--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Really good fiction could have as dark a…" description: "\"“Really good fiction could have as dark a worldview as it wished, but it'd find a way both to depict this world and to illuminate the possibilities for..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/636/david-foster-wallace-161_american-psycho_really-good-fiction-could-have-as-dark-a_3043332.jpg" --- # Really good fiction could have as dark a worldview as it… ![“Really good fiction could have as dark a worldview as it wished, but it'd find a way both to depict this world and to illuminate the possibilities for being alive and human in it." [Q&A with Larry McCaffery, Review of Contemporary Fiction , Summer 1993, Vol. 13.2]” quote by David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/636/david-foster-wallace-161_american-psycho_really-good-fiction-could-have-as-dark-a_3043332.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/636/david-foster-wallace-161_american-psycho_really-good-fiction-could-have-as-dark-a_3043332.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/636/david-foster-wallace-161_american-psycho_really-good-fiction-could-have-as-dark-a_3043332.jpg) > ““Really good fiction could have as dark a worldview as it wished, but it'd find a way both to depict this world and to illuminate the possibilities for being alive and human in it." \[Q&A with Larry McCaffery, Review of Contemporary Fiction , Summer 1993, Vol. 13.2\]”” [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fiction can explore darkness while also revealing life's possibilities and humanity. **In simple terms:** Stories can show both bleakness and hope. Key Takeaway Use fiction to confront darkness and find meaning. Themes literature existence hope Mood introspective hopeful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - reading - writing - therapy - education Key Concepts narrative theory human condition Questions to Reflect On - How does darkness in stories affect you? - Can bleak narratives inspire optimism? A Different Perspective Dark themes may alienate some readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American-psycho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-psycho-7486/) [Dark Worldview](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark-worldview-1171804/) [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-dark-1153138/) [Good Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-fiction/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [On-fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/on-fiction/) [Perspective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perspective/) [Worldview](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worldview/) [Worldview Wished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worldview-wished-5026503/) ## Related quotes > [“Look man, we'd probably most of us agree that these are dark times, and stupid ones, but do we need fiction that does nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/look-man-we-d-probably-most-of-us-agree-that-these-are-dark-times-and/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [In dark times, the definition of good art would seem to be art that locates and applies CPR to those elements of what's human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/in-dark-times-the-definition-of-good-art-would-seem-to-be-art-that/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“Good fiction’s job is to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/good-fiction-s-job-is-to-comfort-the-disturbed-and-disturb-the/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“...required for good fiction: character, conflict, change through time. And if you're really blessed, you get resolution. But life doesn't usually work out that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-conover/required-for-good-fiction-character-conflict-change-through-time-and/) [Ted Conover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-conover/) > [“Interviewer ...In the case of "American Psycho" I felt there was something more than just this desire to inflict pain--or that Ellis was being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/interviewer-in-the-case-of-american-psycho-i-felt-there-was-something/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“If what's always distinguished bad writing--flat characters, a narrative world that's clichéd and not recognizably human, etc.--is also a description of today's world, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/if-what-s-always-distinguished-bad-writing-flat-characters-a/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“I had a teacher I liked who used to say good fiction’s job was to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-had-a-teacher-i-liked-who-used-to-say-good-fiction-s-job-was-to/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“I had a teacher I liked who used to say good fiction’s job was to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable. I guess…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-had-a-teacher-i-liked-who-used-to-say-good-fiction-s-job-was-to-2/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“Sex is mathematics. Individuality no longer an issue. What does intelligence signify? Define reason. Desire -- meaningless. Intellect is not a cure. Justice is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/sex-is-mathematics-individuality-no-longer-an-issue-what-does-2/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [“It wasn't until the show was almost over that I figured out what it was: the crack above my David Onica that I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/it-wasn-t-until-the-show-was-almost-over-that-i-figured-out-what-it/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [“It strikes me profoundly that the world is more often than not a bad and cruel place.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/it-strikes-me-profoundly-that-the-world-is-more-often-than-not-a-bad/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [“You don't know what torture is. You don't know what you're talking about. You really don't know what you're talking about.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/you-don-t-know-what-torture-is-you-don-t-know-what-you-re-talking/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [“Fame Shark is American Psycho meets Call It Sleep. A no-holds -barred saga of the extremes a human being can go to in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-levy/fame-shark-is-american-psycho-meets-call-it-sleep-a-no-holds-barred/) [Francis Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-levy/) > [“There is a moment of sheer panic when I realize that Paul's apartment overlooks the park... and is obviously more expensive than mine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-bateman/there-is-a-moment-of-sheer-panic-when-i-realize-that-paul-s-apartment/) [Patrick Bateman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-bateman/) > [“…there is an idea of a Patrick Bateman, some kind of abstraction, but there is no real me, only an entity, something illusory, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/there-is-an-idea-of-a-patrick-bateman-some-kind-of-abstraction-but-2/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) ## More by David Foster Wallace > [“I felt more solidly composed, now that I was horizontal. I was impossible to knock down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-felt-more-solidly-composed-now-that-i-was-horizontal-i-was/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“We all have our little solipsistic delusions, ghastly intuitions of utter singularity: that we are the only one in the house who ever fills…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/we-all-have-our-little-solipsistic-delusions-ghastly-intuitions-of/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“It's