--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think that fiction has a part to play…" description: "\"I think that fiction has a part to play in urging us, as a species, toward compassion,\" — George Saunders" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/george-saunders-317_compassion_i-think-that-fiction-has-a-part-to-play_1664357.jpg" --- # I think that fiction has a part to play in urging us, as a… ![“I think that fiction has a part to play in urging us, as a species, toward compassion,” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/george-saunders-317_compassion_i-think-that-fiction-has-a-part-to-play_1664357.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/george-saunders-317_compassion_i-think-that-fiction-has-a-part-to-play_1664357.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/george-saunders-317_compassion_i-think-that-fiction-has-a-part-to-play_1664357.jpg) > “I think that fiction has a part to play in urging us, as a species, toward compassion,” [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) ## 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 cultivate empathy by letting readers experience lives unlike their own. **In simple terms:** Stories build compassion. Key Takeaway Read diverse fiction to grow empathy. Themes compassion empathy literature social change Mood reflective inspirational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - reading clubs - education - therapy - community building Key Concepts Narrative empathy moral imagination Questions to Reflect On - How does a story change your view of others? - What types of characters foster empathy? A Different Perspective Fiction alone may not change deep-seated biases. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-play-792073/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species/) [Species Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species-compassion-792072/) [Think Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-fiction/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Sometimes I think fiction exists to model the way God might think of us, if God had the time and inclination to do so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/sometimes-i-think-fiction-exists-to-model-the-way-god-might-think-of/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I think fiction isn't so good at being for or against things in general - the rhetorical argument a short story can make is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-think-fiction-isn-t-so-good-at-being-for-or-against-things-in/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [When I think about what fiction does morally, I'm happier thinking of a person full of multiplicities - sort of fragmented.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/when-i-think-about-what-fiction-does-morally-i-m-happier-thinking-of/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I think fiction allows you to inhabit new domains and it's you, the reader living in that domain for a few days that results…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/i-think-fiction-allows-you-to-inhabit-new-domains-and-it-s-you-the/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [I always cheerfully say, "Well, you know, the species is adapting, and whatever it needs to do, it'll do," but I do think it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-always-cheerfully-say-well-you-know-the-species-is-adapting-and/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [Everybody should read fiction… I don’t think serious fiction is written for a few people. I think we live in a stupid culture that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percival-everett/everybody-should-read-fiction-i-don-t-think-serious-fiction-is/) [Percival Everett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percival-everett/) > [If you think about it, fiction is nothing more than gossip about the people you've made up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/if-you-think-about-it-fiction-is-nothing-more-than-gossip-about-the/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [I'm a novelist. I think fiction is important or I wouldn't be doing it, but most of it's bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-peck/i-m-a-novelist-i-think-fiction-is-important-or-i-wouldn-t-be-doing-it/) [Dale Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-peck/) > [“I think fiction lends itself to messiness rather than the ideal, and plays well with the ironies surrounding what happens versus what should happen.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/i-think-fiction-lends-itself-to-messiness-rather-than-the-ideal-and/) [Colm Tóibín](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [Fiction is truth. I think fiction is the truest thing there ever was. My whole effort is to remove that distinction. The writer is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/fiction-is-truth-i-think-fiction-is-the-truest-thing-there-ever-was/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [I think every fiction writer, to a certain extent, is a schizophrenic and able to have two or three or five voices in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-pearson/i-think-every-fiction-writer-to-a-certain-extent-is-a-schizophrenic/) [Ridley Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-pearson/) > [“I would say, for the moment, that community, at least community larger than the immediate family, consists very largely of imaginative love for people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/i-would-say-for-the-moment-that-community-at-least-community-larger/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [I think fiction recues history from its confusions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/i-think-fiction-recues-history-from-its-confusions/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [I don't believe a poet has a better hold on truth or morality than a fiction writer has. And I don't think a fiction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/i-don-t-believe-a-poet-has-a-better-hold-on-truth-or-morality-than-a/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“An author has to fit into the skin of her characters, to imagine being trapped by unfortunate and sometimes violent circumstances she herself has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-h-marion/an-author-has-to-fit-into-the-skin-of-her-characters-to-imagine-being/) [Loretta H. Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-h-marion/) ## More by George Saunders > [Success is like a mountain in front of you that keeps growing. If you're not careful, it will take up your whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/success-is-like-a-mountain-in-front-of-you-that-keeps-growing-if-you/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“Wow wow wow is all I can say! Remember how I always buy lunchtime Scratch-Off ticket? Have I said? Maybe did not say? Well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/wow-wow-wow-is-all-i-can-say-remember-how-i-always-buy-lunchtime/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“None of it was real; nothing was real. Everything was real; inconceivably real, infinitely dear. These and all things started as nothing, latent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/none-of-it-was-real-nothing-was-real-everything-was-real/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“We must see God not as a Him (some linear rewarding fellow) but an IT, a great beast beyond our understanding, who wants something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-must-see-god-not-as-a-him-some-linear-rewarding-fellow-but-an-it-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [America, to me, should be shouting all the time, a bunch of shouting voices, most of them wrong, some of them nuts, but please,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/america-to-me-should-be-shouting-all-the-time-a-bunch-of-shouting/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [In my case, when I am trying to be "kind" I often default in a sort of toothless loving-all stance that is, actually, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/in-my-case-when-i-am-trying-to-be-kind-i-often-default-in-a-sort-of/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [Whatever your supposed politics are - left, right - if you put it in a human connection, most people will rise to the occasion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/whatever-your-supposed-politics-are-left-right-if-you-put-it-in-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“A Clinton staffer tells me his theory. Think about Frank Sinatra, he says: born to sing. Think about Willie Mays: born to play ball.