---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nothing is 'mythic,' close up. Nothing is…"
description: "\"“Nothing is 'mythic,' close up. Nothing is 'mythic' where you live.”\" — Joyce Carol Oates"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/644/joyce-carol-oates-344_close_nothing-is-mythic-close-up-nothing-is-my_1276429.png"
---

#  Nothing is 'mythic,' close up. Nothing is 'mythic' where…

![“Nothing is 'mythic,' close up. Nothing is 'mythic' where you live.” quote by Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/644/joyce-carol-oates-344_close_nothing-is-mythic-close-up-nothing-is-my_1276429.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/644/joyce-carol-oates-344_close_nothing-is-mythic-close-up-nothing-is-my_1276429.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/644/joyce-carol-oates-344_close_nothing-is-mythic-close-up-nothing-is-my_1276429.png)

> ““Nothing is 'mythic,' close up. Nothing is 'mythic' where you live.””

[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.

She challenges the notion of mythic narratives, suggesting everyday life lacks grand mythic qualities.

**In simple terms:** Everyday life is ordinary, not mythic.

Key Takeaway

Accept ordinary reality.

Themes

myth reality perception literature existentialism

Mood

reflective analytical

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- writing
- teaching
- personal reflection
- media analysis

Key Concepts

philosophy narrative theory existential thought

Questions to Reflect On

- Do you seek mythic meaning?
- How does ordinary life inspire you?

A Different Perspective

Some find meaning in mythic framing.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/close/) [Close Mythic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/close-mythic-4109032/) [Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth/) [Mythic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mythic/) [Mythic Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mythic-close-4109033/) [Mythic Live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mythic-live-4109034/)

## Related quotes

> [I love mythic stuff. I love playing with gods, I love playing with myths. A lot of it has to do with that they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-love-mythic-stuff-i-love-playing-with-gods-i-love-playing-with/)

[Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/)

> [Astronauts are like these mythic legends, but really, they are just regular people, people who wear chinos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/astronauts-are-like-these-mythic-legends-but-really-they-are-just/)

[Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/)

> [Being a literature major, you know, I'm very familiar with the ways symbolism is used in our sort of mythic tales of society, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-coon/being-a-literature-major-you-know-i-m-very-familiar-with-the-ways/)

[Carrie Coon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-coon/)

> [There's a lot of places where the image of a cube as a thing of power is pertinent. I don't know why that is.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/there-s-a-lot-of-places-where-the-image-of-a-cube-as-a-thing-of-power/)

[Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/)

> ['Avatar' was incredible and totally groundbreaking, but it wasn't about utter realism. It had a great mythic fantasy to it, but the characters don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-reeves/avatar-was-incredible-and-totally-groundbreaking-but-it-wasn-t-about/)

[Matt Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-reeves/)

> [I describe my personal style as 'mythic space horse with chocolate box tendencies.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwendoline-christie/i-describe-my-personal-style-as-mythic-space-horse-with-chocolate-box/)

[Gwendoline Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwendoline-christie/)

> [I read mostly Irish, African, Japanese, South American, and African writers. You can count on Scandinavian literature for a certain kind of darkness, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/i-read-mostly-irish-african-japanese-south-american-and-african/)

[Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/)

> [I'd say that most of life seems to me to be that way, a mixture of the mundane and the mythic, when you're living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-foos/i-d-say-that-most-of-life-seems-to-me-to-be-that-way-a-mixture-of-the/)

[Laurie Foos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-foos/)

> [“I don't like the word 'allegorical', I don't like the word 'symbolic' - the word I really like is 'mythic', and people always think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/i-don-t-like-the-word-allegorical-i-don-t-like-the-word-symbolic-the/)

[William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/)

> [Beyond its romance, 'Titanic' offers an indelibly wrenching story of blind arrogance and its terrible consequences. It's the rare Hollywood adventure film that brings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-maslin/beyond-its-romance-titanic-offers-an-indelibly-wrenching-story-of/)

[Janet Maslin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-maslin/)

> [I would love to approach, like, what are the lives of the people that actually play 'Mythic Quest,' because you have these devs that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-ganz/i-would-love-to-approach-like-what-are-the-lives-of-the-people-that/)

[Megan Ganz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-ganz/)

> [“To her he was still mythic, still larger than life, still the man who could deactivate monsters. He was also the man who made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-cawthon/to-her-he-was-still-mythic-still-larger-than-life-still-the-man-who/)

[Scott Cawthon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-cawthon/)

