--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I never wanted to change the world…" description: "\"I never wanted to change the world. Norman Mailer wanted to, he set himself the task of changing the consciousness of our age. And I think he came pret..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/378/don-delillo-294_change-the-world_i-never-wanted-to-change-the-world-norma_1834233.jpg" --- # I never wanted to change the world. Norman Mailer wanted… ![“I never wanted to change the world. Norman Mailer wanted to, he set himself the task of changing the consciousness of our age. And I think he came pretty close, in the 1960s, to actually managing to do it. But me? No, no, I never wanted anything like that. I'm not Maileresque.” quote by Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/378/don-delillo-294_change-the-world_i-never-wanted-to-change-the-world-norma_1834233.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/378/don-delillo-294_change-the-world_i-never-wanted-to-change-the-world-norma_1834233.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/378/don-delillo-294_change-the-world_i-never-wanted-to-change-the-world-norma_1834233.jpg) > “I never wanted to change the world. Norman Mailer wanted to, he set himself the task of changing the consciousness of our age. And I think he came pretty close, in the 1960s, to actually managing to do it. But me? No, no, I never wanted anything like that. I'm not Maileresque.” [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator rejects grand ambitions, contrasting with a peer who sought to reshape cultural consciousness in the 1960s. **In simple terms:** He prefers ordinary life over revolutionary aims. Key Takeaway Accept personal limits. Themes individualism ambition culture Mood contemplative detached Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career choices - creative pursuits - social activism Key Concepts existentialism historical impact Questions to Reflect On - Do you value personal peace over societal impact? - What drives someone to pursue cultural change? A Different Perspective Great change often requires personal sacrifice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-the-world/) [Changing the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/changing-the-world/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I never wanted to be a businessman, I just wanted to change the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-never-wanted-to-be-a-businessman-i-just-wanted-to-change-the-world/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Oh heavy change. The world deteriorates like a rotting apple, worms and a skin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/oh-heavy-change-the-world-deteriorates-like-a-rotting-apple-worms-and/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [If I wanted to change the world, the last thing I would do is write a play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-i-wanted-to-change-the-world-the-last-thing-i-would-do-is-write-a/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Yesterday I was clever and I wanted to change the world . Today I am wise and I am changing myself .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/yesterday-i-was-clever-and-i-wanted-to-change-the-world-today-i-am/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“My relatives all say Jane wanted to change the world Then they add None of us can ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/my-relatives-all-say-jane-wanted-to-change-the-world-then-they-add/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [“If you and I really, truly wanted to change the world, we'd invent more words that started with x .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/if-you-and-i-really-truly-wanted-to-change-the-world-we-d-invent-more/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [My father, Norman Mailer, expected a lot from us and he really pushed us and you know one of his favorite lines was, "If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buffalo-mailer/my-father-norman-mailer-expected-a-lot-from-us-and-he-really-pushed/) [John Buffalo Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buffalo-mailer/) > [Norman Mailer thinks William Burroughs is a genius, which I think is ludicrous beyond words. I don't think William Burroughs has an ounce of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/norman-mailer-thinks-william-burroughs-is-a-genius-which-i-think-is/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [Norman Mailer described the desire to be cool as a "decision to encourage the psychopath in oneself, to explore that domain of experience where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-bourdain/norman-mailer-described-the-desire-to-be-cool-as-a-decision-to/) [Anthony Bourdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-bourdain/) > [The whole book experience was a look into another world, the world of Gore Vidal and Norman Mailer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-kramer/the-whole-book-experience-was-a-look-into-another-world-the-world-of/) [Jerry Kramer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-kramer/) > [I fell in love with Norman Mailer's 'Of a Fire on the Moon', a description of the 1969 moon landing and the society that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/i-fell-in-love-with-norman-mailer-s-of-a-fire-on-the-moon-a/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [If I'd found out that Norman Mailer liked me. I'd have killed myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/if-i-d-found-out-that-norman-mailer-liked-me-i-d-have-killed-myself/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [It was at a vividly bad time in Norman Mailer's life that I met him, and a sort of water-treading time in mine. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/it-was-at-a-vividly-bad-time-in-norman-mailer-s-life-that-i-met-him/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [What had brought me to New York in the autumn of 1972 was a letter of recommendation written by Norman Mailer, the author of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolcott/what-had-brought-me-to-new-york-in-the-autumn-of-1972-was-a-letter-of/) [James Wolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolcott/) > [How could you not love Norman Mailer? He was a total chauvinist, but also so vulnerable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/how-could-you-not-love-norman-mailer-he-was-a-total-chauvinist-but/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) ## More by Don DeLillo > [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Everything is barely weeks. Everything is days. We have minutes to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/everything-is-barely-weeks-everything-is-days-we-have-minutes-to-live/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [The novel is the dream release, the suspension of reality that history needs to escape its own brutal confinements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-novel-is-the-dream-release-the-suspension-of-reality-that-history/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“As I listened I thought a featureless baggy man was striking me in slow motion with a well-polished stone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/as-i-listened-i-thought-a-featureless-baggy-man-was-striking-me-in/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Murray said, 'I don't trust anybody's nostalgia but my own. Nostalgia is a product of dissatisfaction and rage. It´s a settling of grievances between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/murray-said-i-don-t-trust-anybody-s-nostalgia-but-my-own-nostalgia-is/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“She is