--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The place resembled a new model prison…" description: "\"The place resembled a new model prison, or one that had achieved a provisional utopia after principled revolt, or maybe a homeless shelter for people w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a79/sam-lipsyte-11160_art_the-place-resembled-a-new-model-prison-o_2342862.jpg" --- # The place resembled a new model prison, or one that had… ![“The place resembled a new model prison, or one that had achieved a provisional utopia after principled revolt, or maybe a homeless shelter for people with liberal arts degrees. The cages brought to mind those labs with their death-fuming vents near my college studio. These kids were part of some…” quote by Sam Lipsyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a79/sam-lipsyte-11160_art_the-place-resembled-a-new-model-prison-o_2342862.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a79/sam-lipsyte-11160_art_the-place-resembled-a-new-model-prison-o_2342862.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a79/sam-lipsyte-11160_art_the-place-resembled-a-new-model-prison-o_2342862.jpg) > “The place resembled a new model prison, or one that had achieved a provisional utopia after principled revolt, or maybe a homeless shelter for people with liberal arts degrees. The cages brought to mind those labs with their death-fuming vents near my college studio. These kids were part of some great experiment. It was maybe the same one in which I'd once been a subject. Unlike me, though, or the guinea pigs and hares, they were happy, or seemed happy, or were blogging about how they seemed happy.” [Sam Lipsyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-lipsyte/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage satirically depicts a dystopian setting where a supposed utopia resembles a prison, reflecting on how intellectuals may be trapped in self‑imposed experiments while appearing content. **In simple terms:** A fake utopia feels like a prison for educated people. Key Takeaway Question the freedom of so‑called ideal societies. Themes satire dystopia intellectualism Mood irry critical thought‑provoking Type satirical literary commentary When to use this quote - University life - creative communities - social media commentary - critical thinking Key Concepts Freedom illusion social experiment Questions to Reflect On - What does “happiness” mean when it’s forced? - How can we recognize true autonomy? A Different Perspective The humor may downplay genuine suffering of those in oppressive systems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Blogging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blogging/) [Cages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cages/) [Cages Brought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cages-brought-5675790/) [College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college/) [Degrees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degrees/) [Experiments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiments/) [Guinea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guinea/) [Guinea pig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guinea-pig/) [Guinea pigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guinea-pigs/) [Hares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hares/) [Homeless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homeless/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) [Labs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labs/) [Liberal arts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberal-arts/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Model Prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/model-prison-2166936/) [Models](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/models/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Pigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pigs/) [Place Resembled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/place-resembled-5675791/) [Prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison/) [Revolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolt/) [Shelter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shelter/) [Subjects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjects/) [Utopia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/utopia/) ## Related quotes > [All we want is to be treated like human beings, and not to be patronized, or experimented on like guinea pigs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-ryder/all-we-want-is-to-be-treated-like-human-beings-and-not-to-be/) [Winona Ryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-ryder/) > [I was a guinea pig for some hoodlums who thought they could hurt me and frighten me and keep other Negro entertainers from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-king-cole/i-was-a-guinea-pig-for-some-hoodlums-who-thought-they-could-hurt-me/) [Nat King Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-king-cole/) > [Guinea pigs are quite difficult to draw, I think, because they're so furry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-blake/guinea-pigs-are-quite-difficult-to-draw-i-think-because-they-re-so/) [Quentin Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-blake/) > [Learning as we go... Why didn't they tell us this before? We, the consumers, are supposed to be docile guinea pigs in a vast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-w-moss/learning-as-we-go-why-didn-t-they-tell-us-this-before-we-the/) [Ralph W. Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-w-moss/) > [Why can't the world be simpler, like it is for guinea pigs? They only have a few rules: Crying will get you attention. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-lord/why-can-t-the-world-be-simpler-like-it-is-for-guinea-pigs-they-only/) [Cynthia Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-lord/) > [To produce that identity among young people required guinea pigs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/to-produce-that-identity-among-young-people-required-guinea-pigs/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [I think we were the first picture to cut on Final Cut Pro. So we were the guinea pigs, because we got a deal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/griffin-dunne/i-think-we-were-the-first-picture-to-cut-on-final-cut-pro-so-we-were/) [Griffin Dunne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/griffin-dunne/) > [Noah must have taken into the Ark two taxes, one male and one female. And did they multiply bountifully! Next to guinea pigs, taxes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/noah-must-have-taken-into-the-ark-two-taxes-one-male-and-one-female/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [We're all of us guinea pigs in the laboratory of God. Humanity is just a work in progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/we-re-all-of-us-guinea-pigs-in-the-laboratory-of-god-humanity-is-just/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [If penicillin had been judged by its toxicity to guinea pigs, it might never have been used by man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/if-penicillin-had-been-judged-by-its-toxicity-to-guinea-pigs-it-might/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [I took anatomy classes. I went to medical libraries and talked to doctors and nutritionists. I did the whole thing before using myself as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilu-henner/i-took-anatomy-classes-i-went-to-medical-libraries-and-talked-to/) [Marilu Henner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilu-henner/) > [At school, our classroom had a small rodent zoo consisting of two rabbits, three hamsters, a litter of baby gerbils and a guinea pig.