--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you grow up in abject poverty, you…" description: "\"When you grow up in abject poverty, you see people exactly the way they are.\" — Viola Davis" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/351/viola-davis-1174_exactly_when-you-grow-up-in-abject-poverty-you-s_2004992.png" --- # When you grow up in abject poverty, you see people exactly… ![“When you grow up in abject poverty, you see people exactly the way they are.” quote by Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/351/viola-davis-1174_exactly_when-you-grow-up-in-abject-poverty-you-s_2004992.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/351/viola-davis-1174_exactly_when-you-grow-up-in-abject-poverty-you-s_2004992.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/351/viola-davis-1174_exactly_when-you-grow-up-in-abject-poverty-you-s_2004992.png) > “When you grow up in abject poverty, you see people exactly the way they are.” [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poverty reveals harsh realities about people’s true natures. **In simple terms:** Poverty exposes true character. Key Takeaway Cultivate empathy beyond stereotypes. Themes poverty perception humanity Mood empathetic critical Type social personal When to use this quote - social work - policy making - personal growth Key Concepts sociology psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does poverty shape your view of others? - What can be done to see beyond stereotypes? A Different Perspective Not all in poverty are the same. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abject Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abject-poverty-841962/) [Exactly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exactly/) [Grow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grow/) [Grow up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grow-up/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Exactly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-exactly-370181/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Poverty People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty-people-580713/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [People are where they are because that is exactly where they really want to be - whether they will admit that or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/people-are-where-they-are-because-that-is-exactly-where-they-really/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [It's very rare that people are exactly who they appear to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-arnett/it-s-very-rare-that-people-are-exactly-who-they-appear-to-be/) [Will Arnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-arnett/) > [We grew up in abject poverty. Acting, writing scripts and skits were a way of escaping our environment at a very young age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/we-grew-up-in-abject-poverty-acting-writing-scripts-and-skits-were-a/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [From this point on Im going to treat people exactly how they treat me. Some should be glad. Others should be scared.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/from-this-point-on-im-going-to-treat-people-exactly-how-they-treat-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Discontented people are exactly the kind of people that made America so Great. Sometimes it's good to be frustrated; it leads to change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradford-winters/discontented-people-are-exactly-the-kind-of-people-that-made-america/) [Bradford Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradford-winters/) > [From this point on, I'm going to treat people exactly how they treat me. 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Even when they don’t know it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-adams/sometimes-god-puts-people-exactly-where-they-need-to-be-even-when/) [Taylor Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-adams/) > [If you're one in a million, there are six thousand people exactly like you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-re-one-in-a-million-there-are-six-thousand-people-exactly-like/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It has to be understood that the world doesn't exist with people who are exactly like us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-i/it-has-to-be-understood-that-the-world-doesn-t-exist-with-people-who/) [T.I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-i/) > [“Who do you spend the most time with? Who are the people you most admire? 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Venice has a lot of that too, but the face of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-arnett/it-s-very-rare-that-people-are-exactly-who-they-appear-to-be-venice/) [Will Arnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-arnett/) > [“like to think that somewhere out there, on a planet exactly like ours, two people exactly like you and me made totally different choices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/like-to-think-that-somewhere-out-there-on-a-planet-exactly-like-ours/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I can’t be doing with people that are not exactly what they seem.’ Mamie was”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-e-stevenson/i-can-t-be-doing-with-people-that-are-not-exactly-what-they-seem/) [D.E. Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-e-stevenson/) ## More by Viola Davis > [I look back at pictures of myself and I remember thinking, "I was so fat when I was growing up. I was 165 pounds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-look-back-at-pictures-of-myself-and-i-remember-thinking-i-was-so/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [I am not a glam woman - this definitely is a mask I put on for the public.