--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: \"War gives men a plain-and-simple…" description: "\"\"War gives men a plain-and-simple something to do ... Women write diaries in the hope that their words will beckon fate.\" It's a romantic manifesto.\" —..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/james-ellroy-2967_war_war-gives-men-a-plain-and-simple-somethi_2250338.jpg" --- # "War gives men a plain-and-simple something to do… ![“"War gives men a plain-and-simple something to do ... Women write diaries in the hope that their words will beckon fate." It's a romantic manifesto.” quote by James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/james-ellroy-2967_war_war-gives-men-a-plain-and-simple-somethi_2250338.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/james-ellroy-2967_war_war-gives-men-a-plain-and-simple-somethi_2250338.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/james-ellroy-2967_war_war-gives-men-a-plain-and-simple-somethi_2250338.jpg) > “"War gives men a plain-and-simple something to do ... Women write diaries in the hope that their words will beckon fate." It's a romantic manifesto.” [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Men seek simple, violent outlets; women seek meaning through writing, hoping to influence destiny. **In simple terms:** Men act, women write to shape fate. Key Takeaway Recognize different coping mechanisms. Themes gender roles violence writing destiny Mood reflective serious Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - crime investigation - personal journals - creative therapy - relationship counseling Key Concepts masculinity feminine expression control Questions to Reflect On - Why do people seek control through art? - What drives violent impulses? A Different Perspective The dichotomy oversimplifies complex motivations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Diaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diaries/) [Diaries Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diaries-hope-5137092/) [Romantic Manifesto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/romantic-manifesto-5137091/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Women Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women-write-449084/) [Write Diaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-diaries-920951/) ## Related quotes > [People who are busy and happy don't write diaries; they are too busy living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/people-who-are-busy-and-happy-don-t-write-diaries-they-are-too-busy/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [I'm not much of a writing guy to start with. I don't write diaries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-cavalera/i-m-not-much-of-a-writing-guy-to-start-with-i-don-t-write-diaries/) [Max Cavalera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-cavalera/) > [ It seems to me that \[Andy Cohen\] can write these diaries forever. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anderson-cooper/it-seems-to-me-that-andy-cohen-can-write-these-diaries-forever/) [Anderson Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anderson-cooper/) > [I don't write diaries and things like that, but I have a fantastic memory. I call that like a magic carpet. I can really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-gilot/i-don-t-write-diaries-and-things-like-that-but-i-have-a-fantastic/) [Francoise Gilot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-gilot/) > [I was a kind of angsty teenager and I would write diaries and write stuff down all the time. Sometimes I get to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-goulding/i-was-a-kind-of-angsty-teenager-and-i-would-write-diaries-and-write/) [Ellie Goulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-goulding/) > [The writings are often written in a kind of exhaustion or delirium, I try very hard not to censor myself, to be as honest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-magid/the-writings-are-often-written-in-a-kind-of-exhaustion-or-delirium-i/) [Jill Magid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-magid/) > [People don't think of writers as sex objects. The women who write to me and suggest that we ought to have sex usually turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/people-don-t-think-of-writers-as-sex-objects-the-women-who-write-to/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [Not all women write the same. But I don't understand why the model is that you're supposed to write like a man, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ringwald/not-all-women-write-the-same-but-i-don-t-understand-why-the-model-is/) [Molly Ringwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ringwald/) > [“You must go around the states lecturing to women. And the inoffensive writers who've never dared lecture anyone, let alone women-they are frightened of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/you-must-go-around-the-states-lecturing-to-women-and-the-inoffensive/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [Let women write horror. Let women write darkness, let women write trauma, without having to carve out their own trauma to justify it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/let-women-write-horror-let-women-write-darkness-let-women-write/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [The great thing about fiction is that I don't have to settle on an answer to any troubling question, or even a solution. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/the-great-thing-about-fiction-is-that-i-don-t-have-to-settle-on-an/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [The greater part of what women write about women is mere sycophancy to man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/the-greater-part-of-what-women-write-about-women-is-mere-sycophancy/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [Men like women who write. Even though they don't say so. A writer is a foreign country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-duras/men-like-women-who-write-even-though-they-don-t-say-so-a-writer-is-a/) [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) > [I think women write more fully and honestly than men about heart and home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prue-leith/i-think-women-write-more-fully-and-honestly-than-men-about-heart-and/) [Prue Leith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prue-leith/) > [Turkey is a complex country. Most readers are women, of all generations, and they are passionate about books. However, the written culture is mostly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-safak/turkey-is-a-complex-country-most-readers-are-women-of-all-generations/) [Elif Safak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-safak/) ## More by James Ellroy > [“Fear and I played peek-a-boo - it always seemed to grab my balls and twist just when it felt like something inside me could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/fear-and-i-played-peek-a-boo-it-always-seemed-to-grab-my-balls-and/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [My father actually went to college, and my mother went to nursing school, so, you know. I wouldn't... They were actually too square and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/my-father-actually-went-to-college-and-my-mother-went-to-nursing/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [I've created a narrative of the world. I live in the world - tenuously, most times. I've avoided the digital world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/i-ve-created-a-narrative-of-the-world-i-live-in-the-world-tenuously/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [Some men get the world, some men get ex-hookers and a trip to Arizona. You're in with the former, but my God I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/some-men-get-the-world-some-men-get-ex-hookers-and-a-trip-to-arizona/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [In the time just before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, when Perfidia opens, we were pre-psychologized. There were no concepts of identity, no politics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/in-the-time-just-before-the-bombing-of-pearl-harbor-when-perfidia/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [“It all came down to money - the great equalizer and common denominator.