--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A character, to be acceptable as more…" description: "\"A character, to be acceptable as more than a chess piece, has to be ignorant of the future, unsure about the past, and not at all sure of what he's sup..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4f/anthony-burgess-1167_acceptable_a-character-to-be-acceptable-as-more-tha_2408477.jpg" --- # A character, to be acceptable as more than a chess piece… ![“A character, to be acceptable as more than a chess piece, has to be ignorant of the future, unsure about the past, and not at all sure of what he's supposed to be doing.” quote by Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4f/anthony-burgess-1167_acceptable_a-character-to-be-acceptable-as-more-tha_2408477.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4f/anthony-burgess-1167_acceptable_a-character-to-be-acceptable-as-more-tha_2408477.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4f/anthony-burgess-1167_acceptable_a-character-to-be-acceptable-as-more-tha_2408477.jpg) > “A character, to be acceptable as more than a chess piece, has to be ignorant of the future, unsure about the past, and not at all sure of what he's supposed to be doing.” [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character must lack certainty about future, past, and purpose to be more than a mere game piece, allowing depth and humanity. **In simple terms:** Depth requires uncertainty about time and purpose. Key Takeaway Embrace ambiguity to become fully human. Themes identity purpose uncertainty humanity character development Mood reflective introspective thoughtful Type philosophical literary psychological When to use this quote - acting in roles - personal growth - creative writing - leadership decisions - psychological therapy Key Concepts existentialism psychology free will Questions to Reflect On - How does uncertainty shape personal identity? - Can purpose be found without clear direction? A Different Perspective Too much ambiguity can lead to paralysis or lack of direction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acceptable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acceptable/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Chess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chess/) [Chess pieces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chess-pieces/) [Future Unsure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future-unsure-920903/) [Ignorant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorant/) [Ignorant Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorant-future-2307725/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Piece Ignorant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/piece-ignorant-3957477/) [Pieces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pieces/) [Supposed to be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supposed-to-be/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Unsure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unsure/) [Unsure Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unsure-past-6054942/) ## Related quotes > [To most of us the future seems unsure. But then it always has been; and we who have seen great changes must have great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-masefield/to-most-of-us-the-future-seems-unsure-but-then-it-always-has-been-and/) [John Masefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-masefield/) > [I'm delighted that the future is unsure. That's the way it should be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sloane-coffin/i-m-delighted-that-the-future-is-unsure-that-s-the-way-it-should-be/) [William Sloane Coffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-sloane-coffin/) > [Virtue is always too much of a piece and too ignorant of those shades of feeling and of temperament that enable us to squint…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/virtue-is-always-too-much-of-a-piece-and-too-ignorant-of-those-shades/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [O visions ill foreseen! 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She came across the room and over to us and swept our chess…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-brown/both-richard-and-i-sat-silent-and-watched-jennifer-lee-she-came/) [Cecil Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-brown/) > [“Because of all the things I've experienced on this journey - shrinking and growing, flying sprites, living chess pieces - not a one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-g-howard/because-of-all-the-things-i-ve-experienced-on-this-journey-shrinking/) [A.G. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-g-howard/) > [The King is a fighting piece. Use it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-steinitz/the-king-is-a-fighting-piece-use-it/) [Wilhelm Steinitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-steinitz/) ## More by Anthony Burgess > [If you expect the worst from a person you can never be disappointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/if-you-expect-the-worst-from-a-person-you-can-never-be-disappointed/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Life is a wretched gray Saturday, but it has to be lived through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/life-is-a-wretched-gray-saturday-but-it-has-to-be-lived-through/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [A novelist should not be too intelligent either, although... he may be permitted to be an intellectual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/a-novelist-should-not-be-too-intelligent-either-although-he-may-be/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [“A man who serves language, however imperfectly, should always serve truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/a-man-who-serves-language-however-imperfectly-should-always-serve/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [All human life is here, but the Holy Ghost seems to be somewhere else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/all-human-life-is-here-but-the-holy-ghost-seems-to-be-somewhere-else/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Rome's just a city like anywhere else. 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Life is sustained by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/the-important-thing-is-moral-choice-evil-has-to-exist-along-with-good/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Civilised my syphilised yarbles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/civilised-my-syphilised-yarbles/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [The downtrodden are the great creators of slang.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/the-downtrodden-are-the-great-creators-of-slang/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Without class differences, England would cease to be the living theatre it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/without-class-differences-england-would-cease-to-be-the-living/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [The ideal reader of my novels is a lapsed Catholic and failed musician, short-sighted, colour-blind, auditorily biased, who has read the books that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/the-ideal-reader-of-my-novels-is-a-lapsed-catholic-and-failed/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [... A CLOCKWORK ORANGE- and I said: 'That's a fair gloopy title. Who ever heard of a clockwork orange?' Then I read a malenky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/a-clockwork-orange-and-i-said-that-s-a-fair-gloopy-title-who-ever/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [A work of fiction should be, for its author, a journey into the unknown, and the prose should convey the difficulties of the journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/a-work-of-fiction-should-be-for-its-author-a-journey-into-the-unknown/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [“They don't go into what is the cause of goodness, so why of the other shop? 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