--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To make someone an icon is to make him an…" description: "\"“To make someone an icon is to make him an abstraction, and abstractions are incapable of vital communication with living people.10 10 One has only to ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d0/david-foster-wallace-161_books_to-make-someone-an-icon-is-to-make-him-a_2820638.jpg" --- # To make someone an icon is to make him an abstraction, and… ![“To make someone an icon is to make him an abstraction, and abstractions are incapable of vital communication with living people.10 10 One has only to spend a term trying to teach college literature to realize that the quickest way to kill an author's vitality for potential readers is to present…” quote by David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d0/david-foster-wallace-161_books_to-make-someone-an-icon-is-to-make-him-a_2820638.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d0/david-foster-wallace-161_books_to-make-someone-an-icon-is-to-make-him-a_2820638.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d0/david-foster-wallace-161_books_to-make-someone-an-icon-is-to-make-him-a_2820638.jpg) > ““To make someone an icon is to make him an abstraction, and abstractions are incapable of vital communication with living people.10 10 One has only to spend a term trying to teach college literature to realize that the quickest way to kill an author's vitality for potential readers is to present that author ahead of his time as "great" or "classic." Because then the author becomes for the students like medicine or vegetables, something the authorities have declared "good for them" that they "ought to like," at which point the students' nictitating membranes come down, and everyone just goes through the requisite motions of criticism and paper-writing without feeling one real or relevant thing. It's like removing all oxygen from the room before trying to start a fire.”” [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. Treating authors as icons abstracts them, disconnecting readers from genuine engagement and reducing literature to a sterile exercise. **In simple terms:** Iconizing writers creates distance and kills vitality. Key Takeaway Avoid turning creators into untouchable symbols. Themes literature engagement education authenticity Mood reflective critical Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - college literature classes - reading groups - author studies - creative writing workshops Key Concepts iconography vitality critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How can we preserve an author's humanity in teaching? - What practices make literature feel alive? A Different Perspective Students may still feel alienated if curricula remain rigid. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstractions Incapable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstractions-incapable-3587901/) [Author Vitality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/author-vitality-3587899/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [College Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college-literature-910898/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Kill Author](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kill-author-3587900/) [Literature Realize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature-realize-3587898/) ## Related quotes > [To make someone an icon is to make him an abstraction, and abstractions are incapable of vital communication with living people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-make-someone-an-icon-is-to-make-him-an-abstraction-and/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [I want to go to college for literature. 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