Novels can change attitudes. Maybe we should speak quietly otherwise politicians will use novels as propaganda.
Interpretation
Novels have the power to influence people's beliefs and attitudes, and we should be cautious about how they are used in political contexts.
In this quote, Olga Tokarczuk conveys the idea that literature, particularly novels, can shape public opinion and alter societal views. She warns that if we are not careful, those in power might exploit literary works to promote their agendas, thus turning art into a tool for propaganda. This highlights the responsibility of writers and readers alike in recognizing the impact of stories on cultural and political landscapes.
In practice
During a literary discussion, one might use this quote to highlight the importance of understanding the influence of books on societal views.
But the fact is we did have colonies in the east of Poland, we did have a slave economy there. But this is not common knowledge - or part of our national myth. It goes against the current romanticised view of the government, and much of the country, that Poles have always been victims, never oppressors.
My books are not 'political.' I don't make political demands. They actually describe life. But when we look at human life, politics creeps in everywhere.
I think that first-person narration is very characteristic of contemporary optics, in which the individual performs the role of subjective center of the world.
The world is a fabric we weave daily on the great looms of information, discussions, films, books, gossip, little anecdotes.
I first read Sigmund Freud's 'Beyond the Pleasure Principle' as a young girl, and it helped me to understand that there are thousands of possible ways to interpret our experience, that everything has a meaning, and that interpretation is the key to reality. This was the first step to becoming a writer.
Well-written novels make you more empathetic towards other people. You can identify with someone who isn't you. You can change your identity. A 14-year-old boy can become Anna Karenina. It is a miracle.
Sometimes it is said that man cannot be trusted with the government of himself. Can he, then be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the form of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question.
Do not fix hopes on your health, and do not laugh away life. Remember how they walked and now all their joints lie separately, and the tongue with which they talked lightly is eaten away by the worms
Against eternal injustice, man must assert justice, and to protest against the universe of grief, he must create happiness.
Each person is oriented toward a quest for his personal invisible guide, or . . . he entrusts himself to the collective, magisterial authority as the intermediary between himself and Revelation.
Never was a government that was not composed of liars, malefactors and thieves.
Good order results spontaneously when things are let alone
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