--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everything in life is arbitrary yet must…" description: "\"Everything in life is arbitrary yet must be over-determined in literature. Jean McGarry knows how to tell a persuasive tale illuminating these truths.\"..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb4/harold-bloom-3350_arbitrary_everything-in-life-is-arbitrary-yet-must_461668.png" --- # Everything in life is arbitrary yet must be… ![“Everything in life is arbitrary yet must be over-determined in literature. Jean McGarry knows how to tell a persuasive tale illuminating these truths.” quote by Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb4/harold-bloom-3350_arbitrary_everything-in-life-is-arbitrary-yet-must_461668.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb4/harold-bloom-3350_arbitrary_everything-in-life-is-arbitrary-yet-must_461668.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb4/harold-bloom-3350_arbitrary_everything-in-life-is-arbitrary-yet-must_461668.png) > “Everything in life is arbitrary yet must be over-determined in literature. Jean McGarry knows how to tell a persuasive tale illuminating these truths.” [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Literature must be both free and constrained, reflecting arbitrary choices yet seeking deeper meaning. **In simple terms:** Stories need both freedom and structure. Key Takeaway Recognize the tension between randomness and purpose. Themes art structure meaning Mood analytical reflective Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - novel writing - academic analysis - storytelling Key Concepts literary theory creative writing Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide when to follow or break rules? - What role does randomness play in art? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on structure can stifle creativity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Determined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/determined/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Persuasive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persuasive/) [Tales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tales/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [“Nothing in your life is arbitrary. 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It shapes our thoughts and feelings, reaches out to grasp new experience, and even binds our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-richardson/metaphor-isn-t-just-a-fancy-turn-of-speech-it-shapes-our-thoughts-and/) [James Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-richardson/) > [An enlightened awareness is within each one of us, right at this moment. 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They tell one why it matters to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/in-the-finest-critics-one-hears-the-full-cry-of-the-human-they-tell/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [The idea of Herman Melville in a writing class is always distressing to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/the-idea-of-herman-melville-in-a-writing-class-is-always-distressing/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [If I were to sum up the negative reactions to my work, I think there are two primary causes: one is that if there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/if-i-were-to-sum-up-the-negative-reactions-to-my-work-i-think-there/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [Aesthetic value emanates from the struggle between texts: in the reader, in language, in the classroom, in arguments within a society. Aesthetic value rises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/aesthetic-value-emanates-from-the-struggle-between-texts-in-the/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [Shakespeare will not make us better, and he will not make us worse, but he may teach us how to overhear ourselves when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/shakespeare-will-not-make-us-better-and-he-will-not-make-us-worse-but/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [Criticism starts - it has to start - with a real passion for reading. It can come in adolescence, even in your twenties, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/criticism-starts-it-has-to-start-with-a-real-passion-for-reading-it/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [“No one has yet managed to be post-Shakespearean.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/no-one-has-yet-managed-to-be-post-shakespearean/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [What is supposed to be the very essence of Judaism - which is the notion that it is by study that you make yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/what-is-supposed-to-be-the-very-essence-of-judaism-which-is-the/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) [Explore all 127 Harold Bloom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) ## More Arbitrary quotes > [It is irresponsible to set an arbitrary cap on how much therapy a Medicare beneficiary can receive. 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