no accident that in a bureaucracy getting fired is called 'termination,' as in ontological erasure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-s-no-accident-that-in-a-bureaucracy-getting-fired-is-called/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Footnote: 79) The anchor is gigantic and must weigh a hundred tons, and -- delightfully -- it really is anchor-shaped, i.e. the same shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/footnote-79-the-anchor-is-gigantic-and-must-weigh-a-hundred-tons-and/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“The paradoxical intercourse of audience and celebrity. The suppressed awareness that the whole reason ordinary people found celebrity fascinating was that they were not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-paradoxical-intercourse-of-audience-and-celebrity-the-suppressed/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“I am coming to see that the sensation of the worst nightmares, a sensation that can be felt asleep or awake, is identical to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-am-coming-to-see-that-the-sensation-of-the-worst-nightmares-a/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“He cranks the condo’s AC way down at night and still most mornings wakes up soaked, fetally curled, entombed in that kind of psychic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/he-cranks-the-condo-s-ac-way-down-at-night-and-still-most-mornings/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“To me, at least in retrospect, the really interesting question is why dullness proves to be such a powerful impediment to attention. Why we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-me-at-least-in-retrospect-the-really-interesting-question-is-why/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“If you’re subjected to enough great salesmen and salespitches and marketing concepts for long enough—like from your earliest Saturday-morning cartoons, let’s say—it is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/if-you-re-subjected-to-enough-great-salesmen-and-salespitches-and/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“Why is the truth usually not just un- but anti-interesting?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/why-is-the-truth-usually-not-just-un-but-anti-interesting/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“She almost reminds the engineer of certain types in high school whom everyone adored because you sensed it made no difference to them whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/she-almost-reminds-the-engineer-of-certain-types-in-high-school-whom/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [To be, in a word, unborable… It is the key to modern life. If you are immune to boredom, there is literally nothing you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-be-in-a-word-unborable-it-is-the-key-to-modern-life-if-you-are/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“It is within your power to experience a crowded, loud, slow, consumer-hell-type situation as not only meaningful but sacred, on fire with the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-is-within-your-power-to-experience-a-crowded-loud-slow-consumer/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“The happy pleasure of the person alone, yes?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-happy-pleasure-of-the-person-alone-yes/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [There is such a thing as raw, unalloyed, agendaless kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/there-is-such-a-thing-as-raw-unalloyed-agendaless-kindness/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) [Explore all 999 David Foster Wallace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) ## More American-psycho quotes > [“It wasn't until the show was almost over that I figured out what it was: the crack above my David Onica that I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/it-wasn-t-until-the-show-was-almost-over-that-i-figured-out-what-it/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [“There is a moment of sheer panic when I realize that Paul's apartment overlooks the park... and is obviously more expensive than mine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-bateman/there-is-a-moment-of-sheer-panic-when-i-realize-that-paul-s-apartment/) [Patrick Bateman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-bateman/) > [“Fame Shark is American Psycho meets Call It Sleep. A no-holds -barred saga of the extremes a human being can go to in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-levy/fame-shark-is-american-psycho-meets-call-it-sleep-a-no-holds-barred/) [Francis Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-levy/) > [“You don't know what torture is. You don't know what you're talking about. You really don't know what you're talking about.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/you-don-t-know-what-torture-is-you-don-t-know-what-you-re-talking/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [“It strikes me profoundly that the world is more often than not a bad and cruel place.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/it-strikes-me-profoundly-that-the-world-is-more-often-than-not-a-bad/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [“Sex is mathematics. Individuality no longer an issue. What does intelligence signify? Define reason. Desire -- meaningless. Intellect is not a cure. Justice is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/sex-is-mathematics-individuality-no-longer-an-issue-what-does-2/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [“…there is an idea of a Patrick Bateman, some kind of abstraction, but there is no real me, only an entity, something illusory, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/there-is-an-idea-of-a-patrick-bateman-some-kind-of-abstraction-but-2/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) [Browse all 8 American-psycho quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-psycho-7486/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Really good fiction could have as dark a worldview as it wished, but it'd find a way both to depict this world and to illuminate the possibilities for being alive and human in it.\" [Q&A with Larry McCaffery, Review of Contemporary Fiction , Summer 1993, Vol. 13.2]”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Foster Wallace" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/really-good-fiction-could-have-as-dark-a-worldview-as-it-wished-but/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "American-psycho" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/really-good-fiction-could-have-as-dark-a-worldview-as-it-wished-but/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/636/david-foster-wallace-161_american-psycho_really-good-fiction-could-have-as-dark-a_3043332.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/636/david-foster-wallace-161_american-psycho_really-good-fiction-could-have-as-dark-a_3043332.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/636/david-foster-wallace-161_american-psycho_really-good-fiction-could-have-as-dark-a_3043332.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Really good fiction could have as dark a worldview as it wished, but it'd find a way both to depict this…” — David Foster Wallace", "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": "David Foster Wallace", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Really good fiction could have as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/really-good-fiction-could-have-as-dark-a-worldview-as-it-wished-but/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/really-good-fiction-could-have-as-dark-a-worldview-as-it-wished-but/#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 } } ] } ```