--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Literature, fiction, poetry, whatever…" description: "\"Literature, fiction, poetry, whatever, makes justice in the world. That's why it almost always has to be on the side of the underdog.\" — Grace Paley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf8/grace-paley-3243_books_literature-fiction-poetry-whatever-makes_1419805.png" --- # Literature, fiction, poetry, whatever, makes justice in… ![“Literature, fiction, poetry, whatever, makes justice in the world. That's why it almost always has to be on the side of the underdog.” quote by Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf8/grace-paley-3243_books_literature-fiction-poetry-whatever-makes_1419805.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf8/grace-paley-3243_books_literature-fiction-poetry-whatever-makes_1419805.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf8/grace-paley-3243_books_literature-fiction-poetry-whatever-makes_1419805.png) > “Literature, fiction, poetry, whatever, makes justice in the world. That's why it almost always has to be on the side of the underdog.” [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Literature champions justice by giving voice to marginalized groups and supporting the underdog. **In simple terms:** Stories help the underdog. Key Takeaway Support underrepresented voices. Themes justice literature underdog social change Mood inspirational empathetic Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - classroom discussion - community organizing - publishing - activist writing Key Concepts narrative power empathy activism Questions to Reflect On - How can stories translate into concrete action? - What responsibilities do writers have? A Different Perspective May overlook structural solutions beyond narrative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Justice World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice-world-1168907/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Literature Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature-fiction-896427/) [Makes Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/makes-justice-2627607/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Sides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sides/) [Underdog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/underdog/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World Underdog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-underdog-4666399/) ## Related quotes > [“Humans like those stories because in the real world the underdog loses. - Gastion”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-isaro/humans-like-those-stories-because-in-the-real-world-the-underdog/) [Ian Isaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-isaro/) > [“This is not god Marco you hear me, only god makes justice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/this-is-not-god-marco-you-hear-me-only-god-makes-justice/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [Beyond that, I seem to be compelled to write science fiction, rather than fantasy or mysteries or some other genre more likely to climb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-vinge/beyond-that-i-seem-to-be-compelled-to-write-science-fiction-rather/) [Joan D. Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-vinge/) > [Calling one thing 'literature' and another 'fiction' is a way to create status where there is none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-max/calling-one-thing-literature-and-another-fiction-is-a-way-to-create/) [Tucker Max](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-max/) > [Literature and fiction are two entirely different things. Literature is a luxury; fiction is a necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/literature-and-fiction-are-two-entirely-different-things-literature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For most of human history, 'literature,' both fiction and poetry, has been narrated, not written — heard, not read. So fairy tales, folk tales,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/for-most-of-human-history-literature-both-fiction-and-poetry-has-been/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [“There is something magical to me about literature and fiction and I think it can do things not only that pop culture cannot do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/there-is-something-magical-to-me-about-literature-and-fiction-and-i/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Justice? You get justice in the next world, in this world you have the law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gaddis/justice-you-get-justice-in-the-next-world-in-this-world-you-have-the/) [William Gaddis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gaddis/) > [Justice of the world is in its creativity, in solving problems, in our activity and struggle. While I am alive there is the possibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-soloveychik/justice-of-the-world-is-in-its-creativity-in-solving-problems-in-our/) [Simon Soloveychik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-soloveychik/) > [Never look for justice in this world, never cease to give it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/never-look-for-justice-in-this-world-never-cease-to-give-it/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [There must be justice, sensed and shared by all peoples, for, without justice the world can know only a tense and unstable truce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/there-must-be-justice-sensed-and-shared-by-all-peoples-for-without/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [“Never look for justice in this world, but never cease to give it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/never-look-for-justice-in-this-world-but-never-cease-to-give-it/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [“What is the justice of this world like? It is that the world will call him as God (Bhagwan), the one who has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/what-is-the-justice-of-this-world-like-it-is-that-the-world-will-call/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [Let justice be done, though the world perish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emperor-ferdinand-i/let-justice-be-done-though-the-world-perish/) [Emperor Ferdinand I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emperor-ferdinand-i/) > [You are not wrong. You fought to protect your world. Isn't that good enough? After all, justice in this world is just a bunch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yana-toboso/you-are-not-wrong-you-fought-to-protect-your-world-isn-t-that-good/) [Yana Toboso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yana-toboso/) ## More by Grace Paley > [The only recognizable feature of hope is action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/the-only-recognizable-feature-of-hope-is-action/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [“Near home I ran through our park, where I had aired my children on weekends and late-summer afternoons. I stopped at the northeast playground,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/near-home-i-ran-through-our-park-where-i-had-aired-my-children-on/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [Old age is not a good thing. It can be really hard, and those of us who have it a little easier should keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/old-age-is-not-a-good-thing-it-can-be-really-hard-and-those-of-us-who/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [Well, by now you must know yourself, honey, whatever you do, life don't stop. It only sits a minute and dreams a dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/well-by-now-you-must-know-yourself-honey-whatever-you-do-life-don-t/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [“Who cares?' said Judy, who didn't care.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/who-cares-said-judy-who-didn-t-care/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [The women's movement was coming, but I didn't know it in 1956-1957, when I began to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/the-women-s-movement-was-coming-but-i-didn-t-know-it-in-1956-1957/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [A joke is necessary at this time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/a-joke-is-necessary-at-this-time/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [Sometimes, walking with a friend, I forget the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/sometimes-walking-with-a-friend-i-forget-the-world/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [It wasn't until I lived in the countryside that I began to understand the life of the countryside and the people in it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/it-wasn-t-until-i-lived-in-the-countryside-that-i-began-to-understand/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [I've started many novels, and they all ended on page seven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/i-ve-started-many-novels-and-they-all-ended-on-page-seven/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > […I go through a story for lies. I might discover the lie of trying to show off. Sometimes they’re lies of character. Sometimes they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/i-go-through-a-story-for-lies-i-might-discover-the-lie-of-trying-to/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [I didn't intend. The word "intend" is the wrong word for what I do. It's just that it's something you do, and you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/i-didn-t-intend-the-word-intend-is-the-wrong-word-for-what-i-do-it-s/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [“... plot, the absolute line between two points which I've always despised. Not for literary reasons, but because it takes all hope away. Everyone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/plot-the-absolute-line-between-two-points-which-i-ve-always-despised/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [You come to doing what you do by not being able to do something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/you-come-to-doing-what-you-do-by-not-being-able-to-do-something/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [When I was about twenty-one, I published a few poems. Maybe I wrote a couple of stories before, but I really began to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/when-i-was-about-twenty-one-i-published-a-few-poems-maybe-i-wrote-a/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) [Explore all 135 Grace Paley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. 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