--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Why are we conditioned to the smooth…" description: "\"“Why are we conditioned to the smooth, strawberry-and-cream Mother-Goose-world... only to be broken on the wheel as we grow older and become aware of o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9d/sylvia-plath-149_life_why-are-we-conditioned-to-the-smooth-str_613060.jpg" --- # Why are we conditioned to the smooth, strawberry-and-cream… ![“Why are we conditioned to the smooth, strawberry-and-cream Mother-Goose-world... only to be broken on the wheel as we grow older and become aware of ourselves as individuals with a dull responsibility in life...” quote by Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9d/sylvia-plath-149_life_why-are-we-conditioned-to-the-smooth-str_613060.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9d/sylvia-plath-149_life_why-are-we-conditioned-to-the-smooth-str_613060.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9d/sylvia-plath-149_life_why-are-we-conditioned-to-the-smooth-str_613060.jpg) > ““Why are we conditioned to the smooth, strawberry-and-cream Mother-Goose-world... only to be broken on the wheel as we grow older and become aware of ourselves as individuals with a dull responsibility in life...”” [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Societal expectations push smooth conformity, but aging reveals individual responsibility and existential dullness. **In simple terms:** Conformity clashes with personal responsibility. Key Takeaway Question imposed norms and seek authenticity. Themes conformity individuality responsibility Mood reflective somber Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - career choices - personal growth - aging - self‑reflection Key Concepts existentialism social critique Questions to Reflect On - How do you resist smooth, comforting narratives? - What responsibilities emerge as you age? A Different Perspective Idealized expectations can be unrealistic and oppressive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Responsibility In Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility-in-life/) ## Related quotes > [Why the hell are we conditioned into the smooth strawberry-and-cream Mother-Goose-world, Alice-in-Wonderland fable, only to be broken on the wheel as we grow older…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/why-the-hell-are-we-conditioned-into-the-smooth-strawberry-and-cream/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Our responsibility in life is not to lie around and wait for things to happen. Our responsibility in life is to work. Life is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herschel-walker/our-responsibility-in-life-is-not-to-lie-around-and-wait-for-things/) [Herschel Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herschel-walker/) > [Finding and creating your life's work, even if it is entirely different from what you have done most of your life, will bring you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-kimbro/finding-and-creating-your-life-s-work-even-if-it-is-entirely/) [Dennis Kimbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-kimbro/) > [We mustn't be pushed by our problems, but be led by our dreams, instead live the life we want to live, Be the person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/we-mustn-t-be-pushed-by-our-problems-but-be-led-by-our-dreams-instead/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [We all have a responsibility in life to do what we can to help those less fortunate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-moore/we-all-have-a-responsibility-in-life-to-do-what-we-can-to-help-those/) [Roger Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-moore/) > [To provide for the future is a part of one's responsibility in life; and the world has scant consideration for the man who neglects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-latham-doherty/to-provide-for-the-future-is-a-part-of-one-s-responsibility-in-life/) [Henry Latham Doherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-latham-doherty/) > [“Not only can we lovingly detach from other people and take care of ourselves, it is our primary responsibility in life to do that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-beattie/not-only-can-we-lovingly-detach-from-other-people-and-take-care-of/) [Melody Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-beattie/) > [You need responsibility in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-strachan/you-need-responsibility-in-life/) [Gordon Strachan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-strachan/) > [“Today you are encouraged to work towards your dream! Each of us has a fire in our hearts burning for something. It’s our responsibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-angel-affect/today-you-are-encouraged-to-work-towards-your-dream-each-of-us-has-a/) The Angel Affect > [I'm not saying you have to be married to be a good footballer. I'm just saying it felt strange to come to a club…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-strachan/i-m-not-saying-you-have-to-be-married-to-be-a-good-footballer-i-m/) [Gordon Strachan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-strachan/) > [Each Of Us Has A Fire In Our Hearts Burning For Something. It's Our Responsibility In Life To Find It And Keep It Lit.