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Literary works cannot be taken over like factories, or literary forms of expression like industrial methods. Realist writing, of which history offers many widely varying examples, is likewise conditioned by the question of how, when and for what class it is made use of.
Bertolt Brecht
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Literary works are fundamentally different from industrial processes and are influenced by social context and purpose.

Bertolt Brecht emphasizes that literature is not merely a product to be mass-produced but instead is a complex form of expression deeply rooted in the specific historical, social, and political contexts of its creation. The quote underscores the idea that the meaning and impact of realistic writing depend on the audience it serves and the circumstances under which it is produced, challenging the notion of treating literary works like interchangeable industrial goods.

Themes

LiteratureRealismContextExpressionSocial Purpose

In practice

Example use cases

During a lecture on the importance of social context in literature, one might use this quote to illustrate how socio-economic factors influence literary creation.

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