--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Can a better kind of fiction save the…" description: "\"“Can a better kind of fiction save the world? There’s always some tiny hope (strange things do happen), but the answer is almost certainly no, it can’t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f2/jonathan-franzen-801_hope_can-a-better-kind-of-fiction-save-the-wo_73673.jpg" --- # Can a better kind of fiction save the world? There’s… ![“Can a better kind of fiction save the world? There’s always some tiny hope (strange things do happen), but the answer is almost certainly no, it can’t. There is some reasonable chance, however, that it could save your soul. If you’re unhappy about the hatred that’s been unleashed in your heart…” quote by Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f2/jonathan-franzen-801_hope_can-a-better-kind-of-fiction-save-the-wo_73673.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f2/jonathan-franzen-801_hope_can-a-better-kind-of-fiction-save-the-wo_73673.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f2/jonathan-franzen-801_hope_can-a-better-kind-of-fiction-save-the-wo_73673.jpg) > ““Can a better kind of fiction save the world? There’s always some tiny hope (strange things do happen), but the answer is almost certainly no, it can’t. There is some reasonable chance, however, that it could save your soul. If you’re unhappy about the hatred that’s been unleashed in your heart, you might try imagining what it’s like to be the person who hates you; you might consider the possibility that you are, in fact, the Evil One yourself.”” [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage suggests fiction cannot change world events, but it can transform personal inner life by fostering empathy and self‑reflection. **In simple terms:** Fiction reshapes the self, not society. Key Takeaway Stories can heal personal hatred. Themes self‑knowledge empathy inner transformation limits of art personal growth Mood reflective introspective hopeful Type philosophical personal When to use this quote - dealing with personal resentment - seeking self‑understanding - confronting inner darkness - exploring other perspectives Key Concepts narrative empathy psychological introspection moral imagination Practical Applications - personal therapy through reading - creative writing exercises for self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - How might you use a story to confront your own biases? - What limits do you see in art’s ability to affect external reality? A Different Perspective Some argue that collective narratives can indeed shift cultural attitudes and thus impact societal change, though the effect is indirect. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Fact Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fact-evil-959751/) [Fiction Save](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-save-959749/) [Hates Consider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hates-consider-959750/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Save Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/save-soul/) [Save the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/save-the-world/) ## Related quotes > [The fact that the evil ones, as long as they live, can be corrected from their errors does not prohibit that they may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/the-fact-that-the-evil-ones-as-long-as-they-live-can-be-corrected/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [“The simple fact is that evil preys on good, and today, good had a bad day. 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I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-munoz-molina/the-fact-that-evil-exists-in-the-world-bothers-me-i-think-that-people/) [Antonio Munoz Molina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-munoz-molina/) > [“By all you hold sacred, by all you hold dear, by your love that is lost, by your hope that lives, for the sake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/by-all-you-hold-sacred-by-all-you-hold-dear-by-your-love-that-is-lost/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [To say the 'Save My Soul' video means a lot to me would be an understatement of stupendous proportions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelda-williams/to-say-the-save-my-soul-video-means-a-lot-to-me-would-be-an/) [Zelda Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelda-williams/) > [Who will save your soul, if you won’t save your own?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jewel/who-will-save-your-soul-if-you-won-t-save-your-own/) [Jewel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jewel/) > [I can't feel Irish to save my soul, but it's a fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/i-can-t-feel-irish-to-save-my-soul-but-it-s-a-fact/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) > [Lord please save his soul, he was the king of rock and roll.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbie-robertson/lord-please-save-his-soul-he-was-the-king-of-rock-and-roll/) [Robbie Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robbie-robertson/) > [I just wanna be heavenly, I suppose. Cause success never ever save your soul. I came from the bottom of the map to show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-krit/i-just-wanna-be-heavenly-i-suppose-cause-success-never-ever-save-your/) [Big Krit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-krit/) > [It struck me, sharp and hard, that I had been given so many chances to save my soul that my entire life had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/it-struck-me-sharp-and-hard-that-i-had-been-given-so-many-chances-to/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“If the right book can save your soul, then perhaps the wrong ones can damn it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-swallow-prior/if-the-right-book-can-save-your-soul-then-perhaps-the-wrong-ones-can/) [Karen Swallow Prior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-swallow-prior/) > [A tribute can save a soul in Hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prashanth-charice/a-tribute-can-save-a-soul-in-hell/) [Prashanth Charice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prashanth-charice/) > [I'm your Beloved, dammit! You're going to let me save your soul, and like it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-macalister/i-m-your-beloved-dammit-you-re-going-to-let-me-save-your-soul-and/) [Katie MacAlister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-macalister/) > [The prayer of the agnostic: "O God, if there is a God, save my soul if I have a soul."