrated America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integrated-america-1123159/) [Materialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/materialism/) [Materialism Soullessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/materialism-soullessness-2283641/) [United states](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united-states/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [“country. The youngsters became independent; the idea of living isolated in a poor imitation of Japan was finished. We integrated into America.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/country-the-youngsters-became-independent-the-idea-of-living-isolated/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [I believe the root of all happiness on this earth to lie in the realization of a spiritual life with a consciousness of something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-walpole/i-believe-the-root-of-all-happiness-on-this-earth-to-lie-in-the/) [Hugh Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-walpole/) > [These changes-the more rapid pulse, the deeper breathing, the increase of sugar in the blood, the secretion from the adrenal glands-were very diverse and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-bradford-cannon/these-changes-the-more-rapid-pulse-the-deeper-breathing-the-increase/) [Walter Bradford Cannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-bradford-cannon/) > [The military is already sexually integrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/the-military-is-already-sexually-integrated/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [Sometimes I wish the writing and drawing were more integrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-bechdel/sometimes-i-wish-the-writing-and-drawing-were-more-integrated/) [Alison Bechdel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-bechdel/) > [Fulfilling the four needs in an integrated way is like combining elements in chemistry. When we reach a "critical mass" of integration, we experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/fulfilling-the-four-needs-in-an-integrated-way-is-like-combining/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [Black people cannot and will not become integrated into American society on any terms but those of self-determination and autonomy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-lerner/black-people-cannot-and-will-not-become-integrated-into-american/) [Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-lerner/) > [The sovereignty of scriptures of all religions must come to an end if we want to have a united integrated modern India.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-r-ambedkar/the-sovereignty-of-scriptures-of-all-religions-must-come-to-an-end-if/) [B. R. Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) > [When I write about "realizations," I am describing a state in which a practitioner has wisdom of who she or he is, and has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-targ/when-i-write-about-realizations-i-am-describing-a-state-in-which-a/) [Russell Targ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-targ/) > [People believe that companies have always had strategies, dating back at least to likes of Henry Ford or Andrew Carnegie, maybe to the contractors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kiechel/people-believe-that-companies-have-always-had-strategies-dating-back/) [Walter Kiechel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kiechel/) > [I grew up in a very racially integrated place called Pottstown. It was an agricultural / industrial town which has since become a suburb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-hall/i-grew-up-in-a-very-racially-integrated-place-called-pottstown-it-was/) [Daryl Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-hall/) > [If someone is gay and is searching for the Lord and has good will, then who am I to judge him?... No one should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/if-someone-is-gay-and-is-searching-for-the-lord-and-has-good-will/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [McKinney, Texas is the number one place to live in the country. It's certainly the number place to live in Texas according to Forbes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldo-rivera/mckinney-texas-is-the-number-one-place-to-live-in-the-country-it-s/) [Geraldo Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldo-rivera/) > [Light and subject is inseparable. But when it is well integrated, it becomes the work of a fine masterpiece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-chong-hasang/light-and-subject-is-inseparable-but-when-it-is-well-integrated-it/) [Paul Chong Hasang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-chong-hasang/) > [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/) [Yoram Wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoram-wind/) ## More by Paule Marshall > [We live surrounded by white images, and white in this world is synonymous with the good, light, beauty, success, so that, despite ourselves sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-marshall/we-live-surrounded-by-white-images-and-white-in-this-world-is/) [Paule Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paule-marshall/) > [Perhaps she was both child and woman, darkness and light, past and present, life and death - all the opposites contained and reconciled in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-marshall/perhaps-she-was-both-child-and-woman-darkness-and-light-past-and/) [Paule Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paule-marshall/) > [Once a great wrong has been done, it never dies. People speak the words of peace, but their hearts do not forgive. Generations perform…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-marshall/once-a-great-wrong-has-been-done-it-never-dies-people-speak-the-words/) [Paule Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paule-marshall/) > [But sometimes it's necessary to go back before you can go forward, really forward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-marshall/but-sometimes-it-s-necessary-to-go-back-before-you-can-go-forward/) [Paule Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paule-marshall/) > [A silenced Haiti has once again found its literary voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-marshall/a-silenced-haiti-has-once-again-found-its-literary-voice/) [Paule Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paule-marshall/) > [I realise that it is fashionable now to dismiss the traditional novel as something of an anachronism, but to me it is still a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-marshall/i-realise-that-it-is-fashionable-now-to-dismiss-the-traditional-novel/) [Paule Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paule-marshall/) > [My very first lessons in the art of telling stories took place in the kitchen . . . my mother and three or four…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-marshall/my-very-first-lessons-in-the-art-of-telling-stories-took-place-in-the/) [Paule Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paule-marshall/) > [Sometimes a person has to go back, really back-to have a sense, an understanding of all that's gone to make them-before they can go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-marshall/sometimes-a-person-has-to-go-back-really-back-to-have-a-sense-an-2/) [Paule Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paule-marshall/) > [“And in a way, this was how he had come to see his death, as a series of small ones taking place over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-marshall/and-in-a-way-this-was-how-he-had-come-to-see-his-death-as-a-series-of/) [Paule Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paule-marshall/) > [A person can run for years but sooner or later he has to take a stand in the place which, for better or worse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-marshall/a-person-can-run-for-years-but-sooner-or-later-he-has-to-take-a-stand/) [Paule Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paule-marshall/) > [“He was one of those old people who give the impression of having undergone a lifetime trial by fire which they somehow managed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-marshall/he-was-one-of-those-old-people-who-give-the-impression-of-having/) [Paule Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paule-marshall/) [Explore all 12 Paule Marshall quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paule-marshall/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I question whether I want to be integrated into America as it stands now, with its complacency and materialism, its soullessness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paule Marshall" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-marshall/i-question-whether-i-want-to-be-integrated-into-america-as-it-stands/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-marshall/i-question-whether-i-want-to-be-integrated-into-america-as-it-stands/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/311/paule-marshall-37422_america_i-question-whether-i-want-to-be-integrat_1021898.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/311/paule-marshall-37422_america_i-question-whether-i-want-to-be-integrat_1021898.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/311/paule-marshall-37422_america_i-question-whether-i-want-to-be-integrat_1021898.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I question whether I want to be integrated into America as it stands now, with its complacency and…” — Paule Marshall", "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": "Paule Marshall", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paule-marshall/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I question whether I want to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-marshall/i-question-whether-i-want-to-be-integrated-into-america-as-it-stands/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-marshall/i-question-whether-i-want-to-be-integrated-into-america-as-it-stands/#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 } } ] } ```