--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Most people would look at an animal in a…" description: "\"Most people would look at an animal in a cage and instinctively feel that it should be set free. . . . It's a dangerous world out there, filled with pr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22d/scarlett-thomas-8232_animal_most-people-would-look-at-an-animal-in-a_2677289.png" --- # Most people would look at an animal in a cage and… ![“Most people would look at an animal in a cage and instinctively feel that it should be set free. . . . It's a dangerous world out there, filled with predators. . . . What would you prefer? A comfortable, safe, warm, cosy life in a cage, or an uncertain life of freedom.” quote by Scarlett Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22d/scarlett-thomas-8232_animal_most-people-would-look-at-an-animal-in-a_2677289.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22d/scarlett-thomas-8232_animal_most-people-would-look-at-an-animal-in-a_2677289.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22d/scarlett-thomas-8232_animal_most-people-would-look-at-an-animal-in-a_2677289.png) > “Most people would look at an animal in a cage and instinctively feel that it should be set free. . . . It's a dangerous world out there, filled with predators. . . . What would you prefer? A comfortable, safe, warm, cosy life in a cage, or an uncertain life of freedom.” [Scarlett Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-thomas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People instinctively desire freedom for animals, yet may choose safety over uncertainty in life. **In simple terms:** Freedom vs. safety dilemma. Key Takeaway Weigh risks of freedom against comfort. Themes freedom security choice Mood reflective provocative Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - individuals - societies - policy makers Key Concepts psychology ethics Questions to Reflect On - What does “cage” mean for you? - Can safety coexist with freedom? A Different Perspective Comfort can become confinement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animal Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal-cage-2552172/) [Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cage/) [Cage Instinctively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cage-instinctively-2552171/) [Cage Uncertain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cage-uncertain-2552170/) [Cages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cages/) [Cosy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cosy/) [Dangerous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous/) [Dangerous world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous-world/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Filled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/filled/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Life Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-cage-2552173/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Predator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/predator/) [Safe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/safe/) [Set free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/set-free/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Uncertain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uncertain/) [Uncertain Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uncertain-life/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“i would rather be a free animal then a cage animal”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beto-jimenez/i-would-rather-be-a-free-animal-then-a-cage-animal/) [Beto jimenez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beto-jimenez/) > [“The lesson is that you're just an animal in a cage, no more than that, no better than that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-lesson-is-that-you-re-just-an-animal-in-a-cage-no-more-than-that/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [It's better to die free than live life in a cage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-dane/it-s-better-to-die-free-than-live-life-in-a-cage/) [Jordan Dane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-dane/) > [“Why write? Life is a cage of empty words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-elia/why-write-life-is-a-cage-of-empty-words/) [Miriam Elia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-elia/) > [“Light will someday split you open; even if your life is now a cage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hafiz/light-will-someday-split-you-open-even-if-your-life-is-now-a-cage/) [Hafiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hafiz/) > [“There are always places to go further down, even when you've been taken off the board; life goes on, even if it's life under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/there-are-always-places-to-go-further-down-even-when-you-ve-been/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [What can we take on trust in this uncertain life? Happiness, greatness, pride - nothing is secure, nothing keeps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/what-can-we-take-on-trust-in-this-uncertain-life-happiness-greatness/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [As uncertain as the life of a single girl might be..we make our own rules & answer only to ourselves..& that ROCKS.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-uncertain-as-the-life-of-a-single-girl-might-be-we-make-our-own/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you're uncertain when life begins, why not give the unborn the benefit of the doubt and oppose abortion?