beginning to think it is possible that all creation is a spurt of blank matter that chances to make an emerald planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/she-is-beginning-to-think-it-is-possible-that-all-creation-is-a-spurt/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Those who have abandoned belief must still believe in us. They are sure that they are right not to believe but they know belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/those-who-have-abandoned-belief-must-still-believe-in-us-they-are/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“The plane had lost power in all three engines, dropped from thirty-four thousand feet to twelve thousand feet. Something like four miles. When the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-plane-had-lost-power-in-all-three-engines-dropped-from-thirty/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Grass: I live in a great steel tower that reflects the blazing sun. People catch fire just walking by. The more bodies that pile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/grass-i-live-in-a-great-steel-tower-that-reflects-the-blazing-sun/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“What people discard could make a nation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/what-people-discard-could-make-a-nation/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Marriage is something we make from available materials. In this sense it’s improvised, it’s almost offhand. Maybe this is why we know so little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/marriage-is-something-we-make-from-available-materials-in-this-sense/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [The true life is not reducible to words spoken or written, not by anyone, ever. The true life takes place when we're alone, thinking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-true-life-is-not-reducible-to-words-spoken-or-written-not-by/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [I've come to think of Europe as a hardcover book, America as the paperback version.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/i-ve-come-to-think-of-europe-as-a-hardcover-book-america-as-the/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [There is a set of balances and rhythms to a novel that we can't experience in real life. So I think there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-a-set-of-balances-and-rhythms-to-a-novel-that-we-can-t/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“There is no lie in war or preparation of war that can't be defended. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-no-lie-in-war-or-preparation-of-war-that-can-t-be-defended/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) [Explore all 699 Don DeLillo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## More Change the world quotes > [If you learn something that changes you, you've made progress. If you learn something that changes others, you've helped change the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lanie-lane/if-you-learn-something-that-changes-you-you-ve-made-progress-if-you/) Lanie Lane > [If you wanted to put the world to rights, who should you begin with: yourself or others?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/if-you-wanted-to-put-the-world-to-rights-who-should-you-begin-with/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [Paul Gray - he believed in my art, and I believed in his music. Together, we decided to change the world, and that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-crahan/paul-gray-he-believed-in-my-art-and-i-believed-in-his-music-together/) [Shawn Crahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-crahan/) > [If I wanted to change the world, the last thing I would do is write a play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-i-wanted-to-change-the-world-the-last-thing-i-would-do-is-write-a/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Some women are meant to change the world, while others are meant to hold it together. And then there are those of us who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/some-women-are-meant-to-change-the-world-while-others-are-meant-to/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Curiously, the righteous Pharisees had little historical impact, save for a brief time in a remote corner of the Roman Empire. But Jesus' disciples…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/curiously-the-righteous-pharisees-had-little-historical-impact-save/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) > [“if i am not in the world simply to adapt to it, but rather transform it, and if it is not possible to change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/if-i-am-not-in-the-world-simply-to-adapt-to-it-but-rather-transform/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [I don't like lyrics to be overbearing. I like them to say something. But I'm not trying to change the world overnight. Something simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-rodgers/i-don-t-like-lyrics-to-be-overbearing-i-like-them-to-say-something/) [Paul Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-rodgers/) > [Larry Kramer wisely realized so early on that to change the world, people have to know you. If they know you and see that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-murphy/larry-kramer-wisely-realized-so-early-on-that-to-change-the-world/) [Ryan Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-murphy/) > [“It takes a female to have a baby, It takes a woman to raise a child, It takes a mother to raise them correctly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/it-takes-a-female-to-have-a-baby-it-takes-a-woman-to-raise-a-child-it/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Don't underestimate the power of your vision to change the world. Whether that world is your office, your community, an industry or a global…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-hood/don-t-underestimate-the-power-of-your-vision-to-change-the-world/) [Leroy Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-hood/) > [“I've been waiting for you a long time, Alina" He said. "You and I are going to change the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/i-ve-been-waiting-for-you-a-long-time-alina-he-said-you-and-i-are/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [The most important thing in all human relationships is conversation, but people don’t talk anymore, they don’t sit down to talk and listen. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-most-important-thing-in-all-human-relationships-is-conversation/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [We can use our art to become political, to become something you want to talk about. We make clothes, but we have the chance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-rousteing/we-can-use-our-art-to-become-political-to-become-something-you-want/) [Olivier Rousteing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-rousteing/) > [“Live each day as if it's our last', that was the conventional advice, but really who had the energy for that? What if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/live-each-day-as-if-it-s-our-last-that-was-the-conventional-advice/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) [Browse all 2,043 Change the world quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-the-world/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I never wanted to change the world. Norman Mailer wanted to, he set himself the task of changing the consciousness of our age. And I think he came pretty close, in the 1960s, to actually managing to do it. But me? No, no, I never wanted anything like that. 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