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/a-clinton-staffer-tells-me-his-theory-think-about-frank-sinatra-he/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [We try, we fail, we posture, we aspire, we pontificate - and then we age, shrink, die, and vanish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-try-we-fail-we-posture-we-aspire-we-pontificate-and-then-we-age/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [What America is, to me, is a guy doesn't want to buy, you let him not buy, you respect his not buying. A guy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/what-america-is-to-me-is-a-guy-doesn-t-want-to-buy-you-let-him-not/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [What good the prophet in the wilderness may do is incremental and personal. It's good for us to hear someone speak the irrational truth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/what-good-the-prophet-in-the-wilderness-may-do-is-incremental-and/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [We're in the transition between birth and death. But the one that people often know about is the transition between the moment of death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-re-in-the-transition-between-birth-and-death-but-the-one-that/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [You don't want to be that parent - the one who dresses his kid in a cloth sack when all the other kids are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-don-t-want-to-be-that-parent-the-one-who-dresses-his-kid-in-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) [Explore all 690 George Saunders quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) ## More Compassion quotes > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“I fight with love and kindness as my weapons and compassion as my defense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/i-fight-with-love-and-kindness-as-my-weapons-and-compassion-as-my/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [I really enjoy making people laugh; I've discovered that's a great technique. That's as powerful as stirring their sorrow, stirring their compassion, because that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/i-really-enjoy-making-people-laugh-i-ve-discovered-that-s-a-great/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [“If you refuse to use physical force, then you will be at the mercy of your oppressor!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/segun-magbagbeola/if-you-refuse-to-use-physical-force-then-you-will-be-at-the-mercy-of/) [Segun Magbagbeola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/segun-magbagbeola/) > [For some reason, we are truly convinced that if we criticize ourselves, the criticism will lead to change. If we are harsh, we believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneen-roth/for-some-reason-we-are-truly-convinced-that-if-we-criticize-ourselves/) [Geneen Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneen-roth/) > [I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-could-not-have-slept-tonight-if-i-had-left-that-helpless-little/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [We are puzzled and bewildered whenever we see suffering in this world because we have become accustomed to the mercy and the long-suffering of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/we-are-puzzled-and-bewildered-whenever-we-see-suffering-in-this-world/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [“Helpers in every corner, helpers in every hood. That's how we'll make the move, to reform from rude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/helpers-in-every-corner-helpers-in-every-hood-that-s-how-we-ll-make/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [May the gods have mercy on whoever pisses them off, because Zarek and Jericho will have none for them. (Madoc) You’d better be glad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/may-the-gods-have-mercy-on-whoever-pisses-them-off-because-zarek-and/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [When you need empathy, you cannot give empathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/when-you-need-empathy-you-cannot-give-empathy/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [But victimhood was seductive, a release from responsibility and caring. Fear would be transmuted into weary resignation; failure would no longer generate guilt but,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/but-victimhood-was-seductive-a-release-from-responsibility-and-caring/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [“la ilaha ilallah muhammadun rasulullah, alaihi salatullah wa alihi wal ahibba "shine your mercy like the sun, and be gracious as the earth let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-al-habib/la-ilaha-ilallah-muhammadun-rasulullah-alaihi-salatullah-wa-alihi-wal/) [Talib al Habib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-al-habib/) > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) [Browse all 9,892 Compassion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think that fiction has a part to play in urging us, as a species, toward compassion,", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Saunders" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-think-that-fiction-has-a-part-to-play-in-urging-us-as-a-species/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Compassion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-think-that-fiction-has-a-part-to-play-in-urging-us-as-a-species/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/george-saunders-317_compassion_i-think-that-fiction-has-a-part-to-play_1664357.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/george-saunders-317_compassion_i-think-that-fiction-has-a-part-to-play_1664357.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/george-saunders-317_compassion_i-think-that-fiction-has-a-part-to-play_1664357.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think that fiction has a part to play in urging us, as a species, toward compassion,” — George Saunders", "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": "George Saunders", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think that fiction has a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-think-that-fiction-has-a-part-to-play-in-urging-us-as-a-species/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-think-that-fiction-has-a-part-to-play-in-urging-us-as-a-species/#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 } } ] } ```