--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The ultimate function of literature is to…" description: "\"“The ultimate function of literature is to appreciate the world, sometimes indignantly, sometimes sorrowfully, but best of all to praise when it is luc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/john-dewey-545_books_the-ultimate-function-of-literature-is-t_1950333.png" --- # The ultimate function of literature is to appreciate the… ![“The ultimate function of literature is to appreciate the world, sometimes indignantly, sometimes sorrowfully, but best of all to praise when it is luckily possible.” quote by John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/john-dewey-545_books_the-ultimate-function-of-literature-is-t_1950333.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/john-dewey-545_books_the-ultimate-function-of-literature-is-t_1950333.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/john-dewey-545_books_the-ultimate-function-of-literature-is-t_1950333.png) > ““The ultimate function of literature is to appreciate the world, sometimes indignantly, sometimes sorrowfully, but best of all to praise when it is luckily possible.”” [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Literature’s highest purpose is to help us see the world, feel its pains, and celebrate its joys when possible. **In simple terms:** Literature helps us understand and cherish life. Key Takeaway Read to broaden perspective. Themes art literature philosophy human experience Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - classroom teaching - personal reflection - public discourse - creative writing Key Concepts aesthetic appreciation emotional intelligence social critique Questions to Reflect On - What does literature reveal about your values? - How can we use stories to foster empathy? A Different Perspective Literature can also reinforce harmful stereotypes if not critically examined. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“You’re a literary person. 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Afterword to The Restored Finnegans Wake > [We must appreciate that all over the world, right down the centuries, there have been great religions that have encouraged the idea of giving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/we-must-appreciate-that-all-over-the-world-right-down-the-centuries/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [Dogs help you to appreciate the world around you. They smell the ground so intensely. They look at the trees as though they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-millan/dogs-help-you-to-appreciate-the-world-around-you-they-smell-the/) [Cesar Millan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-millan/) > [“Photographs allow for connections to be made and for time to pause to appreciate all the world has to offer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-thibideau/photographs-allow-for-connections-to-be-made-and-for-time-to-pause-to/) Dustin Thibideau > [One aspect of this is the way we have come during recent centuries to appreciate that the world and indeed the very universe in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-g-d-clark/one-aspect-of-this-is-the-way-we-have-come-during-recent-centuries-to/) [John G. D. Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-g-d-clark/) > [In order for us to appreciate this world, we have to be a bit more honest, and I hope I do that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-pugh/in-order-for-us-to-appreciate-this-world-we-have-to-be-a-bit-more/) [Florence Pugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-pugh/) > [To want the world: Gluttonous, To appreciate what you have: the WORLD.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-eastburn/to-want-the-world-gluttonous-to-appreciate-what-you-have-the-world/) [A Eastburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-eastburn/) > [As long as a man feels that he is the most important thing in the world he cannot really appreciate the world around him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/as-long-as-a-man-feels-that-he-is-the-most-important-thing-in-the/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) > [In a general way, the literature of the twentieth century is essentially psychological; and psychology consists of describing states of the soul by displaying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/in-a-general-way-the-literature-of-the-twentieth-century-is/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [We think literature is immortal, but even that decays and ultimately turns to dust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-farren/we-think-literature-is-immortal-but-even-that-decays-and-ultimately/) [Mick Farren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-farren/) > [Literature transforms and intensifies ordinary language, deviates systematically from everyday speech. 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Qualities are both static, substantial, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/when-the-organization-called-soul-is-free-moving-and-operative/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [Since in reality there is nothing to which growth is relative save more growth, there is nothing to which education is subordinate save more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/since-in-reality-there-is-nothing-to-which-growth-is-relative-save/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [Creative thinking will improve as we relate the new fact to the old and all facts to each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/creative-thinking-will-improve-as-we-relate-the-new-fact-to-the-old/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) [Explore all 486 John Dewey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) ## 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! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. 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