--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Literature, art, like civilization…" description: "\"Literature, art, like civilization itself, are only accidents.\" — Joyce Carol Oates" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/joyce-carol-oates-344_accidents_literature-art-like-civilization-itself_1264597.png" --- # Literature, art, like civilization itself, are only… ![“Literature, art, like civilization itself, are only accidents.” quote by Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/joyce-carol-oates-344_accidents_literature-art-like-civilization-itself_1264597.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/joyce-carol-oates-344_accidents_literature-art-like-civilization-itself_1264597.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/joyce-carol-oates-344_accidents_literature-art-like-civilization-itself_1264597.png) > “Literature, art, like civilization itself, are only accidents.” [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. Art and literature are not intentional creations but arise from random, accidental processes, reflecting civilization's unpredictability. **In simple terms:** Art emerges from chance. Key Takeaway Embrace unpredictability. Themes art literature civilization Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - creative writing - visual arts - cultural analysis Key Concepts Accidental creation randomness Questions to Reflect On - Do you see accidents as harmful or beneficial in culture? - How does randomness influence your creative process? A Different Perspective Intentional design also shapes outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accidents/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) ## Related quotes > [We think we've got it taken care of now. Multiplayer is something that's hard to do in a turn-based game, especially a turn-based game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sid-meier/we-think-we-ve-got-it-taken-care-of-now-multiplayer-is-something-that/) [Sid Meier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sid-meier/) > [I don't think that any 'ism' is higher than literature or art. So I'm a formalist. I greatly honor and respect the form of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-don-t-think-that-any-ism-is-higher-than-literature-or-art-so-i-m-a/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Literature is the art of writing something that will be read twice; journalism what will be read once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/literature-is-the-art-of-writing-something-that-will-be-read-twice/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [Thai society rarely attempts to control literature in the same way that it vigilantly polices visual art. It's ironic because people in this society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/araya-rasdjarmrearnsook/thai-society-rarely-attempts-to-control-literature-in-the-same-way/) [Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/araya-rasdjarmrearnsook/) > [“Literature is the art of writing something that will be read twice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/literature-is-the-art-of-writing-something-that-will-be-read-twice-2/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [Literature is the art of discovering something extraordinary about ordinary people, and saying with ordinary words something extraordinary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/literature-is-the-art-of-discovering-something-extraordinary-about/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [Critics are those who have failed in literature and art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/critics-are-those-who-have-failed-in-literature-and-art/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [“Literature is an art, and the essence of all art is mood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-de-madariaga/literature-is-an-art-and-the-essence-of-all-art-is-mood/) [Salvador de Madariaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-de-madariaga/) > [Literature is an art of word; philosophy is an art of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/literature-is-an-art-of-word-philosophy-is-an-art-of-thought/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [Literature was formerly an art and finance a trade; today it is the reverse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/literature-was-formerly-an-art-and-finance-a-trade-today-it-is-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is always understood as an expression of condemnation when anything in Literature or Art is said to be done for effect; and yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/it-is-always-understood-as-an-expression-of-condemnation-when/) [George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) > [Pain is essential. 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Courtship among the eighteenth-century…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/certain-artists-in-print-or-paint-flourish-like-babies-to-be-in/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [Unlike sciences, literature as art relies on societal acceptance of a certain vocabulary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimenez-lai/unlike-sciences-literature-as-art-relies-on-societal-acceptance-of-a/) [Jimenez Lai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimenez-lai/) ## 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 Accidents quotes > [Almost all accidents take place because of human distraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-thrun/almost-all-accidents-take-place-because-of-human-distraction/) [Sebastian Thrun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-thrun/) > [It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-schumer/i-made-out-with-a-homeless-guy-by-accident-i-had-no-idea-he-was/) [Amy Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-schumer/) > [Naturally I feel no shame in writing these things because of the time which separates the moment when they are written--when only I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-ernaux/naturally-i-feel-no-shame-in-writing-these-things-because-of-the-time/) [Annie Ernaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-ernaux/) > [In a city where you walk around, it's impossible to plan your day and your life as accidents will happen, you'll overhear things, bump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-schwartzman/in-a-city-where-you-walk-around-it-s-impossible-to-plan-your-day-and/) [Jason Schwartzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-schwartzman/) > [I don't think it's by accident that I was first attracted to translating two French women poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-hacker/i-don-t-think-it-s-by-accident-that-i-was-first-attracted-to/) [Marilyn Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-hacker/) > [Despite my mentors advice that I would never go to heaven fishing with a weighted nymph and a float, I took it up. 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