--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By measuring individual human worth, the…" description: "\"By measuring individual human worth, the novelist reveals the full enormity of the State\" — Ian Mcewan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89b/ian-mcewan-494_humans_by-measuring-individual-human-worth-the_2760877.png" --- # By measuring individual human worth, the novelist reveals… ![“By measuring individual human worth, the novelist reveals the full enormity of the State” quote by Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89b/ian-mcewan-494_humans_by-measuring-individual-human-worth-the_2760877.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89b/ian-mcewan-494_humans_by-measuring-individual-human-worth-the_2760877.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89b/ian-mcewan-494_humans_by-measuring-individual-human-worth-the_2760877.png) > “By measuring individual human worth, the novelist reveals the full enormity of the State” [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Highlights how literature can expose the state's oppressive scale by measuring human worth. **In simple terms:** Novelist reveals state's enormity through human value. Key Takeaway Use storytelling to critique power. Themes politics literature state power human worth critique Mood critical analytical Type literary political When to use this quote - Teaching - policy analysis - creative writing - activism Key Concepts Narrative analysis social commentary ethical reflection Questions to Reflect On - How can literature influence political perception? - What responsibilities do writers have to society? A Different Perspective Risk of oversimplifying complex state dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Individuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individuality/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Novelist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelist/) [Novelists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelists/) ## Related quotes > [And then many things became very clear... we learned perfectly that the life of a single human being is worth millions of times more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-then-many-things-became-very-clear-we-learned-perfectly-that-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Truth and effort may increase human worth But they are not enough to make us whole; Only love can complete us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilchi-lee/truth-and-effort-may-increase-human-worth-but-they-are-not-enough-to/) [Ilchi Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilchi-lee/) > [I know transplanted human worth will bloom to profit otherwhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/i-know-transplanted-human-worth-will-bloom-to-profit-otherwhere/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [The NFL culture, the sports culture, has decided that they are more valuable than women. I've heard people laugh about keeping their pimp hand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-crews/the-nfl-culture-the-sports-culture-has-decided-that-they-are-more/) [Terry Crews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-crews/) > [One of the Godlike things of this world is the veneration done to human worth by the hearts of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/one-of-the-godlike-things-of-this-world-is-the-veneration-done-to/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [“The distinctive mark of snobs is not simple discrimination, it is an insistence on a flawless equation between social rank and human worth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-distinctive-mark-of-snobs-is-not-simple-discrimination-it-is-an/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“If you can feel that staying human is worth while, even when it can't have any result whatever, you've beaten them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-you-can-feel-that-staying-human-is-worth-while-even-when-it-can-t-2/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Because I'm a man who works, who knows what a human being is like inside, who knows that every human being has his worth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/because-i-m-a-man-who-works-who-knows-what-a-human-being-is-like/) [Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) > [A half century from now, our grandchildren are likely to look back at the era of mass employment in the market with the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-rifkin/a-half-century-from-now-our-grandchildren-are-likely-to-look-back-at/) [Jeremy Rifkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-rifkin/) > [A host of positive psychological changes inevitably will result from widespread economic security. 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If you can feel that staying human is worth while, even when it can’t have any result whatever, you’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/they-can-t-get-inside-you-if-you-can-feel-that-staying-human-is-worth/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [There can be no reproach to pain unless we assume human dignity, there is no reason for restraints on pleasure unless we assume human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/there-can-be-no-reproach-to-pain-unless-we-assume-human-dignity-there/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [If you can feel that staying human is worth while, even when it can't have any practical result whatsoever, you've beaten them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-you-can-feel-that-staying-human-is-worth-while-even-when-it-can-t/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [But think about how evil that is for one man to think that he's actually more valuable than a woman, because as a human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-crews/but-think-about-how-evil-that-is-for-one-man-to-think-that-he-s/) [Terry Crews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-crews/) ## More by Ian Mcewan > [“As you will see, we do not believe that artists have an obligation to strike up attitudes to the war. Indeed, they are wise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/as-you-will-see-we-do-not-believe-that-artists-have-an-obligation-to/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [You could say that all novels are spy novels and all novelists are spy masters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/you-could-say-that-all-novels-are-spy-novels-and-all-novelists-are/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I've never had a moment's doubt. I love you. I believe in you completely. You are my dearest one. My reason for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-ve-never-had-a-moment-s-doubt-i-love-you-i-believe-in-you/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“It is shaming sometimes, how the body will not, or cannot, lie about emotions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/it-is-shaming-sometimes-how-the-body-will-not-or-cannot-lie-about/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“While my friends struggled and calculated, I reached a solution by a set of floating steps that were partly visual, partly just a feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/while-my-friends-struggled-and-calculated-i-reached-a-solution-by-a/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Once, on a walk by a river- Eskdale in low reddish sunlight, with a dusting of snow- his daughter quoted to him an opening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/once-on-a-walk-by-a-river-eskdale-in-low-reddish-sunlight-with-a/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Perhaps it's one of those cases of a microcosm giving you the whole world. Like a spode dinner plate. Or a single cell. Or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/perhaps-it-s-one-of-those-cases-of-a-microcosm-giving-you-the-whole/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [Who you get, and how it works out- there's so much luck involved, as well as the million branching consequences of your conscious choice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/who-you-get-and-how-it-works-out-there-s-so-much-luck-involved-as/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“On Chesil Beach he could have called out to Florence, he could have gone after her. He did not know, or would not have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/on-chesil-beach-he-could-have-called-out-to-florence-he-could-have/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [It was always the view of my parents...that hot weather encouraged loose morals among young people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/it-was-always-the-view-of-my-parents-that-hot-weather-encouraged/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I apologize for being obvious, but every time I watch the curtain come down on even a halfway decent production of a Shakespeare play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-apologize-for-being-obvious-but-every-time-i-watch-the-curtain-come/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I would rather be physically disabled obviously than mentally. I would rather be paraplegic than nuts. And it is a terrifying prospect and actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-would-rather-be-physically-disabled-obviously-than-mentally-i-would/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Words, as I'm beginning to appreciate, can make things true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/words-as-i-m-beginning-to-appreciate-can-make-things-true/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I couldn't think about novels at all. It seemed the only writing that was appropriate to that horrendous event was journalism, reportage. And, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-couldn-t-think-about-novels-at-all-it-seemed-the-only-writing-that/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I did not kill my father, but I sometimes felt I had helped him on his way. And but for the fact that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-did-not-kill-my-father-but-i-sometimes-felt-i-had-helped-him-on-his/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) [Explore all 496 Ian Mcewan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) ## More Humans quotes > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. 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If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [Houses are like the human beings that inhabit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/houses-are-like-the-human-beings-that-inhabit-them/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. To insist that science, or God, objectively defines moral values is to abandon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/humans-are-as-sartre-put-it-condemned-to-be-free-to-insist-that/) Kenan Malik > [Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-pink/human-beings-have-an-innate-inner-drive-to-be-autonomous-self/) [Daniel H. 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