--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He did not seem to know enough about the…" description: "\"“He did not seem to know enough about the people in his novel. They did not seem to trust him. They were all named, more or less, all more or less dest..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/758/james-baldwin-995_books_he-did-not-seem-to-know-enough-about-the_3012980.jpg" --- # He did not seem to know enough about the people in his… ![“He did not seem to know enough about the people in his novel. They did not seem to trust him. They were all named, more or less, all more or less destined, the pattern he wished them to describe was clear to him. But it did not seem clear to them. He could move them about but they themselves did…” quote by James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/758/james-baldwin-995_books_he-did-not-seem-to-know-enough-about-the_3012980.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/758/james-baldwin-995_books_he-did-not-seem-to-know-enough-about-the_3012980.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/758/james-baldwin-995_books_he-did-not-seem-to-know-enough-about-the_3012980.jpg) > ““He did not seem to know enough about the people in his novel. They did not seem to trust him. They were all named, more or less, all more or less destined, the pattern he wished them to describe was clear to him. But it did not seem clear to them. He could move them about but they themselves did not move. He put words in their mouths which they uttered sullenly, unconvinced. With the same agony, or greater, with which he attempted to seduce a woman, he was trying to seduce his people: he begged them to surrender up their privacy. And they refused - without, for all their ugly intransigence, showing the faintest desire to leave him. They were waiting for him to find the key, press the nerve, tell the truth.”” [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author feels his characters resist his control, highlighting the tension between authorial intent and character autonomy. **In simple terms:** Characters resist his control. Key Takeaway Respect the autonomy of creative ideas. Themes creativity control author‑character dynamics Mood introspective analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing - novel planning - character development - editing Key Concepts literary theory psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance guidance and freedom? - What does surrender look like in art? A Different Perspective Creative work can feel like manipulation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [My artwork is in order to seduce people into thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genesis-p-orridge/my-artwork-is-in-order-to-seduce-people-into-thinking/) [Genesis P-Orridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genesis-p-orridge/) > [When you make a book or you make a movie, it is almost like hitting on somebody. It's not because you want to seduce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/when-you-make-a-book-or-you-make-a-movie-it-is-almost-like-hitting-on/) [Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/) > [A piece of literature can be many things but first of all it must capture its audience. 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Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [Leaders are people who believe so passionately that they can seduce other people into sharing their dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/leaders-are-people-who-believe-so-passionately-that-they-can-seduce/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I always talk about my ambition with music, and it's to sort of seduce people into listening to sounds they wouldn't normally listen to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert/i-always-talk-about-my-ambition-with-music-and-it-s-to-sort-of-seduce/) [Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert/) > [Barack Obama's ability to seduce people is well-known. He can bring his biggest critics into a room and have them coming out singing his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-lee-peterson/barack-obama-s-ability-to-seduce-people-is-well-known-he-can-bring/) [Jesse Lee Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-lee-peterson/) > [“He hit her with his best smile. Her eyes widened. She took a deep breath. 'Oh no, not that seductive face. I'm overcome with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/he-hit-her-with-his-best-smile-her-eyes-widened-she-took-a-deep/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) ## More by James Baldwin > [“In any case, white people, who had robbed black people of their liberty and who profited by this theft every hour that they lived,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-any-case-white-people-who-had-robbed-black-people-of-their-liberty/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“The South is very beautiful but its beauty makes one sad because the lives that people live, and have lived here, are so ugly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/the-south-is-very-beautiful-but-its-beauty-makes-one-sad-because-the/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“All cultures have, furthermore, an economic, social, and political base, and no culture can continue to live if its political destiny is not in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/all-cultures-have-furthermore-an-economic-social-and-political-base/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“I remembered that life in that room seemed to be occuring beneath the sea, time flowed past indiffrently above us, hours and days had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/i-remembered-that-life-in-that-room-seemed-to-be-occuring-beneath-the/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“No. It would help if I were able to feel guilty.But the end of innocence is also the end of guilt”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/no-it-would-help-if-i-were-able-to-feel-guilty-but-the-end-of/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“Perhaps now, though, he had hit bottom. 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Or for that matter...what kind of love affairs?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/what-kind-of-friendship-have-you-had-or-for-that-matter-what-kind-of/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“For these are all our children, we will all profit by or pay for what they become.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/for-these-are-all-our-children-we-will-all-profit-by-or-pay-for-what/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“Every society is really governed by hidden laws, by unspoken but profound assumptions on the part of the people, and ours is no exception.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/every-society-is-really-governed-by-hidden-laws-by-unspoken-but/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“In those days my mother was given to the exasperating and mysterious habit of having babies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-those-days-my-mother-was-given-to-the-exasperating-and-mysterious/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“He was suggesting that all Negroes were held in a state of supreme tension between the difficult, dangerous relationship in which they stood to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/he-was-suggesting-that-all-negroes-were-held-in-a-state-of-supreme/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“In the beginning—and neither can this be overstated—a Negro just cannot believe that white people are treating him as they do; he does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-the-beginning-and-neither-can-this-be-overstated-a-negro-just/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“If the world wasn't so full of dead folks maybe those of us that's trying to live wouldn't have to suffer so bad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/if-the-world-wasn-t-so-full-of-dead-folks-maybe-those-of-us-that-s/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“I am very much concerned that American Negroes achieve their freedom here in the United States. But I am also concerned for their dignity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/i-am-very-much-concerned-that-american-negroes-achieve-their-freedom/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“The paradox—and a fearful paradox it is—is that the American Negro can have no future anywhere, on any continent, as long as he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/the-paradox-and-a-fearful-paradox-it-is-is-that-the-american-negro/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) [Explore all 312 James Baldwin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) ## 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! 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Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He did not seem to know enough about the people in his novel. They did not seem to trust him. They were all named, more or less, all more or less destined, the pattern he wished them to describe was clear to him. But it did not seem clear to them. He could move them about but they themselves did not move. He put words in their mouths which they uttered sullenly, unconvinced. With the same agony, or greater, with which he attempted to seduce a woman, he was trying to seduce his people: he begged them to surrender up their privacy. And they refused - without, for all their ugly intransigence, showing the faintest desire to leave him. 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