The writer is the person who stands outside society, independent of affiliation and independent of influence.
Don DelilloRead
There's a curious knot that binds novelists and terrorists...Years ago I used to think it was possible for a novelist to alter the inner life of the culture. Now bomb-makers and gunmen have taken that territory. They make raids on human consciousness. What writers used to do before we were all incorporated.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the shifting influence of novelists compared to terrorists in shaping society and human consciousness.
Don Delillo's quote comments on the evolving role of writers and their ability to influence culture. He suggests that while novelists once held the power to alter the inner life of society through storytelling, that influence has shifted to those who use violence and terror, outlining how cultural narratives have been overtaken by acts of aggression, which have now become a primary method of 'raiding' human consciousness.
Themes
NovelistsTerroristsCultureInfluenceConsciousness
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the impact of media on society, one might reference Delillo's insights on the shifting power dynamics.
More from Don Delillo
All quotes →War is the form nostalgia takes when men are hard-pressed to say something good about their country.
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American writers ought to stand and live in the margins, and be more dangerous.
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For me, writing is a concentrated form of thinking.
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I used to think it was possible for an artist to alter the inner life of the culture. Now bomb-makers and gunmen have taken that territory.
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[I]n the American soul there is a lonely individual standing in a vast landscape. He is either on a horse or driving a car, depending, and either way he’s carrying a gun. This is one of the essential images in American mythology.
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