--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A typical biography relying upon…" description: "\"A typical biography relying upon individuals' notorious memories and the anecdotes they've invented contains a high degree of fiction, yet is considere..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68b/joyce-carol-oates-344_anecdotes_a-typical-biography-relying-upon-individ_398926.jpg" --- # A typical biography relying upon individuals' notorious… ![“A typical biography relying upon individuals' notorious memories and the anecdotes they've invented contains a high degree of fiction, yet is considered 'nonfiction.'” quote by Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68b/joyce-carol-oates-344_anecdotes_a-typical-biography-relying-upon-individ_398926.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68b/joyce-carol-oates-344_anecdotes_a-typical-biography-relying-upon-individ_398926.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68b/joyce-carol-oates-344_anecdotes_a-typical-biography-relying-upon-individ_398926.jpg) > “A typical biography relying upon individuals' notorious memories and the anecdotes they've invented contains a high degree of fiction, yet is considered 'nonfiction.'” [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Biographies blend personal memory and invention, creating fiction within claimed nonfiction. **In simple terms:** Stories about lives mix fact and fiction. Key Takeaway Critically assess sources in personal narratives. Themes memory fiction truth biography Mood analytical skeptical Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - personal memoirs - documentary writing - historical accounts Key Concepts narrative construction subjectivity historical accuracy Practical Applications - The claim may overgeneralize all biographies. Questions to Reflect On - How can readers detect fictional elements? A Different Perspective What distinguishes reliable biography from embellished memoir? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anecdotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anecdotes/) [Biographies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biographies/) [Biography Relying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biography-relying-3581336/) [Considered Nonfiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/considered-nonfiction-3581334/) [Degrees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degrees/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction Considered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-considered-3581335/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Nonfiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonfiction/) [Notorious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notorious/) [Typical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/typical/) ## Related quotes > [I've always considered myself a nonfiction artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-always-considered-myself-a-nonfiction-artist/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Mystery fiction was considered a stepchild of literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-hunter/mystery-fiction-was-considered-a-stepchild-of-literature/) [Evan Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-hunter/) > [ “\[M\]ay not literature (and, in particular, fiction) be considered a desperate and permanently thwarted effort to produce a unique form of expression? Something like… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-g-le-cl-zio/m-ay-not-literature-and-in-particular-fiction-be-considered-a/) [J.M.G. Le Clézio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-g-le-cl-zio/) > [“There are books written by women. There are books written by men. Somehow, though, it is only books by women, or books about certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/there-are-books-written-by-women-there-are-books-written-by-men/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [You do not conceive a novel as easily as you conceive a child, nor even half as easily as you create nonfiction work. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelda-popkin/you-do-not-conceive-a-novel-as-easily-as-you-conceive-a-child-nor/) [Zelda Popkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelda-popkin/) > [Nonfiction narratives are really powerful and valid in themselves. But one thing that you don't get sometimes from the more clinical or academic books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/nonfiction-narratives-are-really-powerful-and-valid-in-themselves-but/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [I don't read for amusement, I read for enlightenment. I do a lot of reviewing, so I have a steady assignment of reading. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-don-t-read-for-amusement-i-read-for-enlightenment-i-do-a-lot-of/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Nationalized industries are notorious for their inability to operate at a profit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nationalized-industries-are-notorious-for-their-inability-to-operate/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am a notorious and constant worrier. I'm worried if I'm not worried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karla-crome/i-am-a-notorious-and-constant-worrier-i-m-worried-if-i-m-not-worried/) [Karla Crome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karla-crome/) > [“Budget airlines are notorious for over selling their flights and bumping passengers when too many show up!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/budget-airlines-are-notorious-for-over-selling-their-flights-and/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [It is notorious that the desire to live increases as life itself shortens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-ramon-y-cajal/it-is-notorious-that-the-desire-to-live-increases-as-life-itself/) [Santiago Ramon y Cajal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-ramon-y-cajal/) > [Your country is one of the most notorious centres of trading in endangered species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-philip/your-country-is-one-of-the-most-notorious-centres-of-trading-in/) [Prince Philip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-philip/) > [How the American right managed to convince itself that the programs to alleviate poverty are responsible for the consequences of poverty will someday be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/how-the-american-right-managed-to-convince-itself-that-the-programs/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [The facts of variability, of the struggle for existence, of adaptation to conditions, were notorious enough; but none of us had suspected that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-facts-of-variability-of-the-struggle-for-existence-of-adaptation/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [France has not only built a bureaucratic barrier against American culture, it has constructed a notorious intellectual case against it as well. The French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/france-has-not-only-built-a-bureaucratic-barrier-against-american/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) ## More by Joyce Carol Oates > [“A woman who has lost her husband is invalid, thus an invalid. In”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/a-woman-who-has-lost-her-husband-is-invalid-thus-an-invalid-in/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Running! If there's any activity happier, more exhilarating, more nourishing to the imagination, I can't think of what it might be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/running-if-there-s-any-activity-happier-more-exhilarating-more/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [You need so much energy and encouragement to write that if someone says something negative, some of that energy goes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/you-need-so-much-energy-and-encouragement-to-write-that-if-someone/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [I learned long ago that being Lewis Carroll was infinitely more exciting than being Alice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-learned-long-ago-that-being-lewis-carroll-was-infinitely-more/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Paradox: how do we know what we have failed to see because we have no language to express it, thus we cannot know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/paradox-how-do-we-know-what-we-have-failed-to-see-because-we-have-no/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [At all crucial moments in our lives we want to speak without knowing what to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/at-all-crucial-moments-in-our-lives-we-want-to-speak-without-knowing/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [A writer’s life is in his work, and that is the place to find him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/a-writer-s-life-is-in-his-work-and-that-is-the-place-to-find-him/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [The challenge is to resist circumstances. Any idiot can be happy in a happy place, but moral courage is required to be happy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-challenge-is-to-resist-circumstances-any-idiot-can-be-happy-in-a/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [The first sentence cant be written until the final sentence is written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-first-sentence-cant-be-written-until-the-final-sentence-is-written/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“Did you know, Marianne: how by breaking the code that day, you broke it forever? For us all?