--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Not a superman who stumbles, but an ape…" description: "\"Not a superman who stumbles, but an ape with makeshift manners in whose nickel-plated jungles roam mechanical bananas.\" — William Tenn" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f8/william-tenn-287244_apes_not-a-superman-who-stumbles-but-an-ape-w_2102623.png" --- # Not a superman who stumbles, but an ape with makeshift… ![“Not a superman who stumbles, but an ape with makeshift manners in whose nickel-plated jungles roam mechanical bananas.” quote by William Tenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f8/william-tenn-287244_apes_not-a-superman-who-stumbles-but-an-ape-w_2102623.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f8/william-tenn-287244_apes_not-a-superman-who-stumbles-but-an-ape-w_2102623.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f8/william-tenn-287244_apes_not-a-superman-who-stumbles-but-an-ape-w_2102623.png) > “Not a superman who stumbles, but an ape with makeshift manners in whose nickel-plated jungles roam mechanical bananas.” [William Tenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-tenn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A satirical image of a flawed hero highlights absurdity in human ambition and artificial constructs. **In simple terms:** A clumsy hero in a bizarre, mechanical world. Key Takeaway Recognize absurdity in ambition. Themes satire human folly absurdity technology social commentary Mood witty critical Type Apes:1 Bananas:1 Humility:1 Jungle:1 Manners:1 Nickels:1 Mechanical Bananas:1 Ape Makeshift:1 Stumbles Ape:1 Jungles Roam:1 When to use this quote - creative writing - art analysis - social observation Key Concepts literature philosophy cultural critique Questions to Reflect On - What does the hero represent? - How does absurdity reveal truth? A Different Perspective Humor can mask serious critique. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ape Makeshift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ape-makeshift-4207954/) [Apes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apes/) [Bananas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bananas/) [Humility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humility/) [Jungle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jungle/) [Jungles Roam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jungles-roam-4207956/) [Manners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manners/) [Mechanical Bananas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mechanical-bananas-4207953/) [Nickels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nickels/) [Stumbles Ape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stumbles-ape-4207955/) ## Related quotes > [They're making a ton of money, and no one is getting a nickel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-blades/they-re-making-a-ton-of-money-and-no-one-is-getting-a-nickel/) [Ruben Blades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-blades/) > [I do not want to see BP nickel and diming these businesses that are having a tough time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/i-do-not-want-to-see-bp-nickel-and-diming-these-businesses-that-are/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [It's the person who would sell his soul for a nickel, who is loudest in proclaiming his hatred of money… Let me give you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/it-s-the-person-who-would-sell-his-soul-for-a-nickel-who-is-loudest/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [advance money is really a delusion, that is to say, I get no more until it is paid out in sales, but still, living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/advance-money-is-really-a-delusion-that-is-to-say-i-get-no-more-until/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [My mom was a garage sale person, save money. Come on in to the garage sale, you might find a shirt. She'd get in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louie-anderson/my-mom-was-a-garage-sale-person-save-money-come-on-in-to-the-garage/) [Louie Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louie-anderson/) > [Three years ago I came to Florida without a nickel in my pocket. Now I've got a nickel in my pocket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/three-years-ago-i-came-to-florida-without-a-nickel-in-my-pocket-now-i/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [History doesn't turn on a dime; it turns on a plugged nickel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-greenfield/history-doesn-t-turn-on-a-dime-it-turns-on-a-plugged-nickel/) [Jeff Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-greenfield/) > [Suddenly the nickel-clad horse takes the bit in its mouth and goes slanting for the curbstone defying all prayers and all your powers to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/suddenly-the-nickel-clad-horse-takes-the-bit-in-its-mouth-and-goes/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [After the last shovel of dirt was patted in place, I sat down and let my mind drift back through the years. I thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilson-rawls/after-the-last-shovel-of-dirt-was-patted-in-place-i-sat-down-and-let/) [Wilson Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilson-rawls/) > [Why fight for a flag when you can buy one for a nickel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/why-fight-for-a-flag-when-you-can-buy-one-for-a-nickel/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [I wish I had a nickel for every time I fell and blamed someone else. I'd give a ton of money to the ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-seger/i-wish-i-had-a-nickel-for-every-time-i-fell-and-blamed-someone-else-i/) [Bob Seger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-seger/) > [There's all kinds of people teaching who don't do anything worth a nickel. Likewise in advertising.