--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you’ve fallen from the sky, been…" description: "\"“When you’ve fallen from the sky, been abandoned by your friend, suffered police brutality, metamorphosed into a goat, lost your work as well as your w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/071/salman-rushdie-153_friendship_when-you-ve-fallen-from-the-sky-been-aba_2202326.jpg" --- # When you’ve fallen from the sky, been abandoned by your… ![“When you’ve fallen from the sky, been abandoned by your friend, suffered police brutality, metamorphosed into a goat, lost your work as well as your wife, learned the power of hatred and regained human shape, what is there left to do but, as you would no doubt phrase it, demand your rights?” quote by Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/071/salman-rushdie-153_friendship_when-you-ve-fallen-from-the-sky-been-aba_2202326.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/071/salman-rushdie-153_friendship_when-you-ve-fallen-from-the-sky-been-aba_2202326.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/071/salman-rushdie-153_friendship_when-you-ve-fallen-from-the-sky-been-aba_2202326.jpg) > ““When you’ve fallen from the sky, been abandoned by your friend, suffered police brutality, metamorphosed into a goat, lost your work as well as your wife, learned the power of hatred and regained human shape, what is there left to do but, as you would no doubt phrase it, demand your rights?”” [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. After enduring extreme hardships, the protagonist asserts that demanding rights is the ultimate response. **In simple terms:** Suffering leads to a call for justice. Key Takeaway Fight for your rights after trauma. Themes justice resilience human rights Mood defiant hopeful Type political inspirational When to use this quote - political activism - legal battles - personal healing - social movements Key Concepts oppression identity transformation Questions to Reflect On - What rights are most threatened today? - How do personal traumas fuel activism? A Different Perspective Rights demands can be suppressed by systemic power. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Police brutality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/police-brutality/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) ## Related quotes > [Sometimes I think you have to march right in and demand your rights, even if you don't know what your rights are, or who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-i-think-you-have-to-march-right-in-and-demand-your-rights/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“We have to support each other, brothers and sisters. Start where you are, do what you can, with what you have. When you don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-caro/we-have-to-support-each-other-brothers-and-sisters-start-where-you/) [Jane Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-caro/) > [I realize I will always be the poster child for police brutality, but I can try to use that as a positive force for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-king/i-realize-i-will-always-be-the-poster-child-for-police-brutality-but/) [Rodney King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-king/) > [“In Harlem, Negro policemen are feared more than whites, for they have more to prove and fewer ways to prove it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-harlem-negro-policemen-are-feared-more-than-whites-for-they-have/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [I partner with Mothers Against Police Brutality - was just a phenomenal group of people and helped me learn so much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-carlisle/i-partner-with-mothers-against-police-brutality-was-just-a-phenomenal/) [Rick Carlisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-carlisle/) > [Freddie Gray was a story I followed closer than others, for whatever reason, in this larger narrative of police brutality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-malkmus/freddie-gray-was-a-story-i-followed-closer-than-others-for-whatever/) [Stephen Malkmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-malkmus/) > [I know the police cause you trouble They cause trouble everywhere But when you die and go to heaven You find no policeman there](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-guthrie/i-know-the-police-cause-you-trouble-they-cause-trouble-everywhere-but/) [Woody Guthrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-guthrie/) > [“Guadalupe Fuentes: --They're not paid to kill honest people, to shoot for no good reasons. Rubenia Fuentes: --Ah, my little girl, then why do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manlio-argueta/guadalupe-fuentes-they-re-not-paid-to-kill-honest-people-to-shoot-for/) [Manlio Argueta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manlio-argueta/) > [“Has this situation made you fearful of cops?" she eventually asks. "I don't know," I say truthfully. "My uncle's a cop. I know not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-thomas/has-this-situation-made-you-fearful-of-cops-she-eventually-asks-i-don/) [Angie Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-thomas/) > [HATE, even if it's making money. is an underground movie, that's how it was made. It's a film about police brutality in the largest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathieu-kassovitz/hate-even-if-it-s-making-money-is-an-underground-movie-that-s-how-it/) [Mathieu Kassovitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathieu-kassovitz/) > [Most pastors railing against gay marriage have never cried out on racism, any type of injustice or police brutality. They've never once made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otis-moss-iii/most-pastors-railing-against-gay-marriage-have-never-cried-out-on/) [Otis Moss III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otis-moss-iii/) > [“Police not enforcing laws results in a high crime rate that is formally reported as a low crime rate in police statistics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/police-not-enforcing-laws-results-in-a-high-crime-rate-that-is/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-am-not-unmindful-that-some-of-you-have-come-here-out-of-great/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [“The black officer checks Daddy while his partner glances around at all of the onlookers. There's quite a few of us now. Ms. Yvette…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-thomas/the-black-officer-checks-daddy-while-his-partner-glances-around-at/) [Angie Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-thomas/) > [From horrific incidents of police brutality and complicity in indiscriminate attacks by triads on citizens to arbitrary mass arrests and the banning of demonstrations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wong/from-horrific-incidents-of-police-brutality-and-complicity-in/) [Joshua Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wong/) ## 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. If you're going to pull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-you-want-to-be-a-serious-writer-then-you-have-to-write-what-there/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“Después de exigir mi marcha, ya no posees jurisdicción en lo concerniente a mi salud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/despu-s-de-exigir-mi-marcha-ya-no-posees-jurisdicci-n-en-lo/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If there is