--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I, too, have ropes around my neck. I have…" description: "\"“I, too, have ropes around my neck. I have them to this day, pulling me this way and that, East and West, the nooses tightening, commanding, choose, ch..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a89/salman-rushdie-153_east-and-west_i-too-have-ropes-around-my-neck-i-have-t_1378107.jpg" --- # I, too, have ropes around my neck. I have them to this… ![“I, too, have ropes around my neck. I have them to this day, pulling me this way and that, East and West, the nooses tightening, commanding, choose, choose. I buck, I snort, I whinny, I rear, Ikick. Ropes, I do not choose between you. Lassoes, lariats, I choose neither of you, and both. Doyou hear?…” quote by Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a89/salman-rushdie-153_east-and-west_i-too-have-ropes-around-my-neck-i-have-t_1378107.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a89/salman-rushdie-153_east-and-west_i-too-have-ropes-around-my-neck-i-have-t_1378107.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a89/salman-rushdie-153_east-and-west_i-too-have-ropes-around-my-neck-i-have-t_1378107.jpg) > ““I, too, have ropes around my neck. I have them to this day, pulling me this way and that, East and West, the nooses tightening, commanding, choose, choose. I buck, I snort, I whinny, I rear, Ikick. Ropes, I do not choose between you. Lassoes, lariats, I choose neither of you, and both. Doyou hear? I refuse to choose.”” [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## 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 rejects binary choices, feeling trapped by opposing forces and refusing to be forced into a single path. **In simple terms:** Refuse forced binary choices. Key Takeaway Embrace complexity, avoid false dichotomies. Themes identity freedom conflict Mood defiant conflicted Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal decisions - political pressure - social expectations Key Concepts existentialism choice Questions to Reflect On - What forces you into binary decisions? - How can you create a third option? A Different Perspective Choosing may still limit freedom. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [East and west](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/east-and-west/) ## Related quotes > [My familiarity with the successful use of very long steel ropes for mining purposes naturally suggested their adaptation to the new purpose of deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-agassiz/my-familiarity-with-the-successful-use-of-very-long-steel-ropes-for/) Alexander Agassiz > [I started making monkey bridges, like kids do, and climbing and rappelling with ropes. Very naturally, I needed some knots. At the very beginning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-petit/i-started-making-monkey-bridges-like-kids-do-and-climbing-and/) [Philippe Petit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippe-petit/) > [“The one they call “Ropes.” The MO matches up for the most part, though there are a few discrepancies—the bodies weren't buried the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-ballard/the-one-they-call-ropes-the-mo-matches-up-for-the-most-part-though/) [Ian Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-ballard/) > [“But who among us is perfect? Even the greatest strategists have their eclipses, and the greatest blunders, like the thickest ropes, are often compounded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/but-who-among-us-is-perfect-even-the-greatest-strategists-have-their/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [A woman needs ropes and ropes of pearls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-kelly/a-woman-needs-ropes-and-ropes-of-pearls/) [Grace Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-kelly/) > [“Relationships are ropes, love is a noose”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/relationships-are-ropes-love-is-a-noose/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [I don't know how I didn't kill any one of my sisters. For this one horror film we were making, I made my own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexa-vega/i-don-t-know-how-i-didn-t-kill-any-one-of-my-sisters-for-this-one/) [Alexa Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexa-vega/) > [I've been asked if I'd consider doing Ropes as a straight novel - which is flattering, I suppose - but I can't imagine why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-vance/i-ve-been-asked-if-i-d-consider-doing-ropes-as-a-straight-novel-which/) [James Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-vance/) > [“We were still on the whale road, in the wind that keened and thrummed the ropes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-low/we-were-still-on-the-whale-road-in-the-wind-that-keened-and-thrummed/) [Robert Low](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-low/) > [“As soon as the rocky coast line of the island came into view, I ordered one of the ropes to wrap around Annabeth's waist,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/as-soon-as-the-rocky-coast-line-of-the-island-came-into-view-i/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [I was a troubled teen and I was constantly looking for someone to throw me a rope. 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My clients…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunnar-peterson/i-really-like-battle-ropes-they-re-so-versatile-you-can-get-a/) [Gunnar Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunnar-peterson/) > [For them to have the season that they had, for them to have us on the ropes ... Congrats to the Cavs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-kerr/for-them-to-have-the-season-that-they-had-for-them-to-have-us-on-the/) [Steve Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-kerr/) ## More by Salman Rushdie > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [It's a terrible thing that your life turns into a good story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/it-s-a-terrible-thing-that-your-life-turns-into-a-good-story/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Sometimes by a woodland stream he watched the water rush over the pebbled bed, its tiny modulations of bounce and flow. A woman's body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/sometimes-by-a-woodland-stream-he-watched-the-water-rush-over-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I want to write novels. I want to write stories. I want to do the stuff that I became a writer to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-want-to-write-novels-i-want-to-write-stories-i-want-to-do-the-stuff/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If you want to be a serious writer, then you have to write what there is to write about. 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But in between that, you got things like north-east - now that, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bj-the-chicago-kid/in-a-compass-we-got-north-south-east-and-west-right-but-in-between/) [BJ the Chicago Kid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bj-the-chicago-kid/) > [“Rolanth Temple is a weather queen's temple, open to the east and west, the roof supported by beams and thick marble columns. Air moves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendare-blake/rolanth-temple-is-a-weather-queen-s-temple-open-to-the-east-and-west/) [Kendare Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendare-blake/) > [The idea that there is a difference between East and West is nonsense. You both hand over your card with two hands. 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