Why else do we read fiction, anyway? Not to be impressed by somebody's dazzling language – or at least I hope that's not our reason. I think that most of us read these stories that we know are not 'true' because we're hungry for another kind of truth: The mythic truth about human nature in general, the particular truth about those life-communities that define our own identity, and the most specific truth of all: our own self-story.
Orson Scott Card
Fiction, Truth, Human Nature, Identity, Self-discovery, Literary Purpose
Orson Scott Card’s Quotes On Topics
Writers | Experience | Belief | Morality | Timing | Lost Souls | National Identity | Innovation | Parental Love | Limitations | Dilemma | Secrets | Empathetic Insight | Certainty | Nobility | Life Philosophy | Literary Distinction | Social Evolution | Pain | Moral Compass | More
More Orson Scott Card Quotes
“My own feeling is that human happiness is a very random thing, and bestows itself willy-nilly, and there's not much deserving about the matter.” Orson Scott Card
Happiness, Randomness, Fate, Deserving, Life Philosophy, Human Condition
Orson Scott Card Happiness, Randomness, Fate, Deserving, Life Philosophy, Human Condition“Once you duct-tape a Ziploc bag to a man's chest, there's no going back.” Orson Scott Card
Humor, Absurdity, Commitment, Irreversibility, Bizarre Situation, Unexpected Consequences
Orson Scott Card Humor, Absurdity, Commitment, Irreversibility, Bizarre Situation, Unexpected Consequences“I've got a pretty good idea what children are, and we're not children. Children can lose sometimes, and nobody cares.” Orson Scott Card
Childhood, Maturity, Responsibility, Expectations, Pressure, Innocence
Orson Scott Card Childhood, Maturity, Responsibility, Expectations, Pressure, Innocence“There's a sort of rage a man feels when he's been deceived where he most trusted. It compares to no other anger.” Orson Scott Card
Betrayal, Trust, Anger, Emotions, Relationships, Psychological Insight
Orson Scott Card Betrayal, Trust, Anger, Emotions, Relationships, Psychological Insight“Nights were so real that days began to seem dreamlike to him.” Orson Scott Card
Reality, Perception, Dreams, Consciousness, Psychological State, Altered Reality
Orson Scott Card Reality, Perception, Dreams, Consciousness, Psychological State, Altered Reality“The difference between raman and varelse is not in the creature judged, but in the creature judging. When we declare an alien species to be raman, it does not mean that they have passed a threshold of moral maturity. It means that we have.” Orson Scott Card
Judgment, Morality, Aliens, Perspective, Ethical Growth, Self-reflection
Orson Scott Card Judgment, Morality, Aliens, Perspective, Ethical Growth, Self-reflection“All he had to do was watch the game and understand how things worked, and then he could use the system, and even excel.” Orson Scott Card
Observation, Understanding, Strategy, Success, Systemic Knowledge, Personal Advancement
Orson Scott Card Observation, Understanding, Strategy, Success, Systemic Knowledge, Personal Advancement“Debased men, but they all had something in common: They showed a keen regard for virtue, and tried to dress themselves in that costume. Hypocrisy, for all its bad reputation, at least showed a decent respect for goodness.” Orson Scott Card
Hypocrisy, Virtue, Morality, Appearances, Human Nature, Social Commentary
Orson Scott Card Hypocrisy, Virtue, Morality, Appearances, Human Nature, Social Commentary“I don't know why people who got what they need to be happy don't just go ahead and be happy.” Orson Scott Card
Happiness, Contentment, Human Nature, Simplicity, Psychological Complexity, Self-sabotage
Orson Scott Card Happiness, Contentment, Human Nature, Simplicity, Psychological Complexity, Self-sabotage“Perhaps I'm hiding from myself. Perhaps I don't want to be what I'm supposed to be. Or perhaps I don't want to keep living the life I already started to live.” Orson Scott Card
Self-discovery, Destiny, Choice, Identity, Personal Growth, Existential Crisis
Orson Scott Card Self-discovery, Destiny, Choice, Identity, Personal Growth, Existential Crisis“Time to repay old humiliations, is that it, Bean? 'Of course,' Ender said contemptuously. 'I'm not as close to the floor as you are.” Orson Scott Card
Revenge, Height, Contempt, Humiliation, Power Dynamics, Verbal Sparring
Orson Scott Card Revenge, Height, Contempt, Humiliation, Power Dynamics, Verbal Sparring“In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it's impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves.” Orson Scott Card
Understanding, Enemy, Love, Defeat, Emotional Paradox, Empathetic Insight
Orson Scott Card Understanding, Enemy, Love, Defeat, Emotional Paradox, Empathetic Insight“I am a creature of chemicals.” Orson Scott Card
Chemicals, Identity, Biology, Self-perception, Scientific Reductionism, Human Nature
Orson Scott Card Chemicals, Identity, Biology, Self-perception, Scientific Reductionism, Human Nature“Buut how to fight with singers, how to win a gift that could only be given freely- those were questions whose answers could not be found.” Orson Scott Card
Conflict, Art, Freedom, Gift Giving, Philosophical Questions, Paradox
Orson Scott Card Conflict, Art, Freedom, Gift Giving, Philosophical Questions, Paradox“Ender Wiggin isn't a killer. He just wins – thoroughly.” Orson Scott Card
Victory, Morality, Effectiveness, Character, Perception, Unintended Consequences
Orson Scott Card Victory, Morality, Effectiveness, Character, Perception, Unintended Consequences“We care about moral issues, nobility, decency, happiness, goodness – the issues that matter in the real world, but which can only be addressed, in their purity, in fiction.” Orson Scott Card
Morality, Fiction, Reality, Idealism, Human Values, Literary Exploration
Orson Scott Card Morality, Fiction, Reality, Idealism, Human Values, Literary Exploration“The future is a hundred thousand threads, but the past is a fabric that can never be rewoven.” Orson Scott Card
Future, Past, Possibilities, Change, Temporal Metaphor, Historical Immutability
Orson Scott Card Future, Past, Possibilities, Change, Temporal Metaphor, Historical Immutability“All is going well, very well, I couldn't ask for anything better – So why do I hate my life?” Orson Scott Card
Dissatisfaction, Success, Unhappiness, Self Reflection, Cognitive Dissonance, Existential Crisis
Orson Scott Card Dissatisfaction, Success, Unhappiness, Self Reflection, Cognitive Dissonance, Existential Crisis