--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Memory blurs, that's the point. If memory…" description: "\"Memory blurs, that's the point. If memory didn't blur you wouldn't have the fool's courage to do things again, again, again, that tear you apart.\" — Jo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba1/joyce-carol-oates-344_blur_memory-blurs-that-s-the-point-if-memory_720569.png" --- # Memory blurs, that's the point. If memory didn't blur you… ![“Memory blurs, that's the point. If memory didn't blur you wouldn't have the fool's courage to do things again, again, again, that tear you apart.” quote by Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba1/joyce-carol-oates-344_blur_memory-blurs-that-s-the-point-if-memory_720569.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba1/joyce-carol-oates-344_blur_memory-blurs-that-s-the-point-if-memory_720569.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba1/joyce-carol-oates-344_blur_memory-blurs-that-s-the-point-if-memory_720569.png) > “Memory blurs, that's the point. If memory didn't blur you wouldn't have the fool's courage to do things again, again, again, that tear you apart.” [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. Memory's distortion fuels daring repetition, allowing us to confront pain repeatedly. **In simple terms:** Blurred memory encourages repeated bold actions. Key Takeaway Embrace the courage to try again despite pain. Themes courage memory resilience Mood reflective determined Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - creative pursuits - healing from trauma - overcoming fear Key Concepts psychology risk-taking Questions to Reflect On - What drives you to repeat painful actions? - How can you balance courage with self‑care? A Different Perspective Repeated attempts may still cause lasting harm if not reflected upon. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blur/) [Blur Wouldn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blur-wouldn-5664423/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Didn Blur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/didn-blur-5664424/) [Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Memory Blurs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory-blurs-5664422/) [Memory Didn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory-didn-716545/) [Tears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tears/) ## Related quotes > [I think it's always hard for children to talk about abuse because it is only memory. I didn't carry around a tape recorder ……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-heche/i-think-it-s-always-hard-for-children-to-talk-about-abuse-because-it/) [Anne Heche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-heche/) > [They're very strong in memory. Didn't do very much in microprocessors or digital signal processing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kilby/they-re-very-strong-in-memory-didn-t-do-very-much-in-microprocessors/) [Jack Kilby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kilby/) > [She was still there inside me now, just as she always was: a life put on hold, a memory I didn't know how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/she-was-still-there-inside-me-now-just-as-she-always-was-a-life-put/) [Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/) > [What I would do is I would just remember the scene and I'd go home and I'd write out the scene from memory. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/what-i-would-do-is-i-would-just-remember-the-scene-and-i-d-go-home/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) > [“For almost a decade I was haunted by the memory of Deborah Black, I was about to claim. But the memory didn't haunt me;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/for-almost-a-decade-i-was-haunted-by-the-memory-of-deborah-black-i/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [Here is a shared memory that we didn't share, forgot to share, for almost ninety years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mcaleese/here-is-a-shared-memory-that-we-didn-t-share-forgot-to-share-for/) [Mary McAleese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mcaleese/) > [Do you know how many ways love can hit you? So it makes you happy, or miserable? It makes you sick in the belly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/do-you-know-how-many-ways-love-can-hit-you-so-it-makes-you-happy-or/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [Graffiti is like building a career. And there is a dialogue with the other artists out there mostly fellow writers because a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaws/graffiti-is-like-building-a-career-and-there-is-a-dialogue-with-the/) [KAWS](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaws/) > [Photoshop your life. Touch up the edges, adjust the tones, blur out the background, focus on yourself, and crop people out!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/photoshop-your-life-touch-up-the-edges-adjust-the-tones-blur-out-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I like to see the difference between good and evil as kind of like the foul line at a baseball game. It's very thin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/i-like-to-see-the-difference-between-good-and-evil-as-kind-of-like/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [There were some great bands in the 90s like Blur and Oasis, The Stone Roses and all that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-llewellyn/there-were-some-great-bands-in-the-90s-like-blur-and-oasis-the-stone/) [Dylan Llewellyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-llewellyn/) > [The camera has an interest in turning history into spectacle, but none in reversing the process. At best, the picture leaves a vague blur…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-donoghue/the-camera-has-an-interest-in-turning-history-into-spectacle-but-none/) [Denis Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-donoghue/) > [One foot in front of the other, counting tiles on the floor so I don't have to focus the blur of painted smiles, fake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hopkins/one-foot-in-front-of-the-other-counting-tiles-on-the-floor-so-i-don-t/) [Ellen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-hopkins/) > [I liked playing Morph in Mash and Peas and doing Phil Daniels in the Blur Rock Profile was a giggle too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-putner/i-liked-playing-morph-in-mash-and-peas-and-doing-phil-daniels-in-the/) [Paul