--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My work holds up the mirror to hypocrisy…" description: "\"My work holds up the mirror to hypocrisy, which puts me in a tradition of American writing that reaches back to Nathaniel Hawthorne.\" — Ishmael Reed" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/ishmael-reed-7430_hawthorne_my-work-holds-up-the-mirror-to-hypocrisy_870111.png" --- # My work holds up the mirror to hypocrisy, which puts me in… ![“My work holds up the mirror to hypocrisy, which puts me in a tradition of American writing that reaches back to Nathaniel Hawthorne.” quote by Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/ishmael-reed-7430_hawthorne_my-work-holds-up-the-mirror-to-hypocrisy_870111.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/ishmael-reed-7430_hawthorne_my-work-holds-up-the-mirror-to-hypocrisy_870111.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/ishmael-reed-7430_hawthorne_my-work-holds-up-the-mirror-to-hypocrisy_870111.png) > “My work holds up the mirror to hypocrisy, which puts me in a tradition of American writing that reaches back to Nathaniel Hawthorne.” [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The writer’s role is to expose hypocrisy, continuing a tradition of American literature that critiques society. **In simple terms:** Writers expose hypocrisy, continuing a literary tradition. Key Takeaway Write to reveal societal flaws. Themes literature critique hypocrisy Mood critical provocative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - journalism - fiction - poetry - public speaking Key Concepts social commentary American tradition Questions to Reflect On - How can you make critique constructive? - What responsibilities do writers have? A Different Perspective Critique can be dismissed as cynicism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hypocrisy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hypocrisy/) [Mirrors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirrors/) [Tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Nathaniel Hawthorne once said that easy reading is damn hard writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/nathaniel-hawthorne-once-said-that-easy-reading-is-damn-hard-writing/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Trying to imagine E. M. Forster, who found Ulysses indecorous, at a London performance of Lenny Bruce—to which in fact he was once taken.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-markson/trying-to-imagine-e-m-forster-who-found-ulysses-indecorous-at-a/) [David Markson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-markson/) > [ There is more suspense, more dramatic torque, in one page of \[Nathaniel\] Hawthorne's heart-racked ruminations onthe Christian consciencethaninall Demi Moore's woodland gallops and horizontal… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-lane/there-is-more-suspense-more-dramatic-torque-in-one-page-of-nathaniel/) [Anthony Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-lane/) > [It's Nathaniel Hawthorne Month in English. Poor Nathaniel. Does he know what they've done to him? We're reading The Scarlet Letter one sentence at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/it-s-nathaniel-hawthorne-month-in-english-poor-nathaniel-does-he-know/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [The American, who up to the present day, has evinced, in Literature, the largest brain with the largest heart, that man is Nathaniel Hawthorne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/the-american-who-up-to-the-present-day-has-evinced-in-literature-the/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Goodness! Golly! Good God! Blessed Allah! Zeus and Hera! Mary and Joseph! Nathaniel Hawthorne! Don't touch her! Grab her! Move closer! Run away! Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/goodness-golly-good-god-blessed-allah-zeus-and-hera-mary-and-joseph/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Do you know what the lurid intermixture of complicated emotions produces, according to Nathaniel Hawthorne? That's right, it produces the illuminating blaze of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bachelder/do-you-know-what-the-lurid-intermixture-of-complicated-emotions/) Chris Bachelder > [The actual American childhood is less Norman Rockwell and Walt Disney than Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cheever/the-actual-american-childhood-is-less-norman-rockwell-and-walt-disney/) [Susan Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cheever/) > [“Nathaniel Hawthorne had placed the w in his name to distance himself from his cruel ancestor, his writing driven by his desire to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/nathaniel-hawthorne-had-placed-the-w-in-his-name-to-distance-himself/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [There is the grand truth about Nathaniel Hawthorne. He says NO! in thunder; but the Devil himself cannot make him say yes. For all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/there-is-the-grand-truth-about-nathaniel-hawthorne-he-says-no-in/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Multicultural is not a description of a category of American writing-it is a definition of all American writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/multicultural-is-not-a-description-of-a-category-of-american-writing/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [The last publicized center of American writing was Manhattan. Its writers became known as the New York Intellectuals. With important connections to