"Ah! yes, I know: those who see me rarely trust my word: I must look too intelligent to keep it."

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Insight & Reflection

This reflection on literature by Jean-Paul Sartre resonates across generations. It highlights a fundamental truth about human nature: our continuous search for meaning in literature is what ultimately defines our character and our path forward.

About Jean-Paul Sartre

Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French philosopher, political activist, and writer, considered a leading figure in 20th-century French philosophy and Marxism. Sartre was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism and was a proponent of Libertarian Marxism. His work has influenced sociology, critical theory, post-colonial theory, and literary studies. He was awarded the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature despite attempting to refuse it, saying that he always declined official honors and that "a writer should not allow himself to be turned into an institution".

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Editorial Note: This quote is curated and fact-checked by the Quotes Archive Editorial Team. Verified Literature Specialist.

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More about Literature

"The very word 'secrecy' is repugnant in a free and open society and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths, and to secret proceedings."

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"One ought every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words."

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"I think a lot of writers, male and female, write as if their parents were killed in a car accident when they were 2, and they have no one to hold accountable. And unfortunately, I don't have that. I have parents who I care about what they think."

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