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/there-s-all-kinds-of-people-teaching-who-don-t-do-anything-worth-a/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [Keep close count of your nickels and dimes, stay away from whiskey, and never concede a putt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-snead/keep-close-count-of-your-nickels-and-dimes-stay-away-from-whiskey-and/) [Sam Snead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-snead/) > [I have an idea that conscience impedes quite as many merits as faults, is a sort of alloy, a nickel which may prevent silver…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/i-have-an-idea-that-conscience-impedes-quite-as-many-merits-as-faults/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [I am a defensive tackle that no matter the situation, even if it is in nickel, I can go in there and rush the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darius-philon/i-am-a-defensive-tackle-that-no-matter-the-situation-even-if-it-is-in/) [Darius Philon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darius-philon/) ## More Apes quotes > [Television's perfect. You turn a few knobs, a few of those mechanical adjustments at which the higher apes are so proficient, and lean back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/television-s-perfect-you-turn-a-few-knobs-a-few-of-those-mechanical/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [As nature made every man with a nose and eyes of his own, she gave him a character of his own, too; and yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/as-nature-made-every-man-with-a-nose-and-eyes-of-his-own-she-gave-him/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [And the Devil did grin, for his darling sin is pride that apes humility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/and-the-devil-did-grin-for-his-darling-sin-is-pride-that-apes-humility/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [Battle For The Planet Of The Apes', was just a film for kids and didn't have any deep meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-lee-thompson/battle-for-the-planet-of-the-apes-was-just-a-film-for-kids-and-didn-t/) [J. Lee Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-lee-thompson/) > [Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/far-out-in-the-uncharted-backwaters-of-the-unfashionable-end-of-the/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“Civilization is only a pretense; in the crisis, we become mere apes again, forgetting the rational biped of our pretensions and becoming instead the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/civilization-is-only-a-pretense-in-the-crisis-we-become-mere-apes/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [The idea that war should be conducted within a moral framework may seem like a quaint medieval practice, but as speech separates humans from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-idea-that-war-should-be-conducted-within-a-moral-framework-may/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Is man an ape or an angel? Now I am on the side of the angels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/is-man-an-ape-or-an-angel-now-i-am-on-the-side-of-the-angels/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Mass ought to be in Latin, unless you could do it in Greek or Chinese. In fact, any abracadabra that no bloody member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/mass-ought-to-be-in-latin-unless-you-could-do-it-in-greek-or-chinese/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [I think the problem we have as apes is we're asking far bigger questions than we could possibly process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-brooker/i-think-the-problem-we-have-as-apes-is-we-re-asking-far-bigger/) [Charlie Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-brooker/) > [We admit that we are like apes, but we seldom realise that we are apes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-admit-that-we-are-like-apes-but-we-seldom-realise-that-we-are-apes/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Lower your gaze because you become less of a human every time you stare at a woman and you stare at her like she's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nouman-ali-khan/lower-your-gaze-because-you-become-less-of-a-human-every-time-you/) [Nouman Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nouman-ali-khan/) > [It was their individuality combined with the shyness of their behavior that remained the most captivating impression of this first encounter with the greatest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dian-fossey/it-was-their-individuality-combined-with-the-shyness-of-their/) [Dian Fossey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dian-fossey/) > [Apes had it worked out. No ape would philosophize, "The mountain is, and is not." They would think, "The banana is. I will eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/apes-had-it-worked-out-no-ape-would-philosophize-the-mountain-is-and/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) [Browse all 444 Apes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Not a superman who stumbles, but an ape with makeshift manners in whose nickel-plated jungles roam mechanical bananas.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Tenn" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-tenn/not-a-superman-who-stumbles-but-an-ape-with-makeshift-manners-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Apes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-tenn/not-a-superman-who-stumbles-but-an-ape-with-makeshift-manners-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f8/william-tenn-287244_apes_not-a-superman-who-stumbles-but-an-ape-w_2102623.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f8/william-tenn-287244_apes_not-a-superman-who-stumbles-but-an-ape-w_2102623.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f8/william-tenn-287244_apes_not-a-superman-who-stumbles-but-an-ape-w_2102623.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Not a superman who stumbles, but an ape with makeshift manners in whose nickel-plated jungles roam…” — William Tenn", "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": "William Tenn", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-tenn/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Not a superman who stumbles, but...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-tenn/not-a-superman-who-stumbles-but-an-ape-with-makeshift-manners-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-tenn/not-a-superman-who-stumbles-but-an-ape-with-makeshift-manners-in/#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 } } ] } ```