When I learnt to write I became my own master, I became very strong, and that strength is with me to this very day.
V. S. NaipaulRead
If a writer doesn't generate hostility, he is dead.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A writer must provoke thought and emotion to be alive in their craft.
V. S. Naipaul suggests that the role of a writer is to challenge and confront readers, often sparking emotions such as hostility. This provocation is a sign of life and vibrancy in literature; without it, a writer's work may fail to resonate and engage its audience meaningfully.
Themes
WriterHostilityProvocationAliveLiterature
In practice
Example use cases
Use this quote in a writing workshop to inspire emerging writers.
More from V. S. Naipaul
All quotes →It is wrong to have an ideal view of the world. That's where the mischief starts. That's where everything starts unravelling.
V. S. NaipaulRead
If you decide to move to another country and to live within its laws you don't express your disregard for the essence of the culture. It's a form of aggression.
V. S. NaipaulRead
One must always try to see the truth of a situation - it makes things universal.
V. S. NaipaulRead
His ignorance seemed to widen with everything he read.
V. S. NaipaulRead
I think when you see so many Hindu temples of the 10th century or earlier disfigured, defaced, you realise that something terrible happened. I feel the civilisation of that closed world was mortally wounded by those invasions the old world is destroyed. That has to be understood. Ancient Hindu India was destroyed.
V. S. NaipaulRead
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