--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You learn to read so you can identify the…" description: "\"“You learn to read so you can identify the reality in which you live, so that you can become a protagonist history rather than a spectator\" Father Fern..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/926/barbara-kingsolver-200_history_you-learn-to-read-so-you-can-identify-th_632266.png" --- # You learn to read so you can identify the reality in which… ![“You learn to read so you can identify the reality in which you live, so that you can become a protagonist history rather than a spectator" Father Fernando Cardenal” quote by Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/926/barbara-kingsolver-200_history_you-learn-to-read-so-you-can-identify-th_632266.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/926/barbara-kingsolver-200_history_you-learn-to-read-so-you-can-identify-th_632266.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/926/barbara-kingsolver-200_history_you-learn-to-read-so-you-can-identify-th_632266.png) > ““You learn to read so you can identify the reality in which you live, so that you can become a protagonist history rather than a spectator" Father Fernando Cardenal”” [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading empowers you to understand your world and act as its main character rather than a passive observer. **In simple terms:** Reading lets you shape your story. Key Takeaway Read to become an active participant. Themes education agency literacy storytelling Mood thoughtful empowering Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - school curriculum - self‑education - community activism - career development Key Concepts critical thinking empowerment Questions to Reflect On - What story do you want to write? - How will you act on what you learn? A Different Perspective Reading alone isn’t enough without action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Protagonist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protagonist/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [The first thing I do when I read a part is see if I can identify emotionally with a character. If I make that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-leonard/the-first-thing-i-do-when-i-read-a-part-is-see-if-i-can-identify/) [Joshua Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-leonard/) > [I had the fortune or misfortune to learn how to read fluently starting at the age of three. So I had read maybe 150…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/i-had-the-fortune-or-misfortune-to-learn-how-to-read-fluently/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) > [“When I started to learn how to read, I discovered the same kind of power. I could create an environment that I didn't have,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-richie/when-i-started-to-learn-how-to-read-i-discovered-the-same-kind-of/) [Donald Richie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-richie/) > [“To enjoy and learn from what you read you must understand the meanings of the words a writer uses. You do yourself a grave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-harrington-elster/to-enjoy-and-learn-from-what-you-read-you-must-understand-the/) Charles Harrington Elster > [“You’ve grown tired of your four-year-old pointing to words and asking, “What does this say?” Apparently it’s not okay to respond to them with,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-gaffigan/you-ve-grown-tired-of-your-four-year-old-pointing-to-words-and-asking/) [Jim Gaffigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-gaffigan/) > [You have to learn to read between the lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-hightower/you-have-to-learn-to-read-between-the-lies/) [Jim Hightower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-hightower/) > [You are at some point exposed to a wonderful story, and you really want to know what happens next, so you learn to read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/you-are-at-some-point-exposed-to-a-wonderful-story-and-you-really/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [We are cyborgs already. If you learn to read, it causes permanent changes to the structure of your brain for your entire life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramez-naam/we-are-cyborgs-already-if-you-learn-to-read-it-causes-permanent/) [Ramez Naam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramez-naam/) > [I'm trying to learn how to read. I have a tutor out on the road. It is great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lanegan/i-m-trying-to-learn-how-to-read-i-have-a-tutor-out-on-the-road-it-is/) [Mark Lanegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lanegan/) > [If all our children learn to do is read, they will not be literate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-warlick/if-all-our-children-learn-to-do-is-read-they-will-not-be-literate/) [David Warlick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-warlick/) > [Reading, at the deepest level, is a physical experience. Most people are not attuned to this, most people don't learn how to read -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/reading-at-the-deepest-level-is-a-physical-experience-most-people-are/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [A good book can teach you about the world and about yourself. You learn more than how to read better; you also learn more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-adler/a-good-book-can-teach-you-about-the-world-and-about-yourself-you/) [Mortimer Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-adler/) > [The dear good people don't know how long it takes to learn to read. I've been at it eighty years, and can't say yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-dear-good-people-don-t-know-how-long-it-takes-to-learn-to-read-i/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The more that learn to read the less learn how to make a living. That's one thing about a little education. It spoils you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/the-more-that-learn-to-read-the-less-learn-how-to-make-a-living-that/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [I will take classes in Kannada and will learn to