Putner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-putner/) > [Having power and being in a position of power can really blur your judgement, and it's not always that clear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/having-power-and-being-in-a-position-of-power-can-really-blur-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## 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 Blur quotes > [Having power and being in a position of power can really blur your judgement, and it's not always that clear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/having-power-and-being-in-a-position-of-power-can-really-blur-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I liked playing Morph in Mash and Peas and doing Phil Daniels in the Blur Rock Profile was a giggle too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-putner/i-liked-playing-morph-in-mash-and-peas-and-doing-phil-daniels-in-the/) [Paul Putner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-putner/) > [One foot in front of the other, counting tiles on the floor so I don't have to focus the blur of painted smiles, fake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hopkins/one-foot-in-front-of-the-other-counting-tiles-on-the-floor-so-i-don-t/) [Ellen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-hopkins/) > [The camera has an interest in turning history into spectacle, but none in reversing the process. At best, the picture leaves a vague blur…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-donoghue/the-camera-has-an-interest-in-turning-history-into-spectacle-but-none/) [Denis Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-donoghue/) > [There were some great bands in the 90s like Blur and Oasis, The Stone Roses and all that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-llewellyn/there-were-some-great-bands-in-the-90s-like-blur-and-oasis-the-stone/) [Dylan Llewellyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-llewellyn/) > [I like to see the difference between good and evil as kind of like the foul line at a baseball game. It's very thin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/i-like-to-see-the-difference-between-good-and-evil-as-kind-of-like/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [Photoshop your life. Touch up the edges, adjust the tones, blur out the background, focus on yourself, and crop people out!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/photoshop-your-life-touch-up-the-edges-adjust-the-tones-blur-out-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Graffiti is like building a career. And there is a dialogue with the other artists out there mostly fellow writers because a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaws/graffiti-is-like-building-a-career-and-there-is-a-dialogue-with-the/) [KAWS](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaws/) > [Love blurs your vision; but after it recedes, you can see more clearly than ever. It's like the tide going out, revealing whatever's been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/love-blurs-your-vision-but-after-it-recedes-you-can-see-more-clearly/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Opposites blur and become one. If you open your mind, that is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-wesselhoeft/opposites-blur-and-become-one-if-you-open-your-mind-that-is/) [Conrad Wesselhoeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-wesselhoeft/) > [Life was a freight train barreling toward just one stop, our loved ones streaking past our windows in blurs of color and light. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/life-was-a-freight-train-barreling-toward-just-one-stop-our-loved/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [People forgot; it was in the nature of people to forget, to blur boundaries, to retell stories to come out the way they wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/people-forgot-it-was-in-the-nature-of-people-to-forget-to-blur/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [The differences between a tart, a pie and a quiche are a blur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yotam-ottolenghi/the-differences-between-a-tart-a-pie-and-a-quiche-are-a-blur/) [Yotam Ottolenghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yotam-ottolenghi/) > [Equipped with cell phones, beepers, and handheld computers, the 'conspicuously industrious' blur the line between home and office by working anytime, anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-ann-davis/equipped-with-cell-phones-beepers-and-handheld-computers-the/) [Jo Ann Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-ann-davis/) > [Do you know how many ways love can hit you? So it makes you happy, or miserable? It makes you sick in the belly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/do-you-know-how-many-ways-love-can-hit-you-so-it-makes-you-happy-or/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) [Browse all 275 Blur quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blur/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Memory blurs, that's the point. If memory didn't blur you wouldn't have the fool's courage to do things again, again, again, that tear you apart.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joyce Carol Oates" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/memory-blurs-that-s-the-point-if-memory-didn-t-blur-you-wouldn-t-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blur" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/memory-blurs-that-s-the-point-if-memory-didn-t-blur-you-wouldn-t-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba1/joyce-carol-oates-344_blur_memory-blurs-that-s-the-point-if-memory_720569.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba1/joyce-carol-oates-344_blur_memory-blurs-that-s-the-point-if-memory_720569.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba1/joyce-carol-oates-344_blur_memory-blurs-that-s-the-point-if-memory_720569.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Memory blurs, that's the point. If memory didn't blur you wouldn't have the fool's courage to do things…” — 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": "Memory blurs, that's the point. If...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/memory-blurs-that-s-the-point-if-memory-didn-t-blur-you-wouldn-t-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/memory-blurs-that-s-the-point-if-memory-didn-t-blur-you-wouldn-t-have/#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 } } ] } ```