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelley-armstrong/at-school-our-classroom-had-a-small-rodent-zoo-consisting-of-two/) [Kelley Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelley-armstrong/) > [If you rush to take a drug, do so with the full knowledge that you are being a Guinea Pig. The longer a drug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-s-mendelsohn/if-you-rush-to-take-a-drug-do-so-with-the-full-knowledge-that-you-are/) [Robert S. Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-s-mendelsohn/) > [“I think guinea pigs are fabulous!!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica/i-think-guinea-pigs-are-fabulous/) [Monica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica/) > [If a potato can produce vitamin C, why can't we? Within the animal kingdom only humans and guinea pigs are unable to synthesize vitamin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/if-a-potato-can-produce-vitamin-c-why-can-t-we-within-the-animal/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) ## More by Sam Lipsyte > [When you work at home, fellow alums, discipline is the supreme virtue. Suicidal self-loathing lurks behind every coffee break. Activities must be expertly scheduled,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-lipsyte/when-you-work-at-home-fellow-alums-discipline-is-the-supreme-virtue/) [Sam Lipsyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-lipsyte/) > [“It was early, late, lockjaw hour.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-lipsyte/it-was-early-late-lockjaw-hour/) [Sam Lipsyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-lipsyte/) > [You think you know yourself, the world. You believe you've got a bead on everybody else's bullshit, but what about your own?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-lipsyte/you-think-you-know-yourself-the-world-you-believe-you-ve-got-a-bead/) [Sam Lipsyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-lipsyte/) > [“Our friendship, for example, and how quickly we passed through each other, from fascinated strangers to loyal chums to relics of each other's world.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-lipsyte/our-friendship-for-example-and-how-quickly-we-passed-through-each/) [Sam Lipsyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-lipsyte/) > [I'd become one of those mistakes you sometimes find in an office, a not unpleasant but mostly unproductive presence bobbing along on the energy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-lipsyte/i-d-become-one-of-those-mistakes-you-sometimes-find-in-an-office-a/) [Sam Lipsyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-lipsyte/) > [“Tomorrow she’d look up tattoo removal. They were doing big things with lasers now. When Cal was just a little more stable, she’d break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-lipsyte/tomorrow-she-d-look-up-tattoo-removal-they-were-doing-big-things-with/) [Sam Lipsyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-lipsyte/) > [“I looked for Gary in all of the Gary places, but I was too early. These places were all haunted by the future of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-lipsyte/i-looked-for-gary-in-all-of-the-gary-places-but-i-was-too-early-these/) [Sam Lipsyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-lipsyte/) > [Dept. of Speculation is gorgeous, funny, a profound and profoundly moving work of art. Jenny Offill is a master of form and feeling, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-lipsyte/dept-of-speculation-is-gorgeous-funny-a-profound-and-profoundly/) [Sam Lipsyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-lipsyte/) > [“The Rough Beast snorted. “You don’t get it at all, buddy. It’s not about wrestling. It’s about stories. We’re storytellers.” Caperton studied him. “Somebody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-lipsyte/the-rough-beast-snorted-you-don-t-get-it-at-all-buddy-it-s-not-about/) [Sam Lipsyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-lipsyte/) > [“I needed to talk to Vargina, to straighten this out, but felt suddenly faint, headed for the deli across the street. Just standing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-lipsyte/i-needed-to-talk-to-vargina-to-straighten-this-out-but-felt-suddenly/) [Sam Lipsyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-lipsyte/) > [“You’re growing up. All you need to remember is that nothing changes. New technology, new markets, global interconnectivity, doesn’t matter. It’s still the rulers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-lipsyte/you-re-growing-up-all-you-need-to-remember-is-that-nothing-changes/) [Sam Lipsyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-lipsyte/) > [I'm a citizen of the republic of empathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-lipsyte/i-m-a-citizen-of-the-republic-of-empathy/) [Sam Lipsyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-lipsyte/) > [This country was built on the backs of dudes who drank on buses. What we do honors them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-lipsyte/this-country-was-built-on-the-backs-of-dudes-who-drank-on-buses-what/) [Sam Lipsyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-lipsyte/) > [The bullshit never ends. That’s the main thing to remember. It never ends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-lipsyte/the-bullshit-never-ends-that-s-the-main-thing-to-remember-it-never/) [Sam Lipsyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-lipsyte/) > [Stuff me in a tutu and let's screen experimental videos all day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-lipsyte/stuff-me-in-a-tutu-and-let-s-screen-experimental-videos-all-day/) [Sam Lipsyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-lipsyte/) [Explore all 61 Sam Lipsyte quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-lipsyte/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The place resembled a new model prison, or one that had achieved a provisional utopia after principled revolt, or maybe a homeless shelter for people with liberal arts degrees. 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