read and write it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-thukral/i-will-take-classes-in-kannada-and-will-learn-to-read-and-write-it/) [Nikita Thukral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-thukral/) ## More by Barbara Kingsolver > [“Jesus was a more reliable backer, evidently, less likely to drink himself unconscious or get liver cancer. No wonder people chose Him as their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/jesus-was-a-more-reliable-backer-evidently-less-likely-to-drink/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Now I'm starting to think he wasn't supposed to be my whole life, he was just this doorway to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/now-i-m-starting-to-think-he-wasn-t-supposed-to-be-my-whole-life-he/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Cooking is 80 percent confidence, a skill best acquired starting from when the apron strings wrap around you twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/cooking-is-80-percent-confidence-a-skill-best-acquired-starting-from/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“In Bobby Ogle's version of heaven everyone would wind up in one place, criminals and Muslims included.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/in-bobby-ogle-s-version-of-heaven-everyone-would-wind-up-in-one-place/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Weeds are job security for the gardener.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/weeds-are-job-security-for-the-gardener/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“It's what you do that makes your soul, not the other way around.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/it-s-what-you-do-that-makes-your-soul-not-the-other-way-around/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Lusa turned to Crys, her eyes shining. "That was a luna." Crys shrugged. "So?" "So? So what? You want it should sing, too?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/lusa-turned-to-crys-her-eyes-shining-that-was-a-luna-crys-shrugged-so/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [The strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/the-strength-of-motherhood-is-greater-than-natural-laws/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“An imperfectly remembered life is a useless treachery. Every day, more fragments of the past roll around heavily in the chambers of an empty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/an-imperfectly-remembered-life-is-a-useless-treachery-every-day-more/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Respecting the dignity of a spectacular food means enjoying it at its best. Europeans celebrate the short season of abundant asparagus as a form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/respecting-the-dignity-of-a-spectacular-food-means-enjoying-it-at-its/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Somehow it had come to pass that this man was her whole world, and she had failed to take his measure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/somehow-it-had-come-to-pass-that-this-man-was-her-whole-world-and-she/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [After 'The Poisonwood Bible' was published, several people believed that my parents were missionaries, which could not be further from the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/after-the-poisonwood-bible-was-published-several-people-believed-that/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [I can count all the ways in which being a mother has enriched my understanding of the world, of character, my sense of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/i-can-count-all-the-ways-in-which-being-a-mother-has-enriched-my/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [But we've all ended up giving body and soul to Africa, one way or another. Even Adah, who's becoming an expert in tropical epidemiology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/but-we-ve-all-ended-up-giving-body-and-soul-to-africa-one-way-or/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [If the Lord hasn't got a boyfriend lined up for me to marry, that's his business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/if-the-lord-hasn-t-got-a-boyfriend-lined-up-for-me-to-marry-that-s/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) [Explore all 939 Barbara Kingsolver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The NBA is my history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-hardaway/the-nba-is-my-history/) [Penny Hardaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-hardaway/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) C-DASH > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You learn to read so you can identify the reality in which you live, so that you can become a protagonist history rather than a spectator\" Father Fernando Cardenal”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barbara Kingsolver" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/you-learn-to-read-so-you-can-identify-the-reality-in-which-you-live/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "History" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/you-learn-to-read-so-you-can-identify-the-reality-in-which-you-live/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/926/barbara-kingsolver-200_history_you-learn-to-read-so-you-can-identify-th_632266.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/926/barbara-kingsolver-200_history_you-learn-to-read-so-you-can-identify-th_632266.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/926/barbara-kingsolver-200_history_you-learn-to-read-so-you-can-identify-th_632266.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You learn to read so you can identify the reality in which you live, so that you can become a protagonist…” — Barbara Kingsolver", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Barbara Kingsolver", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“You learn to read so you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/you-learn-to-read-so-you-can-identify-the-reality-in-which-you-live/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/you-learn-to-read-so-you-can-identify-the-reality-in-which-you-live/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```