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/it-all-came-down-to-money-the-great-equalizer-and-common-denominator/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [I think the great unspoken theme in noir fiction is male self-pity. It pervades noir movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/i-think-the-great-unspoken-theme-in-noir-fiction-is-male-self-pity-it/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [“Don't make a career out of underestimating me." — Claire de Haven”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/don-t-make-a-career-out-of-underestimating-me-claire-de-haven/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [“I didn't care who we were. I required no consummation. I knew that whoever we were and whatever we had would never stop.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/i-didn-t-care-who-we-were-i-required-no-consummation-i-knew-that/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [Where’s your sketch pad?” I asked. … “I gave that up,” Kay said. “I wasn’t very good, so I changed my major.” “To what?”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/where-s-your-sketch-pad-i-asked-i-gave-that-up-kay-said-i-wasn-t-very/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [I am a master of fiction. I am also the greatest crime novelist who ever lived. I am to the crime novel in specific…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/i-am-a-master-of-fiction-i-am-also-the-greatest-crime-novelist-who/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [ I don't want to recover from writing this book \[The Onion\]. I feel very poised. I feel like I'm with my mother for the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/i-don-t-want-to-recover-from-writing-this-book-the-onion-i-feel-very/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [Rock and rollers can get you the youth buzz, and younger people are fanatical readers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/rock-and-rollers-can-get-you-the-youth-buzz-and-younger-people-are/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [I don't know anybody in the underworld. I make this stuff up. I don't know any criminals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/i-don-t-know-anybody-in-the-underworld-i-make-this-stuff-up-i-don-t/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [“He took three shots a night-no more, no less. He switched from whisky to straight gin. The bum compensated for the scant volume. Three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/he-took-three-shots-a-night-no-more-no-less-he-switched-from-whisky/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) [Explore all 143 James Ellroy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) ## More Diaries quotes > [My life always came first. When I got nominated for Diary of a Mad Housewife, I didn't think, 'Aah, now I'll get more money.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-snodgress/my-life-always-came-first-when-i-got-nominated-for-diary-of-a-mad/) [Carrie Snodgress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-snodgress/) > ['Dirt Road Diaries,' in my mind, is a perfect country guy song. It speaks to the hard-working guy, and I'm excited for the fans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-bryan/dirt-road-diaries-in-my-mind-is-a-perfect-country-guy-song-it-speaks/) [Luke Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-bryan/) > [I don't want to be singing my diary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norah-jones/i-don-t-want-to-be-singing-my-diary/) [Norah Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norah-jones/) > [Experience is the only real teacher and if you keep a diary you get three bites at educating yourself - when it happens, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/experience-is-the-only-real-teacher-and-if-you-keep-a-diary-you-get/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [ I went to NYU graduate film school and met Pam \[Romanowsky\], and after doing a few things with her I thought she had the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-franco/i-went-to-nyu-graduate-film-school-and-met-pam-romanowsky-and-after/) [James Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-franco/) > [After Princess Diaries, I was labeled a good girl, and for the first eight years of my career I had to fight to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-hathaway/after-princess-diaries-i-was-labeled-a-good-girl-and-for-the-first/) [Anne Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-hathaway/) > [I've found myself moved by letters and diaries in archives as well as trashy, summer blockbusters. It's possible to make a connection with any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/i-ve-found-myself-moved-by-letters-and-diaries-in-archives-as-well-as/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [A man's diary is a record in youth of his sentiments, in middle age of his actions, in old age of his reflections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/a-man-s-diary-is-a-record-in-youth-of-his-sentiments-in-middle-age-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [There are two types of encryption: one that will prevent your sister from reading your diary and one that will prevent your government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-schneier/there-are-two-types-of-encryption-one-that-will-prevent-your-sister/) [Bruce Schneier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-schneier/) > [I keep a diary - one for each film and foreign land I travel to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-mcconaughey/i-keep-a-diary-one-for-each-film-and-foreign-land-i-travel-to/) [Matthew McConaughey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-mcconaughey/) > [Don't read my diary when I'm gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-cobain/don-t-read-my-diary-when-i-m-gone/) [Kurt Cobain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-cobain/) > [Memory is the diary that chronicles things that never happened or couldn't possibly have happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/memory-is-the-diary-that-chronicles-things-that-never-happened-or/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I need a moment of time for myself every day, like a child playing with his things. When I travel, I routinely find a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/i-need-a-moment-of-time-for-myself-every-day-like-a-child-playing/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I don't keep diaries anymore; They're quite incriminating. I just keep all the dirt road diaries in my head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-bryan/i-don-t-keep-diaries-anymore-they-re-quite-incriminating-i-just-keep/) [Luke Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-bryan/) > [Though with Bridget Jones's Baby: the Diaries, I'd like to make it clear that I did not ever get pregnant by two men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fielding/though-with-bridget-jones-s-baby-the-diaries-i-d-like-to-make-it/) [Helen Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fielding/) [Browse all 502 Diaries quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diaries/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "\"War gives men a plain-and-simple something to do ... 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