Skip to content

Define Quote by Alan Bennett

“How do I define history? It's just one fucking thing after another” quote by Alan Bennett — Download Open image

““How do I define history? It's just one fucking thing after another””

About This Quote

Source Film: The History Boys, 2006

History is portrayed as a relentless succession of events without deeper meaning.

In simple terms: History is just events one after another.

Key Takeaway

Question the narrative of history.

Themes

history meaninglessness philosophy

Mood

cynical reflective

Type

critical philosophical

When to use this quote

education
political discourse
media analysis

Key Concepts

determinism existentialism

Questions to Reflect On

What narratives give history purpose?
How does this view affect our understanding of progress?

A Different Perspective

Ignores the agency of individuals in shaping history.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 2.6 out of 5 (6 ratings)

Define Define History Fucking Thing History History Just Humor Just Fucking

More by Alan Bennett

“The closest she got to pretence was politeness.”

Image

An article on playwrights in the Daily Mail , listed according to Hard Left, Soft Left, Hard Right, Soft Right and Centre. I am…

Image

I'm not good at precise, coherent argument. But plays are suited to incoherent argument, put into the mouths of fallible people.

Image

The thing I think about is that once you've done it, you then start to think about what you're going to do next. It's…

Image

At the drabber moments of my life (swilling some excrement from the steps, for instance, or rooting with a bent coat-hanger down a blocked…

Image

There are more microbes per person than the entire population of the world. Imagine that. Per person. This means that if the time scale…

Image

I'm more socialist certainly than New Labour - I'm very old Labour, really.

Image

Why do we not care to acknowledge them? The cattle, the body count. We still don't like to admit the war was even partly…

Image

Were we closer to the ground as children, or is the grass emptier now?

Image

But most men regard their life as a poem that women threaten. They may not have two spondees to rub together but they still…

Image

“BURGESS How do you like Moscow? CORAL Loathe it, darling. I cannot understand what those Three Sisters were on about. It gives the play…

Image

The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - which…

Image

Explore all 188 Alan Bennett quotes

More Define quotes

Don't define the game by the list of the features. Define it by the experience you want to have.

Image

I don't want my title to define my character. I don't think, as a president, I will change.

Image

Well, I don't know how they define that. But they have this Texas blues thing blown kinda out of proportion. I am a Long…

Image

I find it hard to define myself.

Bruno Fernandes

Image

If I had to define my philosophy, it would be about exploration, a journey, a story-telling.

Hussein Chalayan

Image

I think the word 'soul' - it depends on what you define by 'soul.' If you're defining it as a mystical aura that is…

Miguel Nicolelis

Image

To define the era we live in is very difficult. How do we define it? We define it by music.

Donatella Versace

Image

I think in some ways we have allowed other people to set the agenda. Other people to define who we are.

Image

Your words, your schedule, your choices, your obedience, the way you savor your victories and the way you swallow your defeats all help to…

Image

Define yourself. Never give anyone any chance to define you by their definitions.

Image

“Dont ask what the meaning of life is. You define it!”

Image

If u can define what is love..then you are not in Love.

Image

Browse all 588 Define quotes