To me, there is nothing higher than fiction. Nothing. It is fundamentally who I am. I am a teller of stories. For me, that's the only way I can make sense of the world, with all the dance that it involves.
Arundhati RoyRead
If you ask me what is at the core of what I write, it isn't about 'rights', it's about justice. Justice is a grand, beautiful, revolutionary idea.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The essence of writing is centered on justice rather than mere rights, highlighting justice as a transformative concept.
Arundhati Roy emphasizes that her writing is fundamentally driven by the pursuit of justice, rather than simply advocating for individual rights. She describes justice as a profound and beautiful idea that has the power to create revolutionary change, suggesting that it goes beyond legal entitlements and delves into the moral and ethical dimensions of society.
Themes
JusticeWritingRightsRevolutionChange
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech advocating for social reforms, one might say, 'As Arundhati Roy put it, my writing focuses not on rights but on the broader theme of justice.'
More from Arundhati Roy
All quotes βWhen she listened to songs that she loved on the radio, something stirred inside her. A liquid ache spread under her skin, and she walked out of the world like a witch.
Arundhati RoyRead
Caste is about dividing people up in ways that preclude every form of solidarity, because even in the lowest castes, there are divisions and sub-castes, and everyone's co-opted into the business of this hierarchical, silo-ised society.
Arundhati RoyRead
When I decided to write 'The God of Small Things', I had been working in cinema. It was almost a decision to downshift from there. I thought that 300 people would read it. But it created a platform of trust.
Arundhati RoyRead
In California, there are huge problems because of dams. I'm against big dams, per se, because I think that they are economically unfeasible. They're ecologically unsustainable. And they're hugely undemocratic.
Arundhati RoyRead
To call someone 'anti-American', indeed, to be anti-American, is not just racist, it's a failure of the imagination.
Arundhati RoyRead
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Justice delayed is democracy denied.
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Justice is never given; it is exacted.
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I cannot see any of these death penalty cases where there hasn't been a violation on the ground of either poverty or race. If we can ever get that straightened out, it will help. But, of course, the real answer to it is to do away with the death penalty.
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If you look at any other group of people suffering injustice, women are always in the worst situation within that group.
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Many are observing Ferguson and witnessing the anger, demonstrations, looting and vandalism and calling for quiet. But quiet isn't enough. The absence of noise isn't the presence of justice - and we must demand justice in Ferguson and the other 'Fergusons' around America.
Jesse JacksonRead
With abolition, it's necessary to destroy systems of oppression. But it's equally necessary to put at the forefront our conversations about creation. When we fight for justice, what exactly do we want for our communities?
Patrisse CullorsRead