--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: F.R. Leavis's \"eat up your broccoli\"…" description: "\"F.R. Leavis's \"eat up your broccoli\" approach to fiction emphasises this junkfood/wholefood dichotomy. If reading a novel--for theeighteenth century re..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78c/angela-carter-1237_approach_f-r-leavis-s-eat-up-your-broccoli-approa_622860.jpg" --- # F.R. Leavis's "eat up your broccoli" approach to fiction… ![“F.R. Leavis's "eat up your broccoli" approach to fiction emphasises this junkfood/wholefood dichotomy. If reading a novel--for theeighteenth century reader, the most frivolous of diversions--did not, by the middle of the twentieth century, make you a better person in some way, then you might as…” quote by Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78c/angela-carter-1237_approach_f-r-leavis-s-eat-up-your-broccoli-approa_622860.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78c/angela-carter-1237_approach_f-r-leavis-s-eat-up-your-broccoli-approa_622860.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78c/angela-carter-1237_approach_f-r-leavis-s-eat-up-your-broccoli-approa_622860.jpg) > “F.R. Leavis's "eat up your broccoli" approach to fiction emphasises this junkfood/wholefood dichotomy. If reading a novel--for theeighteenth century reader, the most frivolous of diversions--did not, by the middle of the twentieth century, make you a better person in some way, then you might as well flush the offending volume down the toilet, which was by far the best place for the undigested excreta of dubious nourishment.” [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Leavis argues that literature must nourish the mind like wholesome food, otherwise it is worthless. **In simple terms:** Literature should be nutritious; otherwise discard it. Key Takeaway Read works that enrich you. Themes literature nutrition value Mood critical reflective Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - academic study - personal development - library curation Key Concepts cultural criticism ethical reading Questions to Reflect On - What books have truly changed you? - Do you ever read purely for pleasure? A Different Perspective Not all readers share Leavis's strict standards; some value entertainment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Approach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approach/) [Better person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-person/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Dichotomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dichotomy/) [Diversion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diversion/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Nourishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nourishment/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Twentieth century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twentieth-century/) ## Related quotes > [The "great tradition" does not brook even the possibility of libidinal gratification between the pages as an end in itself, and FR Leavis's "eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-r-leavis/the-great-tradition-does-not-brook-even-the-possibility-of-libidinal/) [F. R. Leavis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-r-leavis/) > [Never eat broccoli when there are cameras around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stipe/never-eat-broccoli-when-there-are-cameras-around/) [Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stipe/) > [By the Obama administration's reasoning, it would be constitutionally permissible to make Americans purchase nearly any product (broccoli, gym membership) that improved their health…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cornyn/by-the-obama-administration-s-reasoning-it-would-be-constitutionally/) [John Cornyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cornyn/) > [When my family did shy away from Indian food, we'd eat a lot of Chinese. We'd use the wok a lot. I never had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parvesh-cheena/when-my-family-did-shy-away-from-indian-food-we-d-eat-a-lot-of/) [Parvesh Cheena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parvesh-cheena/) > [Sadly, commercially-produced, frozen broccoli lacks the ability to form sulforaphane because the vegetables are flash-cooked before they are frozen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-greger/sadly-commercially-produced-frozen-broccoli-lacks-the-ability-to-form/) [Michael Greger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-greger/) > [I make sure to eat lots of kale, broccoli, blueberries, strawberries, and spinach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lara-spencer/i-make-sure-to-eat-lots-of-kale-broccoli-blueberries-strawberries-and/) [Lara Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lara-spencer/) > [I was at a party in London when I met Bond producer Barbara Broccoli. She introduced herself, and I didn't believe her name. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-bach/i-was-at-a-party-in-london-when-i-met-bond-producer-barbara-broccoli/) Catherine Bach > [Our brain, our body, craves fat. We cannot help it. That's why a kid will eat a hot dog quicker than a piece of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/our-brain-our-body-craves-fat-we-cannot-help-it-that-s-why-a-kid-will/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When my children say, 'In the future, Mummy, will things get better or worse for humanity?' I say: 'Who knows, since Amy Winehouse died.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/when-my-children-say-in-the-future-mummy-will-things-get-better-or/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [John McEnroe has hair like badly turned broccoli.