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-goldberg/if-you-re-uncertain-when-life-begins-why-not-give-the-unborn-the/) [Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/) > [Since life itself is uncertain, nothing which has life for its basis can boast much stability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/since-life-itself-is-uncertain-nothing-which-has-life-for-its-basis/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [My world view is that it can all go to hell in an instant, and you have to be ready for it. That's pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-morrell/my-world-view-is-that-it-can-all-go-to-hell-in-an-instant-and-you/) [David Morrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-morrell/) > [“Its your decision, Simon Lewis," said Magnus. "Remain in the existence you have, go to college, study music, get married. Live your life. Or---you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/its-your-decision-simon-lewis-said-magnus-remain-in-the-existence-you/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Everyone's future is uncertain life moves on very fast, girls come and go, while money is the same... Some people need and want loyalty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mccarty/everyone-s-future-is-uncertain-life-moves-on-very-fast-girls-come-and/) [Kevin Mccarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mccarty/) > [When you embrace the uncertain, life opens up unusual new paths. Seeds sown way back bloom as flowers, in ways one can never fathom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subroto-bagchi/when-you-embrace-the-uncertain-life-opens-up-unusual-new-paths-seeds/) [Subroto Bagchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subroto-bagchi/) > [“Best to take one day at a time in this uncertain life and be grateful for those days that treat you well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-quinn/best-to-take-one-day-at-a-time-in-this-uncertain-life-and-be-grateful/) [C.S. Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-quinn/) ## More by Scarlett Thomas > [“Someone who has the delusion Glass, is made of, does not literally believe herself to be made of glass but rather feels fragile and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-thomas/someone-who-has-the-delusion-glass-is-made-of-does-not-literally/) [Scarlett Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-thomas/) > [“Child, all books are magic. Just think,' he said, 'about what books make people do. People go to war on the basis of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-thomas/child-all-books-are-magic-just-think-he-said-about-what-books-make/) [Scarlett Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-thomas/) > [Living for ever would be like marrying yourself, with no possibility of a divorce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-thomas/living-for-ever-would-be-like-marrying-yourself-with-no-possibility/) [Scarlett Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-thomas/) > [But I quite like the way you can talk about science without necessarily using mathematics, but using metaphors instead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-thomas/but-i-quite-like-the-way-you-can-talk-about-science-without/) [Scarlett Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-thomas/) > [“My mind now has a celebration party and a funeral going on in the same room.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-thomas/my-mind-now-has-a-celebration-party-and-a-funeral-going-on-in-the/) [Scarlett Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-thomas/) > [You can't do science in a novel, but you can do philosophy. Or, if you're really lucky, you can manage to pose a question…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-thomas/you-can-t-do-science-in-a-novel-but-you-can-do-philosophy-or-if-you/) [Scarlett Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-thomas/) > [“Even if you did drop into someone's consciousness, you'd have all their memories and desires and hang-ups right there in front of you. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-thomas/even-if-you-did-drop-into-someone-s-consciousness-you-d-have-all/) [Scarlett Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-thomas/) > [I erased the thought from my mind, but I couldn't undo the fact that I'd had the thought in the first place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-thomas/i-erased-the-thought-from-my-mind-but-i-couldn-t-undo-the-fact-that-i/) [Scarlett Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-thomas/) > [“They really do have nothing in common on paper, these people and him. But yet there are so many common reference points; even some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-thomas/they-really-do-have-nothing-in-common-on-paper-these-people-and-him/) [Scarlett Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-thomas/) > [“Aquinas wondered what would happen if God wanted to achieve universal resurrection. In other words, bringing everybody who had ever lived back to life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-thomas/aquinas-wondered-what-would-happen-if-god-wanted-to-achieve-universal/) [Scarlett Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-thomas/) > [“There's something romantic about it, of course, in the way only other people's lives can be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-thomas/there-s-something-romantic-about-it-of-course-in-the-way-only-other/) [Scarlett Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-thomas/) > [Routine kills creative thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-thomas/routine-kills-creative-thought/) [Scarlett Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-thomas/) > [You tell them what a happy ending consists of, which is always individual success. You tell them that nothing irrational exists in this world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-thomas/you-tell-them-what-a-happy-ending-consists-of-which-is-always/) [Scarlett Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-thomas/) > [I hate stereotypes and I hate cliche.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-thomas/i-hate-stereotypes-and-i-hate-cliche/) [Scarlett Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-thomas/) > [“Not all events are stories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-thomas/not-all-events-are-stories/) [Scarlett Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-thomas/) [Explore all 81 Scarlett Thomas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-thomas/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Most people would look at an animal in a cage and instinctively feel that it should be set free. . . . It's a dangerous world out there, filled with predators. . . . What would you prefer? 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