--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: they lost the sense of being in a hostile…" description: "\"“they lost the sense of being in a hostile environment, although hostile wasn’t the word, an environment whose language they refused to recognize, an e..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/115/roberto-bola-o-725_hostile_they-lost-the-sense-of-being-in-a-hostil_2577451.jpg" --- # they lost the sense of being in a hostile environment… ![“they lost the sense of being in a hostile environment, although hostile wasn’t the word, an environment whose language they refused to recognize, an environment that existed on some parallel plane where they couldn’t make their presence felt,” quote by Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/115/roberto-bola-o-725_hostile_they-lost-the-sense-of-being-in-a-hostil_2577451.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/115/roberto-bola-o-725_hostile_they-lost-the-sense-of-being-in-a-hostil_2577451.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/115/roberto-bola-o-725_hostile_they-lost-the-sense-of-being-in-a-hostil_2577451.jpg) > ““they lost the sense of being in a hostile environment, although hostile wasn’t the word, an environment whose language they refused to recognize, an environment that existed on some parallel plane where they couldn’t make their presence felt,”” [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People can become detached from hostile surroundings when they ignore the language and signals that define those spaces. **In simple terms:** Ignoring hostile cues leads to feeling invisible. Key Takeaway Recognize and engage with the environment’s language. Themes alienation communication perception Mood reflective concerned Type observational analytical When to use this quote - immigration - workplace integration - urban living - academic settings Key Concepts social dynamics cultural dissonance Questions to Reflect On - How can you learn the language of a hostile setting? - What signs indicate you’re being ignored? A Different Perspective If the environment’s language is unrecognizable, engagement may be impossible. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hostile environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hostile-environment/) ## Related quotes > [We live in a world where no one believes. Enlightenment and knowledge are laughed at. Those who seek and teach the mysteries are scorned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/we-live-in-a-world-where-no-one-believes-enlightenment-and-knowledge/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“My tone must have seemed hostile, even though I wasn’t angry or offended; there was just a touch of sarcasm. He tried to respond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-ferrante/my-tone-must-have-seemed-hostile-even-though-i-wasn-t-angry-or/) [Elena Ferrante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-ferrante/) > [One animal or plant species may become extinct every hour. All species are doomed to extinction, but man through worldwide development/killing animals for food/profit/using…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-p-eckholm/one-animal-or-plant-species-may-become-extinct-every-hour-all-species/) Erik P. Eckholm > [Blindsight is excellent. It's state-of-the-art science fiction: smart, dark and it grabs you by the throat from page one. Like a C J Cherryh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-asher/blindsight-is-excellent-it-s-state-of-the-art-science-fiction-smart/) [Neal Asher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-asher/) > [Nonviolence is a universal principle and its operation is not limited by a hostile environment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/nonviolence-is-a-universal-principle-and-its-operation-is-not-limited/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The ocean is the only alien and potentially hostile environment on the planet into which we tend to venture without thinking about the animals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/the-ocean-is-the-only-alien-and-potentially-hostile-environment-on/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) > [By giving women training to sue a company for a 'hostile environment' if someone tells a dirty joke, we are training women to run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/by-giving-women-training-to-sue-a-company-for-a-hostile-environment/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [“Space was a hostile environment that required a sharp and cunning mind over prestige any day. That, and a shit load of weapons.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-fay/space-was-a-hostile-environment-that-required-a-sharp-and-cunning/) [Kiersten Fay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-fay/) > [I was a corporate trouble-shooter for many years, and I know what it is like to walk very carefully into a hostile environment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-todd/i-was-a-corporate-trouble-shooter-for-many-years-and-i-know-what-it/) [Charles Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-todd/) > [The thing I like about the sci-fi genre is that you get to examine universal themes and polarizing moral choices. The characters have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-murray/the-thing-i-like-about-the-sci-fi-genre-is-that-you-get-to-examine/) [Jaime Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaime-murray/) > [I think there's a perception from the city that the country is a very hostile environment. And that's not the case, necessarily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-gladstone/i-think-there-s-a-perception-from-the-city-that-the-country-is-a-very/) [Lily Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-gladstone/) > [The sense of tragedy is that the world is