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/did-you-know-marianne-how-by-breaking-the-code-that-day-you-broke-it/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > ['The Accursed' is very much a novel about social injustice as the consequence of the terrible, tragic division of classes - the exploitation not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-accursed-is-very-much-a-novel-about-social-injustice-as-the/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Keep a light, hopeful heart. But expect the worst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/keep-a-light-hopeful-heart-but-expect-the-worst/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [And this is the forbidden truth, the unspeakable taboo - that evil is not always repellent but frequently attractive; that it has the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/and-this-is-the-forbidden-truth-the-unspeakable-taboo-that-evil-is/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [I don't think that writer's block exists really. I think that when you're trying to do something prematurely, it just won't come. Certain subjects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-don-t-think-that-writer-s-block-exists-really-i-think-that-when-you/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [... such speculation is like staring into the hot white sun. you know the sun is there but you can't see a thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/such-speculation-is-like-staring-into-the-hot-white-sun-you-know-the/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) [Explore all 658 Joyce Carol Oates quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) ## More Anecdotes quotes > [“There was a skill to organizing your life into neatly bundled anecdotes, and he lacked it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-sakey/there-was-a-skill-to-organizing-your-life-into-neatly-bundled/) [Marcus Sakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-sakey/) > [Art to me is an anecdote of the spirit,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/art-to-me-is-an-anecdote-of-the-spirit/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [There comes a point where certain things are becoming my Achilles heel; you know when you start repeating yourself and saying the same anecdotes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-elson/there-comes-a-point-where-certain-things-are-becoming-my-achilles/) [Karen Elson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-elson/) > [Why should I ever get fed up talking about my father? He was a brilliant, colorful man who left us with thousands of memories.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-huston/why-should-i-ever-get-fed-up-talking-about-my-father-he-was-a/) [Danny Huston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-huston/) > [If you would stick to the concrete, and put your discoveries in the form of entertaining anecdotes about your adventures with women, your conversation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/if-you-would-stick-to-the-concrete-and-put-your-discoveries-in-the/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Painters were also attorneys, happy storytellers of anecdote, psychologists, botanists, zoologists, archaeologists, engineers, but there were no creative painters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazimir-malevich/painters-were-also-attorneys-happy-storytellers-of-anecdote/) [Kazimir Malevich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazimir-malevich/) > [Art isn't anecdote. It's the consciousness we bring to bear in our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/art-isn-t-anecdote-it-s-the-consciousness-we-bring-to-bear-in-our/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [Something about the possession of a book - an object that can contain infinite fables, words of wisdom, chronicles of times gone by, humorous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/something-about-the-possession-of-a-book-an-object-that-can-contain/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [Men grind and grind in the mill of a truism, and nothing comes out but what was put in. But the moment they desert…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/men-grind-and-grind-in-the-mill-of-a-truism-and-nothing-comes-out-but/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Anecdote: The extent of Michael Jackson's fame at its height, and his eagerness to exploit it is shown by an incident in 1984 when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/anecdote-the-extent-of-michael-jackson-s-fame-at-its-height-and-his/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [I don't have a lot of thrilling anecdotes about my career or personal life. All the stuff that is interesting is private and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-merchant/i-don-t-have-a-lot-of-thrilling-anecdotes-about-my-career-or-personal/) [Natalie Merchant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-merchant/) > [Life divides into amazing enjoyable times and appalling experiences that will make future amazing anecdotes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/life-divides-into-amazing-enjoyable-times-and-appalling-experiences/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [I write and write and write, and then I edit it down to the parts that I think are amusing, or that help the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-yankovic/i-write-and-write-and-write-and-then-i-edit-it-down-to-the-parts-that/) [Al Yankovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-yankovic/) > [If you notice phrases, ideas, and anecdotes that closely resemble those that appear elsewhere in my writing, it's not a matter of sloppy editing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/if-you-notice-phrases-ideas-and-anecdotes-that-closely-resemble-those/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) > [At the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre, Sanford Meisner said, 'When you go into the professional world, at a stock theatre somewhere, backstage, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/at-the-neighborhood-playhouse-school-of-theatre-sanford-meisner-said/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) [Browse all 180 Anecdotes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anecdotes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A typical biography relying upon individuals' notorious memories and the anecdotes they've invented contains a high degree of fiction, yet is considered 'nonfiction.'", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joyce Carol Oates" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/a-typical-biography-relying-upon-individuals-notorious-memories-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anecdotes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/a-typical-biography-relying-upon-individuals-notorious-memories-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68b/joyce-carol-oates-344_anecdotes_a-typical-biography-relying-upon-individ_398926.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68b/joyce-carol-oates-344_anecdotes_a-typical-biography-relying-upon-individ_398926.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68b/joyce-carol-oates-344_anecdotes_a-typical-biography-relying-upon-individ_398926.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A typical biography relying upon individuals' notorious memories and the anecdotes they've invented contains…” — Joyce Carol Oates", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Joyce Carol Oates", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A typical biography relying upon individuals'...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/a-typical-biography-relying-upon-individuals-notorious-memories-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/a-typical-biography-relying-upon-individuals-notorious-memories-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```