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/each-of-us-has-a-fire-in-our-hearts-burning-for-something-it-s-our/) Pacifiersucker > [If a company is second rate, the logo will eventually be perceived as second rate. It is foolhardy to believe that a logo will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-rand/if-a-company-is-second-rate-the-logo-will-eventually-be-perceived-as/) [Paul Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-rand/) > [I think for some reason we're conditioned in movies that the protagonist must be heroic or redeemable in some way, whereas in theater, that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-isaac/i-think-for-some-reason-we-re-conditioned-in-movies-that-the/) [Oscar Isaac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-isaac/) > [In general, we are sort of conditioned to see a different body type as acceptable and maybe look away when the other body type…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-nimoy/in-general-we-are-sort-of-conditioned-to-see-a-different-body-type-as/) [Leonard Nimoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-nimoy/) > [“Jabir listened but was not convinced.  “Iraq and Iran haven’t gotten along for many centuries. Why should we now?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-braungart/jabir-listened-but-was-not-convinced-iraq-and-iran-haven-t-gotten/) [Karl Braungart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-braungart/) ## More by Sylvia Plath > [“It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-was-a-queer-sultry-summer-the-summer-they-electrocuted-the/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I love life. But it is hard and I have so much, so very much to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-love-life-but-it-is-hard-and-i-have-so-much-so-very-much-to-learn/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [... These are my hands My knees. I may be skin and bone, Nevertheless, I am the same, identical woman. ... --Lady Lazarus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/these-are-my-hands-my-knees-i-may-be-skin-and-bone-nevertheless-i-am/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Sure, I’m dramatic and sloppily semi-cynical and semi-sentimental. But, in leisure years I could grow and choose my way. Now I am living on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/sure-i-m-dramatic-and-sloppily-semi-cynical-and-semi-sentimental-but/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“People were made of nothing so much as dust, and I couldn't see that doctoring all that dust was a bit better than writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/people-were-made-of-nothing-so-much-as-dust-and-i-couldn-t-see-that/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I couldn't stand the idea of a woman having to have a single pure life and a man being able to have a double…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-couldn-t-stand-the-idea-of-a-woman-having-to-have-a-single-pure/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I saw the gooseflesh on my skin. I did not know what made it. I was not cold. Had a ghost passed over? No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-saw-the-gooseflesh-on-my-skin-i-did-not-know-what-made-it-i-was-not/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I have to live my life, and it is the only one I’ll ever have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-have-to-live-my-life-and-it-is-the-only-one-i-ll-ever-have/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“The city had faded my tan, though. I looked yellow as a Chinaman. Ordinarily, I would have been nervous about my dress and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-city-had-faded-my-tan-though-i-looked-yellow-as-a-chinaman/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Joy:show joy & enjoy: then others will be joyful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/joy-show-joy-enjoy-then-others-will-be-joyful/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [A million years of evolution, Eric said bitterly, and what are we? Animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/a-million-years-of-evolution-eric-said-bitterly-and-what-are-we/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I have stitched life into me like a rare organ --from "Three Women: A Poem for Three Voices", written 1962”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-have-stitched-life-into-me-like-a-rare-organ-from-three-women-a/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [It is so much safer not to feel, not to let the world touch me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-is-so-much-safer-not-to-feel-not-to-let-the-world-touch-me/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“Flute Notes from a Reedy Pond" Now coldness comes sifting down, layer after layer, To our bower at the lily root. Overhead the old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/flute-notes-from-a-reedy-pond-now-coldness-comes-sifting-down-layer/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“The most saddening thing is to admit that I am not in love. I can only love (if that means self denial - or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-most-saddening-thing-is-to-admit-that-i-am-not-in-love-i-can-only/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) [Explore all 1,098 Sylvia Plath quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) ## More Conditioned quotes > [“Jabir listened but was not convinced.  “Iraq and Iran haven’t gotten along for many centuries. Why should we now?