publishing, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/the-last-publicized-center-of-american-writing-was-manhattan-its/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [As one of the first editors at 'Outside' magazine in 1975, it was my contention that most American writing going back to James Fennimore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cahill/as-one-of-the-first-editors-at-outside-magazine-in-1975-it-was-my/) [Tim Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cahill/) > [Clutter is the disease of American writing,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/clutter-is-the-disease-of-american-writing/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [The American Dream is the largely unacknowledged screen in front of which all American writing plays itself out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/the-american-dream-is-the-largely-unacknowledged-screen-in-front-of/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) ## More by Ishmael Reed > [Regardless of the criticisms I receive from the left, the right and the middle, I think it's important to maintain a prolific writing jab,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/regardless-of-the-criticisms-i-receive-from-the-left-the-right-and/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [Richard Price, who has made a fortune writing fake ghetto books, says he takes a cab into the ghetto, transcribes Black speech for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/richard-price-who-has-made-a-fortune-writing-fake-ghetto-books-says/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [Free enterprise is not a bad idea and has produced art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/free-enterprise-is-not-a-bad-idea-and-has-produced-art/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [When I say Afro-American aesthetic, I'm not just talking about the United States, I'm talking about the Americas. People in the Latin countries read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/when-i-say-afro-american-aesthetic-i-m-not-just-talking-about-the/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [Tea Party members go to meetings on Medicare scooters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/tea-party-members-go-to-meetings-on-medicare-scooters/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [Given all of the anti-Muslim propaganda that's being disseminated by The American Nazi media, you have to be careful. It can stress you out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/given-all-of-the-anti-muslim-propaganda-that-s-being-disseminated-by/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [Multicultural is not a description of a category of American writing-it is a definition of all American writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/multicultural-is-not-a-description-of-a-category-of-american-writing/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [Writing has made me a better man. It has put me in contact with those fleeting moments which prove the existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/writing-has-made-me-a-better-man-it-has-put-me-in-contact-with-those/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [In Crash, you've got a pathological cop who at the end justifies police brutality. He tells the naïve, young cop that you're going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/in-crash-you-ve-got-a-pathological-cop-who-at-the-end-justifies/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [I get most my information about what's happening in the United States from reports and studies, which are often in conflict with what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/i-get-most-my-information-about-what-s-happening-in-the-united-states/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [ How does the \[New York\] Times treat White pathology? They reported an epidemic of heroin addiction in the Philadelphia suburbs. which included emergency admissions… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/how-does-the-new-york-times-treat-white-pathology-they-reported-an/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [I asked Joe Weixlmann why he would print a death threat like that in light of the fact that there are all of these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/i-asked-joe-weixlmann-why-he-would-print-a-death-threat-like-that-in/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [I'm beginning to believe that Killer Illiteracy ought to rank near heart disease and cancer as one of the leading causes of deathamong Americans.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/i-m-beginning-to-believe-that-killer-illiteracy-ought-to-rank-near/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [Writing poetry is the hard manual labor of the imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/writing-poetry-is-the-hard-manual-labor-of-the-imagination/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [Few white citizens are acquainted with blacks other than those projected by the media and the so--called educational system, whichis nothing more than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/few-white-citizens-are-acquainted-with-blacks-other-than-those/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) [Explore all 91 Ishmael Reed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) ## More Hawthorne quotes > [Nathaniel Hawthorne once said that easy reading is damn hard writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/nathaniel-hawthorne-once-said-that-easy-reading-is-damn-hard-writing/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Great