--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I did feel as though a number of critics…" description: "\"I did feel as though a number of critics had appointed themselves, when they sat down with a new book of mine, to rectify what they felt to be was my i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14d/john-updike-396_book_i-did-feel-as-though-a-number-of-critics_1013112.png" --- # I did feel as though a number of critics had appointed… ![“I did feel as though a number of critics had appointed themselves, when they sat down with a new book of mine, to rectify what they felt to be was my inflated reputation and so that the book in hand was not really given a chance but made a kind of weapon in the general attempt to bring me down to…” quote by John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14d/john-updike-396_book_i-did-feel-as-though-a-number-of-critics_1013112.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14d/john-updike-396_book_i-did-feel-as-though-a-number-of-critics_1013112.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14d/john-updike-396_book_i-did-feel-as-though-a-number-of-critics_1013112.png) > “I did feel as though a number of critics had appointed themselves, when they sat down with a new book of mine, to rectify what they felt to be was my inflated reputation and so that the book in hand was not really given a chance but made a kind of weapon in the general attempt to bring me down to size.” [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Critics often try to diminish an author's reputation by preemptively attacking new work rather than evaluating it fairly. **In simple terms:** Critics may try to bring an author down before the work is judged. Key Takeaway Beware of bias; judge works on their own merits. Themes criticism reputation bias literary culture Mood defensive reflective Type literary critical When to use this quote - book reviews - author interviews - literary debates Key Concepts ego power dynamics defensiveness Questions to Reflect On - How do you separate constructive criticism from personal attack? - What impact does pre‑emptive bias have on artistic creation? A Different Perspective Critics may have valid concerns about quality that are dismissed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Bring me down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bring-me-down/) [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Critics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critics/) [Critics Appointed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critics-appointed-2212974/) [Did Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/did-feel/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Felt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt/) [Felt Inflated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt-inflated-2212973/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Given a chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given-a-chance/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Inflated Reputation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inflated-reputation-2212972/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Mines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mines/) [New books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-books/) [Numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numbers/) [Rectify](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rectify/) [Reputation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reputation/) [Reputation Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reputation-book-2212975/) [Sat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sat/) [Size](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/size/) [Weapons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weapons/) ## Related quotes > [English had hit upon a splendid joke. 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I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-carter/try-to-bring-me-down-but-you-will-never-succeed-because-i-m-always/) [Aaron Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-carter/) > [If I feel like someone's trying to bring me down, I just walk away from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-tisdale/if-i-feel-like-someone-s-trying-to-bring-me-down-i-just-walk-away/) [Ashley Tisdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-tisdale/) > [“You can't bring me down, Do you here what I'm trying to say, You can't bring me down, I'll never turn the other way,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pillar/you-can-t-bring-me-down-do-you-here-what-i-m-trying-to-say-you-can-t/) [Pillar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pillar/) ## More by John Updike > [Life is a roller coaster, you have your ups and downs unless you fall off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/life-is-a-roller-coaster-you-have-your-ups-and-downs-unless-you-fall/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I assume my stance, and take back the club, low, slowly; at the top, my eyes fog over, and my joints dip and swirl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-assume-my-stance-and-take-back-the-club-low-slowly-at-the-top-my/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The New England spirit does not seek solutions in a crowd; raw light and solitariness are less dreaded than welcomed as enhancers of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-new-england-spirit-does-not-seek-solutions-in-a-crowd-raw-light/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I imagine most of that stuff on the information highway is roadkill anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-imagine-most-of-that-stuff-on-the-information-highway-is-roadkill/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Families, doing everything for each other out of imagined obligation and always getting in each other's way, what a tangle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/families-doing-everything-for-each-other-out-of-imagined-obligation/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The fucking world is running out of gas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-fucking-world-is-running-out-of-gas/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The theme of old age doesn't seem to fascinate Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-theme-of-old-age-doesn-t-seem-to-fascinate-hollywood/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The mind cannot fall asleep as long as it watches itself. 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