Away Quote by Will Self
“Instead of looking at individual buildings, it makes more metaphorical sense to think of New York as one enormous chunk of masonry that has been cut up and carved away. It says, 'This is the ultimate polis, through which humans move like nematodes.'”
About This Quote
Source Book: The Book of Laughter and Forgetting by Will Self, 2014
He likens New York City to a massive, fragmented structure that channels human movement like simple organisms.
In simple terms: New York is a huge, broken stone that guides people like tiny worms.
Key Takeaway
See the city as a collective organism shaping behavior.
Themes
urbanism
metaphor
human behavior
city design
Mood
reflective
analytical
Type
observational
critical
When to use this quote
- urban planning
- architecture studies
- travel experiences
- social dynamics
Key Concepts
fragmentation
collective movement
environmental determinism
Questions to Reflect On
- How does this view change your experience of the city?
- What aspects of urban life does the metaphor ignore?
A Different Perspective
The metaphor may oversimplify complex social and cultural layers.
![“[New York] is a city largely based on great skyscrapers, and they will always be the essence of New York. That won't change, just as the character of the people who live here will not be altered by this tragedy.” quote by Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/4ee/donald-trump-18_altered_new-york-is-a-city-largely-based-on-grea_56730.jpg)
![“We thought of [New York] as a free city, like one of those storied prewar tropical nests of intrigue and licentiousness where exiles and lamsters and refugees found shelter in a tangle of improbable juxtapositions.” quote by Lucy Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/32c/lucy-sante-67080_new-york-city_we-thought-of-new-york-as-a-free-city-li_3043554.jpg)
![“I don't like being away from home. That's one reason why I don't work as much as I used to [when I started my career], because so many things are on the road. I just don't want to be away from my husband, my dogs and my home. I don't sing that much any more because that also takes you on the road.” quote by Jane Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/07c/jane-powell-36243_away-from-home_i-don-t-like-being-away-from-home-that-s_278.jpg)