books are readable anyway. Dickens is readable. Jane Austen is readable. John Updike's readable. Hawthorne's readable. It's a meaningless term. You have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/great-books-are-readable-anyway-dickens-is-readable-jane-austen-is/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [I think that what happens is that all of my modern influences blend together with the older soul influences and you get Mayer Hawthorne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mayer-hawthorne/i-think-that-what-happens-is-that-all-of-my-modern-influences-blend/) [Mayer Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mayer-hawthorne/) > [Poe is a kind of Hawthorne and delirium tremens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/poe-is-a-kind-of-hawthorne-and-delirium-tremens/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) > [I'll never forget reading Chekhov's "A Doctor's Visit" on a train to Hawthorne, New York, and I got to the end - the scene…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ross/i-ll-never-forget-reading-chekhov-s-a-doctor-s-visit-on-a-train-to/) [Adam Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ross/) > [“The sharp white steeple of the Hawthorne First Baptist Church stuck up through the leafless trees like an admonishing finger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-r-mccammon/the-sharp-white-steeple-of-the-hawthorne-first-baptist-church-stuck/) [Robert R. McCammon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-r-mccammon/) > [“I was too much of a Bronx kid to read Emerson or Hawthorne.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/i-was-too-much-of-a-bronx-kid-to-read-emerson-or-hawthorne/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Mayer Hawthorne's old school pop-R&B homages are so meticulous that it's tempting to overrate his pipes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-eddy/mayer-hawthorne-s-old-school-pop-r-b-homages-are-so-meticulous-that/) [Chuck Eddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-eddy/) > [“Because the power of God does not fade over time, Dr. Hawthorne,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-hoesel/because-the-power-of-god-does-not-fade-over-time-dr-hawthorne/) Don Hoesel > [“There is no decay. Each human soul is the first created inhabitant of its own Eden. We dwell in an old moss-covered mansion, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/there-is-no-decay-each-human-soul-is-the-first-created-inhabitant-of/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [There is the grand truth about Nathaniel Hawthorne. He says NO! in thunder; but the Devil himself cannot make him say yes. For all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/there-is-the-grand-truth-about-nathaniel-hawthorne-he-says-no-in/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“Nathaniel Hawthorne had placed the w in his name to distance himself from his cruel ancestor, his writing driven by his desire to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/nathaniel-hawthorne-had-placed-the-w-in-his-name-to-distance-himself/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“I kiss her. I kiss her and kiss her. I try not to bite her lip. She tastes like vodkahoney.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/i-kiss-her-i-kiss-her-and-kiss-her-i-try-not-to-bite-her-lip-she/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [ \[Hawthorne''s\] pious blame is a chuckle of praise all the while. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/hawthorne-s-pious-blame-is-a-chuckle-of-praise-all-the-while/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [Blanche: No, I have the misfortune of being an English instructor. I attempt to instill a bunch of bobby-soxers and drugstore Romeos with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/blanche-no-i-have-the-misfortune-of-being-an-english-instructor-i/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) Browse all 41 Hawthorne quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My work holds up the mirror to hypocrisy, which puts me in a tradition of American writing that reaches back to Nathaniel Hawthorne.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ishmael Reed" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/my-work-holds-up-the-mirror-to-hypocrisy-which-puts-me-in-a-tradition/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hawthorne" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/my-work-holds-up-the-mirror-to-hypocrisy-which-puts-me-in-a-tradition/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/ishmael-reed-7430_hawthorne_my-work-holds-up-the-mirror-to-hypocrisy_870111.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/ishmael-reed-7430_hawthorne_my-work-holds-up-the-mirror-to-hypocrisy_870111.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/ishmael-reed-7430_hawthorne_my-work-holds-up-the-mirror-to-hypocrisy_870111.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My work holds up the mirror to hypocrisy, which puts me in a tradition of American writing that reaches back…” — Ishmael Reed", "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": "Ishmael Reed", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My work holds up the mirror...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/my-work-holds-up-the-mirror-to-hypocrisy-which-puts-me-in-a-tradition/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/my-work-holds-up-the-mirror-to-hypocrisy-which-puts-me-in-a-tradition/#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 } } ] } ```