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/john-mcenroe-has-hair-like-badly-turned-broccoli/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [I don't diet. There's going to be barbecues and macaroni and cheese - but I'll have broccoli and salad the next day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginnifer-goodwin/i-don-t-diet-there-s-going-to-be-barbecues-and-macaroni-and-cheese/) [Ginnifer Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginnifer-goodwin/) > [If I could uninvent anything, I would uninvent Hitler's mum, guns and broccoli.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominic-monaghan/if-i-could-uninvent-anything-i-would-uninvent-hitler-s-mum-guns-and/) [Dominic Monaghan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominic-monaghan/) > [The cauliflower soup sounds so good. And the broccoli-melt sandwich. I've never heard of such a thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-o-dowd/the-cauliflower-soup-sounds-so-good-and-the-broccoli-melt-sandwich-i/) [Chris O'Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-o-dowd/) > [If God wanted us to be vegetarians, he would have made broccoli a lot more fun to hunt!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-god-wanted-us-to-be-vegetarians-he-would-have-made-broccoli-a-lot/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I eat broccoli. I think about the plot. I pace in circles for hours, counter-clockwise, listening to music. I try to think of one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-tobin-anderson/i-eat-broccoli-i-think-about-the-plot-i-pace-in-circles-for-hours/) [Matthew Tobin Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-tobin-anderson/) ## More by Angela Carter > [He was a lovely man in many ways. But he kept on insisting on forgiving me when there was nothing to forgive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/he-was-a-lovely-man-in-many-ways-but-he-kept-on-insisting-on/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [Reading a book is like re-writing it for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/reading-a-book-is-like-re-writing-it-for-yourself/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [Losing their names, these things underwent a process of uncreation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/losing-their-names-these-things-underwent-a-process-of-uncreation/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [I know that whenever a group of women are gathered together, the grandmother always makes a phantom appearance, hovering above them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/i-know-that-whenever-a-group-of-women-are-gathered-together-the/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [“She herself is a haunted house. 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And yet it fools everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/is-not-this-whole-world-an-illusion-and-yet-it-fools-everybody/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [My paternal grandmother would not light a fire on the Sabbath and piled all Sunday's washing-up in a bucket, to be dealt with on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/my-paternal-grandmother-would-not-light-a-fire-on-the-sabbath-and/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [“Mother goddesses are just as silly a notion as father gods. If a revival of the myths of these cults gives woman emotional satisfaction,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/mother-goddesses-are-just-as-silly-a-notion-as-father-gods-if-a/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [Out of the frying pan into the fire! What is marriage but prostitution to one man instead of many? No different!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/out-of-the-frying-pan-into-the-fire-what-is-marriage-but-prostitution/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [And each stroke of his tongue ripped off skin after successive skin, all the skins of a life in the world, and left behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/and-each-stroke-of-his-tongue-ripped-off-skin-after-successive-skin/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [In a secular age, an authentic miracle must purport to be a hoax, in order to gain credit in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/in-a-secular-age-an-authentic-miracle-must-purport-to-be-a-hoax-in/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [We do not go to bed in single pairs; even if we choose not to refer to them, we still drag there with us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/we-do-not-go-to-bed-in-single-pairs-even-if-we-choose-not-to-refer-to/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [I see her as a series of marvellous shapes formed at random in the kaleidoscope of desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/i-see-her-as-a-series-of-marvellous-shapes-formed-at-random-in-the/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [“Women do not normally fuck in the active sense. They are fucked in the passive tense and hence automatically fucked-up, done over, undone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/women-do-not-normally-fuck-in-the-active-sense-they-are-fucked-in-the/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) [Explore all 263 Angela Carter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) ## More Approach quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [I'm in a business where there's complete anarchy. You can't control it - you can only react to it. 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