not a pleasant little nest made for our protection, but a vast and largely hostile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norbert-wiener/the-sense-of-tragedy-is-that-the-world-is-not-a-pleasant-little-nest/) [Norbert Wiener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norbert-wiener/) > [Now, Venus is an extremely hostile environment, and as such presents a lot of challenges for a science fiction author who wants to create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-zettel/now-venus-is-an-extremely-hostile-environment-and-as-such-presents-a/) [Sarah Zettel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-zettel/) > [The aim is to create here in Britain a really hostile environment for illegal migration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theresa-may/the-aim-is-to-create-here-in-britain-a-really-hostile-environment-for/) [Theresa May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theresa-may/) > [Local law enforcement agencies, national police authorities, and other state-operated surveillance has created a hostile environment for communities at the margins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrisse-cullors/local-law-enforcement-agencies-national-police-authorities-and-other/) [Patrisse Cullors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrisse-cullors/) ## More by Roberto Bolaño > [Literature + Illness = Illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/literature-illness-illness/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“Brief like beauty, Absolute beauty, That which contains all the world's majesty and misery And which is only visible to those who love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/brief-like-beauty-absolute-beauty-that-which-contains-all-the-world-s/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“There are books for when you’re bored. Plenty of them. There are books for when you’re calm. The best kind, in my opinion. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/there-are-books-for-when-you-re-bored-plenty-of-them-there-are-books/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“I try to find the books that I lost or forgot more than 30 years ago on another continent, with the hope and dedication…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/i-try-to-find-the-books-that-i-lost-or-forgot-more-than-30-years-ago/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“In a word, and bluntly: as they walked around Sankt Pauli, it came to Pelletier and Espinoza that the search for Archimboldi could never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/in-a-word-and-bluntly-as-they-walked-around-sankt-pauli-it-came-to/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [We're artists too, but we do a good job hiding it, don't we?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/we-re-artists-too-but-we-do-a-good-job-hiding-it-don-t-we/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [Nothing good ever comes of love. What comes of love is always something better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/nothing-good-ever-comes-of-love-what-comes-of-love-is-always/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“book on Archimboldi, a book that might be the grand Archimboldian opus, the pilot fish that would swim for a long time beside the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/book-on-archimboldi-a-book-that-might-be-the-grand-archimboldian-opus/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [Literature is the product of a strange rain of blood, sweat, semen, and tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/literature-is-the-product-of-a-strange-rain-of-blood-sweat-semen-and/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“The brief sound is like a color swallowed by a crack. But what color?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/the-brief-sound-is-like-a-color-swallowed-by-a-crack-but-what-color/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“All horrors are dulled by routine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/all-horrors-are-dulled-by-routine/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“The fourth dimension, he liked to say, encompasses the three dimensions and consequently puts them in their place, that is, it obliterates the dictatorship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/the-fourth-dimension-he-liked-to-say-encompasses-the-three-dimensions/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [Every book in the world is out there waiting to be read by me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/every-book-in-the-world-is-out-there-waiting-to-be-read-by-me/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“Y después de coger a mi general le gustaba salir al patio a fumarse su cigarro y a pensar en la tristeza poscoito, en…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/y-despu-s-de-coger-a-mi-general-le-gustaba-salir-al-patio-a-fumarse/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“I enjoy vegetarian food like I enjoy a kick in the stomach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/i-enjoy-vegetarian-food-like-i-enjoy-a-kick-in-the-stomach/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) [Explore all 303 Roberto Bolaño quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) ## More Hostile quotes > [I receive something we might euphemistically call an 'inappropriately hostile' response - that is to say, more than fair criticism or even fair anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-receive-something-we-might-euphemistically-call-an-inappropriately/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [The most fundamental question we can ever ask ourselves is whether or not the universe we live in is friendly or hostile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-most-fundamental-question-we-can-ever-ask-ourselves-is-whether-or/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Dominion is a spy novel, a love story, and also I hope gives some sense of the difficulties faced by dissidents under any totalitarian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-sansom/dominion-is-a-spy-novel-a-love-story-and-also-i-hope-gives-some-sense/) [C.J. Sansom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-sansom/) > [It is easy to speak words of love, or to meditate lovingly upon those people with whom you are in harmony. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ponder/it-is-easy-to-speak-words-of-love-or-to-meditate-lovingly-upon-those/) [Catherine Ponder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ponder/) > [How could a readiness for war in time of peace be safely prohibited, unless we could prohibit, in like manner, the preparations and establishments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/how-could-a-readiness-for-war-in-time-of-peace-be-safely-prohibited/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [One response was given by the innkeeper when Mary and Joseph wanted to find a room where the Child could be born. The innkeeper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/one-response-was-given-by-the-innkeeper-when-mary-and-joseph-wanted/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [Many men without morals have attacked religion because it was contrary to their inclinations. Many wise men have despised it because it seemed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-d-holbach/many-men-without-morals-have-attacked-religion-because-it-was/) [Baron d'Holbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-d-holbach/) > [If America is truly Israel's greatest ally, we should not be asking it to put its citizens and future at risk by forcing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-hasner/if-america-is-truly-israel-s-greatest-ally-we-should-not-be-asking-it/) [Adam Hasner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-hasner/) > [It's hardly news that the Obama administration is intensely and, in many respects, unprecedentedly hostile toward the news-gathering process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/it-s-hardly-news-that-the-obama-administration-is-intensely-and-in/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to assume that their president, hostile to the principles that formed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shapiro/when-in-the-course-of-human-events-it-becomes-necessary-for-one/) [David Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shapiro/) > [I know whenever it comes to be really dysfunctional and vile and base and hostile on screen, I'm good at that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/i-know-whenever-it-comes-to-be-really-dysfunctional-and-vile-and-base/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [Of all hostile feelings, envy is perhaps the hardest to be subdued, because hardly any one owns it even to himself, but looks out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/of-all-hostile-feelings-envy-is-perhaps-the-hardest-to-be-subdued/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [Like the early Christians, we must move into a sometime hostile world armed with the revolutionary gospel of Jesus Christ. With this powerful gospel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/like-the-early-christians-we-must-move-into-a-sometime-hostile-world/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [It was both fascinating and appalling to learn that chimpanzees were capable of hostile and territorial behavior that was not unlike certain forms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/it-was-both-fascinating-and-appalling-to-learn-that-chimpanzees-were/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [“The environments that are the most hostile from the standpoint of rationality are those that are the most commercial.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/the-environments-that-are-the-most-hostile-from-the-standpoint-of/) [Joseph Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heath/) Browse all 544 Hostile quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“they lost the sense of being in a hostile environment, although hostile wasn’t the word, an environment whose language they refused to recognize, an environment that existed on some parallel plane where they couldn’t make their presence felt,”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Roberto Bolaño" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/they-lost-the-sense-of-being-in-a-hostile-environment-although/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hostile" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/they-lost-the-sense-of-being-in-a-hostile-environment-although/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/115/roberto-bola-o-725_hostile_they-lost-the-sense-of-being-in-a-hostil_2577451.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/115/roberto-bola-o-725_hostile_they-lost-the-sense-of-being-in-a-hostil_2577451.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/115/roberto-bola-o-725_hostile_they-lost-the-sense-of-being-in-a-hostil_2577451.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“they lost the sense of being in a hostile environment, although hostile wasn’t the word, an environment…” — Roberto Bolaño", "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": "Roberto Bolaño", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“they lost the sense of being...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/they-lost-the-sense-of-being-in-a-hostile-environment-although/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/they-lost-the-sense-of-being-in-a-hostile-environment-although/#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 } } ] } ```