--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Tonight, I've finally learned to tell…" description: "\"Tonight, I've finally learned to tell fantasy from reality. And, knowing the difference, I choose fantasy.\" — David Henry Hwang" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/302/david-henry-hwang-12258_differences_tonight-i-ve-finally-learned-to-tell-fan_2612973.png" --- # Tonight, I've finally learned to tell fantasy from… ![“Tonight, I've finally learned to tell fantasy from reality. And, knowing the difference, I choose fantasy.” quote by David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/302/david-henry-hwang-12258_differences_tonight-i-ve-finally-learned-to-tell-fan_2612973.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/302/david-henry-hwang-12258_differences_tonight-i-ve-finally-learned-to-tell-fan_2612973.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/302/david-henry-hwang-12258_differences_tonight-i-ve-finally-learned-to-tell-fan_2612973.png) > “Tonight, I've finally learned to tell fantasy from reality. And, knowing the difference, I choose fantasy.” [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He learns to distinguish fantasy from reality and chooses fantasy. **In simple terms:** He prefers imagination over harsh truth. Key Takeaway Embrace healthy imagination. Themes reality fantasy choice escape Mood dreamy reflective Type artistic psychological When to use this quote - art therapy - storytelling - personal growth Key Concepts psychology creativity coping mechanisms Questions to Reflect On - When is fantasy beneficial? - What realities do you avoid? A Different Perspective Escapism can hinder confronting problems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choose Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choose-fantasy-2044177/) [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) [Fantasy Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy-reality/) [Finally Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finally-learned-520825/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowing/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Tell Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tell-fantasy-669040/) [Tonight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tonight/) ## Related quotes > [“mind can help you move forward or can get in the way. Choose the fantasy world that supports you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bregman/mind-can-help-you-move-forward-or-can-get-in-the-way-choose-the/) [Peter Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bregman/) > [“By the time I was in fourth grade, the teacher had already called my parents more than once to say they did not think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-alexander/by-the-time-i-was-in-fourth-grade-the-teacher-had-already-called-my/) [Leigh Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-alexander/) > [I think literature is somehow both a fantasy and a reality we should all get back to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-warren-jones/i-think-literature-is-somehow-both-a-fantasy-and-a-reality-we-should/) [Shane Warren Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-warren-jones/) > [“It is easy to confuse a fantasy for a reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duop-chak-wuol/it-is-easy-to-confuse-a-fantasy-for-a-reality/) [Duop Chak Wuol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duop-chak-wuol/) > [“She still craved the fantasy while reality was busy sinking in its sharp teeth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/belle-malory/she-still-craved-the-fantasy-while-reality-was-busy-sinking-in-its/) [Belle Malory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/belle-malory/) > [In the depth of winter I finally learned there was in me an invincible summer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/in-the-depth-of-winter-i-finally-learned-there-was-in-me-an/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I finally learned to live in the present and focus only on what I want rather than what I don't want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-finally-learned-to-live-in-the-present-and-focus-only-on-what-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have finally learned that I must remain silent as much as possible. I must always keep my thoughts to myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-have-finally-learned-that-i-must-remain-silent-as-much-as-possible/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [By the time I did that third solo album, I'd finally learned how to do it, but I'd also learned that I liked being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-shaw/by-the-time-i-did-that-third-solo-album-i-d-finally-learned-how-to-do/) [Tommy Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-shaw/) > [Truth is, I've known you my whole life. I've been thinking about you the entire time. It's just that when I finally found you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/truth-is-i-ve-known-you-my-whole-life-i-ve-been-thinking-about-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It has taken awhile, but I certainly do know it now – the most wonderful gift I had, the gift I finally learned to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/it-has-taken-awhile-but-i-certainly-do-know-it-now-the-most-wonderful/) [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) > [I've finally learned not to want things I cannot have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-howard/i-ve-finally-learned-not-to-want-things-i-cannot-have/) [Maureen Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-howard/) > [In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/in-the-depth-of-winter-i-finally-learned-that-there-was-in-me-an/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I finally learned that doing what I want isn't love. I don't want to hurt him again by acting childish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/na-hae-ryeong/i-finally-learned-that-doing-what-i-want-isn-t-love-i-don-t-want-to/) [Na Hae Ryeong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/na-hae-ryeong/) > [In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/in-the-depths-of-winter-i-finally-learned-that-within-me-there-lay-an/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) ## More by David Henry Hwang > [I felt pretty good growing up. I didnt feel a lot of prejudice or racism. But I do remember, if there was going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/i-felt-pretty-good-growing-up-i-didnt-feel-a-lot-of-prejudice-or/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [I visited a new cultural center in Shanghai in 2005 that was pretty much perfect, except for the really badly translated Chinglish signs: a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/i-visited-a-new-cultural-center-in-shanghai-in-2005-that-was-pretty/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [My first plays were amazingly bad, but I had a teacher who thought I had promise, and he kept working with me. I finally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/my-first-plays-were-amazingly-bad-but-i-had-a-teacher-who-thought-i/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [I think that plays are probably the most personal, because it's just me in charge, but sometimes it's just really - I think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/i-think-that-plays-are-probably-the-most-personal-because-it-s-just/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [“And you wonder, what's wrong with me? Will anyone beautiful want me?