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-braungart/jabir-listened-but-was-not-convinced-iraq-and-iran-haven-t-gotten/) [Karl Braungart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-braungart/) > [In general, we are sort of conditioned to see a different body type as acceptable and maybe look away when the other body type…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-nimoy/in-general-we-are-sort-of-conditioned-to-see-a-different-body-type-as/) [Leonard Nimoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-nimoy/) > [I think for some reason we're conditioned in movies that the protagonist must be heroic or redeemable in some way, whereas in theater, that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-isaac/i-think-for-some-reason-we-re-conditioned-in-movies-that-the/) [Oscar Isaac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-isaac/) > [If a company is second rate, the logo will eventually be perceived as second rate. It is foolhardy to believe that a logo will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-rand/if-a-company-is-second-rate-the-logo-will-eventually-be-perceived-as/) [Paul Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-rand/) > [I want to convince you that humans are, to some extent, natural born essentialists. What I mean by this is we don't just respond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/i-want-to-convince-you-that-humans-are-to-some-extent-natural-born/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [In deciding among theological views, one should be something of a consequentialist: the choice of one theological position over another should be, if not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-novak/in-deciding-among-theological-views-one-should-be-something-of-a/) [David Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-novak/) > [Take a look at all of them: Marichal, Jenkins, Spahn - what do you think made them successful? They conditioned their arms by pitching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-seaver/take-a-look-at-all-of-them-marichal-jenkins-spahn-what-do-you-think/) [Tom Seaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-seaver/) > [Actors are conditioned to develop a system for expressing as much as they can in the shortest amount of time because you're going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/campbell-scott/actors-are-conditioned-to-develop-a-system-for-expressing-as-much-as/) [Campbell Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/campbell-scott/) > [“We were conditioned to feel that we couldn’t really depend on people—that, even as children, asking someone for a meal or for help with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/we-were-conditioned-to-feel-that-we-couldn-t-really-depend-on-people/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [After many decades of Disney movies, we have been conditioned to expect princesses to fall in love quickly with their charming princes and 'live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamed-el-erian/after-many-decades-of-disney-movies-we-have-been-conditioned-to/) [Mohamed El-Erian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamed-el-erian/) > [“We develop them over time. Beginning in childhood, we learned a series of conditioned responses that led us to react automatically (as in, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-hardy/we-develop-them-over-time-beginning-in-childhood-we-learned-a-series/) [Darren Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-hardy/) > [We've been conditioned not to love ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sage-rael/we-ve-been-conditioned-not-to-love-ourselves/) Sage Rael > [If you live only in one culture for the first 20 years of your life, you become conditioned without knowing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/if-you-live-only-in-one-culture-for-the-first-20-years-of-your-life/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [We are deeply conditioned against unconditionality because we've been told in a thousand different ways that accomplishment always precedes acceptance, that achievement always precedes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/we-are-deeply-conditioned-against-unconditionality-because-we-ve-been/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [The point I'm trying to make is, I'm really quite neutral. I have not been conditioned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lone/the-point-i-m-trying-to-make-is-i-m-really-quite-neutral-i-have-not/) [John Lone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lone/) Browse all 76 Conditioned quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Why are we conditioned to the smooth, strawberry-and-cream Mother-Goose-world... only to be broken on the wheel as we grow older and become aware of ourselves as individuals with a dull responsibility in life...”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sylvia Plath" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/why-are-we-conditioned-to-the-smooth-strawberry-and-cream-mother/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conditioned" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/why-are-we-conditioned-to-the-smooth-strawberry-and-cream-mother/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9d/sylvia-plath-149_life_why-are-we-conditioned-to-the-smooth-str_613060.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9d/sylvia-plath-149_life_why-are-we-conditioned-to-the-smooth-str_613060.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9d/sylvia-plath-149_life_why-are-we-conditioned-to-the-smooth-str_613060.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Why are we conditioned to the smooth, strawberry-and-cream Mother-Goose-world... only to be broken on the…” — Sylvia Plath", "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": "Sylvia Plath", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Why are we conditioned to the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/why-are-we-conditioned-to-the-smooth-strawberry-and-cream-mother/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/why-are-we-conditioned-to-the-smooth-strawberry-and-cream-mother/#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 } } ] } ```