--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The self is like a pimping blackmailing…" description: "\"The self is like a pimping blackmailing chauffeur who gets you from here to there on word lines.\" — William S. Burroughs" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b39/william-s-burroughs-528_chauffeurs_the-self-is-like-a-pimping-blackmailing_2124052.png" --- # The self is like a pimping blackmailing chauffeur who gets… ![“The self is like a pimping blackmailing chauffeur who gets you from here to there on word lines.” quote by William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b39/william-s-burroughs-528_chauffeurs_the-self-is-like-a-pimping-blackmailing_2124052.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b39/william-s-burroughs-528_chauffeurs_the-self-is-like-a-pimping-blackmailing_2124052.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b39/william-s-burroughs-528_chauffeurs_the-self-is-like-a-pimping-blackmailing_2124052.png) > “The self is like a pimping blackmailing chauffeur who gets you from here to there on word lines.” [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The self is a manipulative driver steering through language. **In simple terms:** Self is a controlling narrator. Key Takeaway Question your inner narrative. Themes identity language control Mood introspective provocative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing - therapy - self‑reflection Key Concepts psychoanalysis postmodernism Questions to Reflect On - What narratives does your mind impose? - How can you reclaim agency? A Different Perspective Self‑awareness can be unsettling. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blackmailing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blackmailing-1012173/) [Blackmailing Chauffeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blackmailing-chauffeur-4347181/) [Chauffeurs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chauffeurs/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Like Pimping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-pimping-4347182/) [Lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lines/) [Pimping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pimping/) [Pimping Blackmailing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pimping-blackmailing-4347183/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) ## Related quotes > [Patience, stop blackmailing me. I am so tired of you blackmailing me. you are not related to morroccan-hunter in real life. You are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare/patience-stop-blackmailing-me-i-am-so-tired-of-you-blackmailing-me/) [Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare/) > [“She'd lost all sense of self-preservation and virtually begged the blackmailing monster on top of her to shag her brains out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-croft/she-d-lost-all-sense-of-self-preservation-and-virtually-begged-the/) [Nina Croft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-croft/) > [“A rap on my window. I cringed. With a smirk, Luna pushed the curtains aside. She waved and opened the window. “Hey, Tristan.” “Hey,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-kirk/a-rap-on-my-window-i-cringed-with-a-smirk-luna-pushed-the-curtains/) [A&E Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-kirk/) > [Patience, stop calling me mean and nasty names. You are so mean to me. so please stop blackmailing me. I am tired of you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare/patience-stop-calling-me-mean-and-nasty-names-you-are-so-mean-to-me/) [Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare/) > [Wow! how great the person he is, who firstly gain ur trust and then blackmailing and hating you for that what u done for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nabiha/wow-how-great-the-person-he-is-who-firstly-gain-ur-trust-and-then/) [Nabiha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nabiha/) > [“He leaned over her, rested his head on her shoulder, and clung to her, his tears soaking into her shirt. What the fuck was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacia-kane/he-leaned-over-her-rested-his-head-on-her-shoulder-and-clung-to-her/) [Stacia Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacia-kane/) > [“He didn't give a shit what Sin did, who she "mated" with, or what she did with her assassin business. But this Lycus fucker…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larissa-ione/he-didn-t-give-a-shit-what-sin-did-who-she-mated-with-or-what-she-did/) [Larissa Ione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larissa-ione/) > [Men blackmailing you as a woman leads you to trivialise sex and say 'it's not important, what is important is myself as a person,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buchi-emecheta/men-blackmailing-you-as-a-woman-leads-you-to-trivialise-sex-and-say/) [Buchi Emecheta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buchi-emecheta/) > [Kurt's been blackmailing me every since he saw my browser history.-Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glee/kurt-s-been-blackmailing-me-every-since-he-saw-my-browser-history-finn/) [Glee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glee/) > [Once it becomes mandatory to report that you've had data stolen, blackmailing you is a waste of time. Blackmailing you to keep quiet -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dido-harding/once-it-becomes-mandatory-to-report-that-you-ve-had-data-stolen/) [Dido Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dido-harding/) > [“Sentimental blackmailing is the melodrama done by heart over our brain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upasana-banerjee/sentimental-blackmailing-is-the-melodrama-done-by-heart-over-our-brain/) [Upasana Banerjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upasana-banerjee/) > [“His loss. I know a hell of a lot more about headstrong teenage girls than he does.” Colin gave her his most quelling look.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/his-loss-i-know-a-hell-of-a-lot-more-about-headstrong-teenage-girls/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [Patience, stop being so mean to me. you are not even related to Morrccan-Hunter.you are not related to him in real life. Stop blackmailing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare/patience-stop-being-so-mean-to-me-you-are-not-even-related-to/) [Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare/) > [If I was a locksmith, I'd be pimping that out man. I'll trade you a free key duplication for. That joke made me laugh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/if-i-was-a-locksmith-i-d-be-pimping-that-out-man-i-ll-trade-you-a/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [Libraries are brothels for the mind. Which means that librarians are the madams, greeting punters, understanding their strange tastes and needs, and pimping their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-browning/libraries-are-brothels-for-the-mind-which-means-that-librarians-are/) [Guy Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-browning/) ## More by William S. Burroughs > [“Control never be a means to any practical end. It can never be a means to anything but more control… Like punk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/control-never-be-a-means-to-any-practical-end-it-can-never-be-a-means/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“Well as, one judge said to the other, 'Be just and if you can't be just be arbitrary.' Regret cannot observe customary obscenities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/well-as-one-judge-said-to-the-other-be-just-and-if-you-can-t-be-just/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [After one look at this planet any visitor from outer space would say 'I want to see the manager.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/after-one-look-at-this-planet-any-visitor-from-outer-space-would-say/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [For seven days she lay in bed looking sullenly at the ceiling as though resenting the death she had cultivated for so many years.