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/and-you-wonder-what-s-wrong-with-me-will-anyone-beautiful-want-me/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [As Asian-Americans, the charge that is often lobbed against us is sort of the least original: the idea that somehow we're perpetual foreigners, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/as-asian-americans-the-charge-that-is-often-lobbed-against-us-is-sort/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [Death with honor is better than life... life with dishonor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/death-with-honor-is-better-than-life-life-with-dishonor/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [Chinese culture in general is not very religious. Confucianism is more a code of ethics than a religion, and ancestor worship is a way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/chinese-culture-in-general-is-not-very-religious-confucianism-is-more/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [My new play 'Chinglish,' which will go to Broadway, is about a white American businessman who goes to a provincial capital in China, hoping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/my-new-play-chinglish-which-will-go-to-broadway-is-about-a-white/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [. . . I felt I was finally in a position to affect not only the artistic content of the American theatre, but also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/i-felt-i-was-finally-in-a-position-to-affect-not-only-the-artistic/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [Yes, I am one of those people who feels that most of my work is adaptation of one sort or another. For me, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/yes-i-am-one-of-those-people-who-feels-that-most-of-my-work-is/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [Time flies when you’re being stupid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/time-flies-when-you-re-being-stupid/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [If I do a play, it's my vision, and everybody else is working on the production to support that. If I do an opera,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/if-i-do-a-play-it-s-my-vision-and-everybody-else-is-working-on-the/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [Why, in the Peking Opera, are women's roles played by men?...Because only a man knows how a woman is supposed to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/why-in-the-peking-opera-are-women-s-roles-played-by-men-because-only/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [There's something about China and its rush to capitalism that I find confusing. At the same time, we live in an America where capitalists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/there-s-something-about-china-and-its-rush-to-capitalism-that-i-find/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) [Explore all 55 David Henry Hwang quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) ## More Differences quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) [Jennifer Siebel Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-siebel-newsom/) > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Shortly after I turned 50, both Ted Turner and the AARP came into my life. The only difference? With AARP, there were benefits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/shortly-after-i-turned-50-both-ted-turner-and-the-aarp-came-into-my/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [The only regret I have in my career, is my managers wanted a big payday, and I wanted four or five more fights before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-cooney/the-only-regret-i-have-in-my-career-is-my-managers-wanted-a-big/) [Gerry Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-cooney/) > [There are those who open their hearts to others...who never think twice about giving of themselves. They are the wonderful warmhearted people who make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilda-radner/there-are-those-who-open-their-hearts-to-others-who-never-think-twice/) [Gilda Radner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilda-radner/) > [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [One of the most basic principles for making and keeping peace within and between nations. . . is that in political, military, moral, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/one-of-the-most-basic-principles-for-making-and-keeping-peace-within/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [When the President starts talking about something, it makes a difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-schumer/when-the-president-starts-talking-about-something-it-makes-a/) [Charles Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-schumer/) > [In a world shaped and colored more and more by politicians, the nations meet politically, and hardly any other way to settle their differences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-b-priestley/in-a-world-shaped-and-colored-more-and-more-by-politicians-the/) [J. B. Priestley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-b-priestley/) [Browse all 8,110 Differences quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Tonight, I've finally learned to tell fantasy from reality. And, knowing the difference, I choose fantasy.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Henry Hwang" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/tonight-i-ve-finally-learned-to-tell-fantasy-from-reality-and-knowing/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Differences" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/tonight-i-ve-finally-learned-to-tell-fantasy-from-reality-and-knowing/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/302/david-henry-hwang-12258_differences_tonight-i-ve-finally-learned-to-tell-fan_2612973.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/302/david-henry-hwang-12258_differences_tonight-i-ve-finally-learned-to-tell-fan_2612973.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/302/david-henry-hwang-12258_differences_tonight-i-ve-finally-learned-to-tell-fan_2612973.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Tonight, I've finally learned to tell fantasy from reality. And, knowing the difference, I choose fantasy.” — David Henry Hwang", "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 Henry Hwang", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Tonight, I've finally learned to tell...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/tonight-i-ve-finally-learned-to-tell-fantasy-from-reality-and-knowing/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/tonight-i-ve-finally-learned-to-tell-fantasy-from-reality-and-knowing/#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 } } ] } ```