If you have the guts to be yourself, other people'll pay your price.
John UpdikeRead
Until the 20th century it was generally assumed that a writer had said what he had to say in his works.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Writers were traditionally expected to express their thoughts fully in their published works.
John Updike's quote reflects the historical expectation that authors would convey all their ideas and understandings within their literary works. He suggests that before the 20th century, it was taken for granted that a writer's messages, insights, and philosophies would be contained within the pages of their books, without the need for supplementary commentary or explanation.
Themes
WritingLiteratureExpressionAuthorCommunication
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about literary analysis or the role of the author, this quote can illustrate how perceptions of writing have evolved.
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The reader knows the writer better than he knows himself; but the writer's physical presence is light from a star that has moved on.
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To guarantee the individual maximum freedom within a social frame of minimal laws ensures - if not happiness - its hopeful pursuit.
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Most contemporary novels are not really "written." They obtain what reality they have largely from an accurate rendering of the noises that human beings currently make in their daily simple needs of communication; and what part of a novel is not composed of these noises consists of a prose which is no more alive than that of a competent newspaper writer or government official. A prose that is altogether alive demands something of the reader that the ordinary novel-reader is not prepared to give.
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