QuoteProject
August Wilson is the one writer that writes about men like my father, who had a fifth grade education, who was a janitor at McDonald's.
Viola Davis
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote highlights the importance of representing the stories of ordinary people, particularly those who might be overlooked due to their educational background or profession.

Viola Davis expresses admiration for August Wilson, emphasizing that his writing captures the essence and struggles of common men, such as her father, who had limited education yet significant life experiences. This speaks to the broader theme of valuing diverse narratives and recognizing the dignity in all professions, particularly those often marginalized in literature and society.

Themes

EducationRepresentationFamilyNarrativeStorytelling

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in a discussion about the importance of diverse voices in literature.

More from Viola Davis

The more I'm pushed in a position of leadership and I know I have to be the mouthpiece for so many other people who can't speak for themselves, the more confidence I'm gaining.
Viola DavisRead
What excites me is just taking some time to breathe in life. The mundane is very exciting.
Viola DavisRead
I don't care if someone is new to acting or experienced in acting: you always learn something from them. It's just like people in life - whether they're young or middle-aged or old, you always learn something from someone.
Viola DavisRead
I don't see a lot of narratives written where a woman who looks like me gets to be beautiful and sexualized and upwardly mobile, middle-class, funny, quirky. They're very seldom written.
Viola DavisRead
And that's what people want to see when they go to the theater. I believe at the end of the day, they want to see themselves - parts of their lives they can recognize. And I feel if I can achieve that, it's pretty spectacular.
Viola DavisRead
There's no prerequisites to worthiness. You're born worthy, and I think that's a message a lot of women need to hear.
Viola DavisRead

Similar quotes

The Museum is not meant either for the wanderer to see by accident or for the pilgrim to see with awe. It is meant for the mere slave of a routine of self- education to stuff himself with every sort of incongruous intellectual food in one indigestible meal.
Gilbert K. ChestertonRead
Business has to have a seat at the table. Infrastructure isn't going to be built properly if business doesn't have a seat at the table. A school is not going to happen if businesses don't work with schools about what kind of jobs they really need.
Jamie DimonRead
One of the great things about books is you can afford to do anything.
George R. R. MartinRead
The written word endures, the spoken word disappears
Neil PostmanRead
The education of women is the best way to save the environment.
E. O. WilsonRead
Schools are not intended to moralize a wicked world, but to impart knowledge and develop intelligence, with only two social aims in mind: prepare to take on one's share in the world's work, and perhaps in addition, lend a hand in improving society, after schooling is done.
Jacques BarzunRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.