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-renan/the-prayer-of-the-agnostic-o-god-if-there-is-a-god-save-my-soul-if-i/) [Ernest Renan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-renan/) > [Because the truth is that gossip is as good as gospel in this town. You can save face but you won't ever save your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/because-the-truth-is-that-gossip-is-as-good-as-gospel-in-this-town/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) ## More by Jonathan Franzen > [“The fundamental fact about all of us is that we’re alive for a while but will die before long. This fact is the real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/the-fundamental-fact-about-all-of-us-is-that-we-re-alive-for-a-while/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [Fiction that isn't an author's personal adventure into the frightening or the unknown isn't worth writing for anything but money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/fiction-that-isn-t-an-author-s-personal-adventure-into-the/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [“Parents are programmed to want the best for their kids, regardless of what they get in return. That's what love is supposed to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/parents-are-programmed-to-want-the-best-for-their-kids-regardless-of/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [“Birds were what became of dinosaurs. Those mountains of flesh whose petrified bones were on display at the Museum of Natural History had done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/birds-were-what-became-of-dinosaurs-those-mountains-of-flesh-whose/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [A big part of me would be very proud never having anything of mine adapted, because if you want the real experience, there's only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/a-big-part-of-me-would-be-very-proud-never-having-anything-of-mine/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [Seriously, the world is changing so quickly that if you had any more than 80 years of change I dont see how you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/seriously-the-world-is-changing-so-quickly-that-if-you-had-any-more/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [“I'm saying the structure and f the entire culture is flawed, chip said. I'm saying the bureaucracy has arrogated the right to define certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/i-m-saying-the-structure-and-f-the-entire-culture-is-flawed-chip-said/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [Integrity's a neutral value. Hyenas have integrity, too. They're pure hyena.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/integrity-s-a-neutral-value-hyenas-have-integrity-too-they-re-pure/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [“An odd thing about beauty, however, is that it's absence tends not to arouse our sympathy as much as other forms of privation do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/an-odd-thing-about-beauty-however-is-that-it-s-absence-tends-not-to/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [He became another data point in the American experiment of self-government, an experiment statistically skewed from the outset, because it wasn't the people with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/he-became-another-data-point-in-the-american-experiment-of-self/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [“It was this motley band of modest peeps and plovers on the beach who reminded me of the human beings I loved best -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/it-was-this-motley-band-of-modest-peeps-and-plovers-on-the-beach-who/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [“Alfred believed that the real and the true were a minority that the world was bent on exterminating.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/alfred-believed-that-the-real-and-the-true-were-a-minority-that-the/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [“Imagine that human existence is defined by an Ache: the Ache of our not being, each of us, the center of the universe; of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/imagine-that-human-existence-is-defined-by-an-ache-the-ache-of-our/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [The problem was money and the indignities of life without it. Every stroller, cell phone, Yankees cap, and SUV he saw was a torment.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/the-problem-was-money-and-the-indignities-of-life-without-it-every/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [I had a Viking sense of entitlement to whatever provisions I could plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/i-had-a-viking-sense-of-entitlement-to-whatever-provisions-i-could/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) [Explore all 345 Jonathan Franzen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) ## More Evil quotes > [I've always been fascinated by the idea that there's no such thing as evil; it's all in your point of view. To one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-the-idea-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I do conscientiously and sincerely believe that the Order of Freemasonry, if not the greatest, is one of the greatest moral and political evils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/i-do-conscientiously-and-sincerely-believe-that-the-order-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-republicans-do-not-look-on-the-democrats-as-the-evil-empire/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-done-out-of-love-always-takes-place-beyond-good-and-evil/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Evil cannot be "treated" -- nor should it be. Evil has to \[be\] confronted and destroyed and it matters not why the evil is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/evil-cannot-be-treated-nor-should-it-be-evil-has-to-be-confronted-and/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [The evil which does me no harm is like the good which in no wise avails me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/the-evil-which-does-me-no-harm-is-like-the-good-which-in-no-wise/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Attack the evil that is within yourself, rather than attacking the evil that is in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/attack-the-evil-that-is-within-yourself-rather-than-attacking-the/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) [James Nayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nayler/) > [The politician attempts to remedy the evil by increasing the very thing that caused the evil in the first place: legal plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-politician-attempts-to-remedy-the-evil-by-increasing-the-very/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“Water is so friendly when you have it on your palms, but so evil when they have you on theirs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/water-is-so-friendly-when-you-have-it-on-your-palms-but-so-evil-when/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [THE ART OF PEACE is not easy. It is a fight to the finish, the slaying of evil desires and all falsehood within. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morihei-ueshiba/the-art-of-peace-is-not-easy-it-is-a-fight-to-the-finish-the-slaying/) [Morihei Ueshiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morihei-ueshiba/) [Browse all 11,163 Evil quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Can a better kind of fiction save the world? There’s always some tiny hope (strange things do happen), but the answer is almost certainly no, it can’t. There is some reasonable chance, however, that it could save your soul. 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