a choice between absolute safety and freedom, then freedom must always prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-there-is-a-choice-between-absolute-safety-and-freedom-then-freedom/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'm not a prophet, but I always thought it was natural for dictatorships to fall. I remember in 1989, two months before the fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-not-a-prophet-but-i-always-thought-it-was-natural-for/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'd wanted to create a storm so that I could become more famous and richer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-d-wanted-to-create-a-storm-so-that-i-could-become-more-famous-and/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Who what am I? My answer: I am the sum total of everything that went before me, of all I have been seen done,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/who-what-am-i-my-answer-i-am-the-sum-total-of-everything-that-went/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“...proving once again that there was no escape from recurrence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/proving-once-again-that-there-was-no-escape-from-recurrence/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“information, in a stream-of-consciousness soliloquy that revealed the extent to which he had internalised the adversarial fragmentation of American culture and made it a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/information-in-a-stream-of-consciousness-soliloquy-that-revealed-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [A little bit of one story joins onto an idea from another, and hey presto, . . . not old tales but new ones.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/a-little-bit-of-one-story-joins-onto-an-idea-from-another-and-hey/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'm a novelist. Fortunately I don't have to rule the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-a-novelist-fortunately-i-don-t-have-to-rule-the-world/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [The First Amendment defends all forms of speech including hate speech, which is why groups like Ku Klux Klan are allowed to utter their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-first-amendment-defends-all-forms-of-speech-including-hate-speech/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) [Explore all 1,087 Salman Rushdie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## More Friendship quotes > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I never believed in trying to do anything. Whatever I set out to do I found I had already accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-never-believed-in-trying-to-do-anything-whatever-i-set-out-to-do-i/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“ever day Maureen is Selfish To her friend and Family One she get mad at her friend and family and She need to Grad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-andeson/ever-day-maureen-is-selfish-to-her-friend-and-family-one-she-get-mad/) Maureen Andeson > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Friends are like stars you can't always see them, but you know they're there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknwon/friends-are-like-stars-you-can-t-always-see-them-but-you-know-they-re/) Unknwon > [I've been writing songs since I was 10 years old and always had a penchant for rhyming. I started listening to hip hop through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hoodie-allen/i-ve-been-writing-songs-since-i-was-10-years-old-and-always-had-a/) [Hoodie Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hoodie-allen/) > [If you love some one for who they are not for there body or how many friend so when you say I love you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknow/if-you-love-some-one-for-who-they-are-not-for-there-body-or-how-many/) Unknow > [“But my best friend from college was silent for a long time. She, of all of my friends, had seen the parade of sad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/but-my-best-friend-from-college-was-silent-for-a-long-time-she-of-all/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [You smile upon your friend to-day, To-day his ills are over; You hearken to the lover's say, And happy is the lover. 'Tis late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-smile-upon-your-friend-to-day-to-day-his-ills-are-over-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“way. A true friend isn't the one that agrees with everything you say or do. A true friend is someone that has your back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shameek-speight/way-a-true-friend-isn-t-the-one-that-agrees-with-everything-you-say/) [Shameek Speight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shameek-speight/) > [No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/no-one-is-completely-unhappy-at-the-failure-of-his-best-friend/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [“Kings don’t move mountains as a favor to a friend,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-whalen-turner/kings-don-t-move-mountains-as-a-favor-to-a-friend/) [Megan Whalen Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-whalen-turner/) > [I have friends and family that identify as LGBTQ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-mace/i-have-friends-and-family-that-identify-as-lgbtq/) [Nancy Mace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-mace/) > [“The real purpose of friendship was to discover and exploit weakness in others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-thompson/the-real-purpose-of-friendship-was-to-discover-and-exploit-weakness/) [Brian Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-thompson/) [Browse all 45,469 Friendship quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When you’ve fallen from the sky, been abandoned by your friend, suffered police brutality, metamorphosed into a goat, lost your work as well as your wife, learned the power of hatred and regained human shape, what is there left to do but, as you would no doubt phrase it, demand your rights?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Salman Rushdie" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/when-you-ve-fallen-from-the-sky-been-abandoned-by-your-friend/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Friendship" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/when-you-ve-fallen-from-the-sky-been-abandoned-by-your-friend/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/071/salman-rushdie-153_friendship_when-you-ve-fallen-from-the-sky-been-aba_2202326.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/071/salman-rushdie-153_friendship_when-you-ve-fallen-from-the-sky-been-aba_2202326.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/071/salman-rushdie-153_friendship_when-you-ve-fallen-from-the-sky-been-aba_2202326.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When you’ve fallen from the sky, been abandoned by your friend, suffered police brutality, metamorphosed…” — Salman Rushdie", "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": "Salman Rushdie", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“When you’ve fallen from the sky,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/when-you-ve-fallen-from-the-sky-been-abandoned-by-your-friend/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/when-you-ve-fallen-from-the-sky-been-abandoned-by-your-friend/#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 } } ] } ```