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-am-not-a-glam-woman-this-definitely-is-a-mask-i-put-on-for-the/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [I was bullied at school. The black girl in Central Falls, Rhode Island, in 1973. There'd be 8 or 10 boys; I would count…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-was-bullied-at-school-the-black-girl-in-central-falls-rhode-island/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [That's why there's so much bad acting out there, because you could see actors watching themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/that-s-why-there-s-so-much-bad-acting-out-there-because-you-could-see/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [I want my work to reflect my level of gifts and talent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-want-my-work-to-reflect-my-level-of-gifts-and-talent/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [I don’t want anyone putting any limits on me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-don-t-want-anyone-putting-any-limits-on-me/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [ I think that's why August \[Wilson\] named her Rose \[in "Fences"\]; I really do. 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And she says, 'My head and my heart.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-tell-my-daughter-every-morning-now-what-are-the-two-most-important/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [I started a production company out of necessity, the need for great narratives for actors of color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-started-a-production-company-out-of-necessity-the-need-for-great/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [That's always the biggest surprise when people meet me: how buoyant I am and how fun and light I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/that-s-always-the-biggest-surprise-when-people-meet-me-how-buoyant-i/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [When you're working as an actor, you don't think that when you get out of school, it's going to be so hard to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/when-you-re-working-as-an-actor-you-don-t-think-that-when-you-get-out-2/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [ It was hard, that confrontation scene \[in "Fences"\], that was a hard one. I felt like it was relentless, I never felt like I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/it-was-hard-that-confrontation-scene-in-fences-that-was-a-hard-one-i/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [I am addicted to any facial product that's anti-aging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-am-addicted-to-any-facial-product-that-s-anti-aging/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) [Explore all 279 Viola Davis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) ## More Exactly quotes > [Once you stop looking for what you what you find exactly what you need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia/once-you-stop-looking-for-what-you-what-you-find-exactly-what-you-need/) [Cynthia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia/) > [“My life had gone right; it had gone exactly as it needed to in order to bring me here.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-harbison/my-life-had-gone-right-it-had-gone-exactly-as-it-needed-to-in-order/) [Beth Harbison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-harbison/) > [Frank Lampard was exactly the sort of player I wanted to be when I was growing up, I used to watch everything he did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kai-havertz/frank-lampard-was-exactly-the-sort-of-player-i-wanted-to-be-when-i/) [Kai Havertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kai-havertz/) > [Everyone in Life does Exactly what they Know How to Do Given the Conditions of their Lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/everyone-in-life-does-exactly-what-they-know-how-to-do-given-the/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [My views line up with Mick Mulvaney's views pretty much exactly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-norman/my-views-line-up-with-mick-mulvaney-s-views-pretty-much-exactly/) [Ralph Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-norman/) > [It's more common than not that bipolar illness will start in the teens. One of the reasons I spend a lot of time on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/it-s-more-common-than-not-that-bipolar-illness-will-start-in-the/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [I don't exactly relate to grey characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-kay-menon/i-don-t-exactly-relate-to-grey-characters/) [Kay Kay Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-kay-menon/) > [“I know not who I am, simply that I am forever becoming exactly what I am meant to be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-lee/i-know-not-who-i-am-simply-that-i-am-forever-becoming-exactly-what-i/) [Becca Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-lee/) > [I like shoes that are definitive, and they know exactly what they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-tucker/i-like-shoes-that-are-definitive-and-they-know-exactly-what-they-are/) [P. J. Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-tucker/) > [Everything in your dream means exactly what you think it means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-ingerman/everything-in-your-dream-means-exactly-what-you-think-it-means/) [Sandra Ingerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-ingerman/) > [While sleep is clearly vital to emotional well-being, what is it, exactly, about sleep that is so necessary? As it turns out, mood disorders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-weil/while-sleep-is-clearly-vital-to-emotional-well-being-what-is-it/) [Andrew Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-weil/) > [Not exactly what the world was looking for, a musical on 'Don Quixote.' It was required reading in high school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-leigh/not-exactly-what-the-world-was-looking-for-a-musical-on-don-quixote/) [Mitch Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-leigh/) > [I am repeatedly asked in interviews exactly 'what's wrong' with me, and I always give them the same answer; I don't identify the name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-young/i-am-repeatedly-asked-in-interviews-exactly-what-s-wrong-with-me-and/) [Stella Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-young/) > [I get very frustrated by this term 'genre exercise.' I mean, what exactly is that? 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