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/for-seven-days-she-lay-in-bed-looking-sullenly-at-the-ceiling-as/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [When you stop growing you start dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/when-you-stop-growing-you-start-dying/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [Life is a cutup. And to pretend that you write or paint in a timeless vacuum is just simply . . . not .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/life-is-a-cutup-and-to-pretend-that-you-write-or-paint-in-a-timeless/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [When all lies, deceit, pretense is stripped away, what remains? The truth of a painting, or a book or a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/when-all-lies-deceit-pretense-is-stripped-away-what-remains-the-truth/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“There is no final enough of wisdom, experience - any fucking thing. No Holy Grail, No Final Satori, no solution. Just conflict. Only thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/there-is-no-final-enough-of-wisdom-experience-any-fucking-thing-no/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“For John Dillinger In hope he is still alive Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 1986 In hope he is still alive Thanks for the wild…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/for-john-dillinger-in-hope-he-is-still-alive-thanksgiving-day/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“Did I ever tell you about the man who taught his asshole to talk? His whole abdomen would move up and down, you dig,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/did-i-ever-tell-you-about-the-man-who-taught-his-asshole-to-talk-his/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [You need a good bedside manner with doctors or you will get nowhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/you-need-a-good-bedside-manner-with-doctors-or-you-will-get-nowhere/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [There couldn't be a society of people who didn't dream. They'd be dead in two weeks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/there-couldn-t-be-a-society-of-people-who-didn-t-dream-they-d-be-dead/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [I prefer cats to people, for the most part. Most people aren't cute at all, and if they are cute they very rapidly outgrow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/i-prefer-cats-to-people-for-the-most-part-most-people-aren-t-cute-at/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [ \[Arab peoples\] are stuck back thousands of years and they think they're going to get out with a TV set. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/arab-peoples-are-stuck-back-thousands-of-years-and-they-think-they-re/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“It is not the intensity but the duration of pain that breaks the will to resist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/it-is-not-the-intensity-but-the-duration-of-pain-that-breaks-the-will/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) [Explore all 484 William S. Burroughs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) ## More Chauffeurs quotes > [“Some women walk towards a better future. Others have chauffeurs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/some-women-walk-towards-a-better-future-others-have-chauffeurs/) [Ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) > [“Up to four chauffeurs, two secretaries, two personal maids, and a masseur traveled with her to each home”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/estella-m-chung/up-to-four-chauffeurs-two-secretaries-two-personal-maids-and-a/) [Estella M. Chung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/estella-m-chung/) > [Rolexes, chauffeurs, and low fades. I keep thinking, how young can you die from old age?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/rolexes-chauffeurs-and-low-fades-i-keep-thinking-how-young-can-you/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [“Some people stride toward a better future. Others have chauffeurs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/some-people-stride-toward-a-better-future-others-have-chauffeurs/) [Ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) > [Our kids haven't any airs about them. I don't like posh kids who don't like dirty dolls or expect a chauffeur every time they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-mccartney/our-kids-haven-t-any-airs-about-them-i-don-t-like-posh-kids-who-don-t/) [Linda McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-mccartney/) > [I have terrible luck. Last week my chauffeur ran off without my wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henny-youngman/i-have-terrible-luck-last-week-my-chauffeur-ran-off-without-my-wife/) [Henny Youngman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henny-youngman/) > [The current leadership of the Labor party react to the idea that working-class students might study the subjects they studied with the same horror…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gove/the-current-leadership-of-the-labor-party-react-to-the-idea-that/) [Michael Gove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gove/) > [The leaping Jaguar on the bonnet, to me, makes it look more like a hunter than something that is getting away. It's a hunter.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-kingsley/the-leaping-jaguar-on-the-bonnet-to-me-makes-it-look-more-like-a/) [Ben Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-kingsley/) > [I was not going to use writing for advertising or journalism. I would tend bar, load trucks, chauffeur - do whatever it took. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/i-was-not-going-to-use-writing-for-advertising-or-journalism-i-would/) [Dennis Lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/) > [Because it's unacceptable that the aid worker's chauffeur only speaks his own tribal language, an applicant is needed who also speaks English fluently -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-shikwati/because-it-s-unacceptable-that-the-aid-worker-s-chauffeur-only-speaks/) [James Shikwati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-shikwati/) > [Being a lifetime wife and mother has afforded me the luxury of having multiple careers: I've been a teacher. A chauffeur. A chef. An…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/being-a-lifetime-wife-and-mother-has-afforded-me-the-luxury-of-having/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [To lead the good life in New York, the two most important things for a woman are a chauffeur and a fur-lined raincoat. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-apfel/to-lead-the-good-life-in-new-york-the-two-most-important-things-for-a/) [Iris Apfel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-apfel/) > [What man could afford to pay for all the things a wife does, when she's a cook, a mistress, a chauffeur, a nurse, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-ford/what-man-could-afford-to-pay-for-all-the-things-a-wife-does-when-she/) [Betty Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-ford/) > [Helpless, unknown, and unremembered, most human beings, however sensitive, idealistic, intelligent, go through life as passengers rather than chauffeurs. Although we may pretend that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/helpless-unknown-and-unremembered-most-human-beings-however-sensitive/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My husband is a general's chauffeur somewhere in France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillie-langtry/my-husband-is-a-general-s-chauffeur-somewhere-in-france/) [Lillie Langtry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillie-langtry/) [Browse all 34 Chauffeurs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chauffeurs/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The self is like a pimping blackmailing chauffeur who gets you from here to there on word lines.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William S. 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