It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.
Ursula K. Le GuinRead
At this point, realism is perhaps the least adequate means of understanding or portraying the incredible realities of our existence.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Realism may fall short in capturing the true complexities of our existence.
In this quote, Ursula K. Le Guin suggests that the conventional approach of realism is often insufficient when trying to comprehend or depict the profound and intricate nature of life. The statement implies that there are deeper truths and experiences that realism may overlook, highlighting the limitations of a strictly realistic perspective in understanding human existence.
Themes
RealismExistenceUnderstandingRealityComplexity
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on the limitations of traditional narratives in literature.
More from Ursula K. Le Guin
All quotes βIn reading a novel, any novel, we have to know perfectly well that the whole thing is nonsense, and then, while reading, believe every word of it. Finally, when we're done with it, we may find - if it's a good novel - that we're a bit different from what we were before we read it, that we have changed a little... But it's very hard to say just what we learned, how we were changed.
Ursula K. Le GuinRead
Reason is a faculty far larger than mere objective force. When either the political or the scientific discourse announces itself as the voice of reason, it is playing God, and should be spanked and stood in the corner.
Ursula K. Le GuinRead
The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty; not knowing what comes next.
Ursula K. Le GuinRead
We read books to find out who we are. What other people, real or imaginary, do and think and feel... is an essential guide to our understanding of what we ourselves are and may become.
Ursula K. Le GuinRead
When he found that the administrators were upset, he laughed. βDo they expect students not to be anarchists?β he said. βWhat else can the young be? When you are on the bottom, you must organize from the bottom up
Ursula K. Le GuinRead
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