> [“Keep away from her," said Ameer Merchant, but once the inexorable dynamic of the mythic has been set in motion, you might as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/keep-away-from-her-said-ameer-merchant-but-once-the-inexorable/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [Like a lot of Irish households we read a lot of Irish history. It was almost Soviet, raising the next generation with a mythic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-shaw/like-a-lot-of-irish-households-we-read-a-lot-of-irish-history-it-was/)

[Fiona Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-shaw/)

> [What is driving the tendency to discount Joseph Smith's revelations is not that they seem less reasonable than those of Moses; it is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-feldman/what-is-driving-the-tendency-to-discount-joseph-smith-s-revelations/)

[Noah Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-feldman/)

## 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 Close quotes

> [My parents are divorced, and seeing that was really painful for me. Really painful for me. But that's also a big part of why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banks/my-parents-are-divorced-and-seeing-that-was-really-painful-for-me/)

[Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banks/)

> [“His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/his-dream-must-have-seemed-so-close-that-he-could-hardly-fail-to/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [Everything I write is highly personal, but put in such a way that it's not dropping everything in someone's lap. Although sometimes I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-siberry/everything-i-write-is-highly-personal-but-put-in-such-a-way-that-it-s/)

[Jane Siberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-siberry/)

> [I'm quite close with my family, especially my twin sister, and it's always hard to leave her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-scanlen/i-m-quite-close-with-my-family-especially-my-twin-sister-and-it-s/)

[Eliza Scanlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliza-scanlen/)

> [I think cricket is there in Usain Bolt's blood. Since I got to watch from close quarters, it was amazing to see him run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh/i-think-cricket-is-there-in-usain-bolt-s-blood-since-i-got-to-watch/)

[Harbhajan Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh/)

> [We began intercepting Japanese radio transmissions, which indicated the two forces were very close to each other. We found out later that we were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-adams/we-began-intercepting-japanese-radio-transmissions-which-indicated/)

[Jack Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-adams/)

> [Close contact between science and the practice of collective farms and State farms creates inexhaustible opportunities for the development of theoretical knowledge, enabling us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trofim-lysenko/close-contact-between-science-and-the-practice-of-collective-farms/)

[Trofim Lysenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trofim-lysenko/)

> [One of the positive things about Pep is that he is so close with his staff - they support him in every situation, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernandinho/one-of-the-positive-things-about-pep-is-that-he-is-so-close-with-his/)

[Fernandinho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernandinho/)

> [The first thing I hear when I wake up is the sea, which is so close to our house that its reflections from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-brown/the-first-thing-i-hear-when-i-wake-up-is-the-sea-which-is-so-close-to/)

[Craig Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-brown/)

> [I've been very close to Konnan for many years now. I thank him for much of my success in this industry. He opened the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rey-mysterio/i-ve-been-very-close-to-konnan-for-many-years-now-i-thank-him-for/)

[Rey Mysterio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rey-mysterio/)

> [My grandmother made sure that I went to church every Sunday. And she'd come over and pick us boys up, and we would go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mellencamp/my-grandmother-made-sure-that-i-went-to-church-every-sunday-and-she-d/)

[John Mellencamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mellencamp/)

> [My whole family is really close. I'm lucky for that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/landon-liboiron/my-whole-family-is-really-close-i-m-lucky-for-that/)

[Landon Liboiron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/landon-liboiron/)

> [What was unique about me being in City Hall during the Giuliani Administration, I was the only one who wasn't an attorney. I may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-lhota/what-was-unique-about-me-being-in-city-hall-during-the-giuliani/)

[Joe Lhota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-lhota/)

> [I think we were raised in a nice Texas Jewish family where education was the most important thing, and close behind that was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-loeb/i-think-we-were-raised-in-a-nice-texas-jewish-family-where-education/)

[Lisa Loeb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-loeb/)

> [We went to a very small high school. It was, like, in a wooded house; it was a weird school. I hung out with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-peretti/we-went-to-a-very-small-high-school-it-was-like-in-a-wooded-house-it/)

[Chelsea Peretti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-peretti/)

[Browse all 2,016 Close quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/close/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Nothing is 'mythic,' close up. Nothing is 'mythic' where you live.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Joyce Carol Oates"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/nothing-is-mythic-close-up-nothing-is-mythic-where-you-live/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Close"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/nothing-is-mythic-close-up-nothing-is-mythic-where-you-live/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/644/joyce-carol-oates-344_close_nothing-is-mythic-close-up-nothing-is-my_1276429.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/644/joyce-carol-oates-344_close_nothing-is-mythic-close-up-nothing-is-my_1276429.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/644/joyce-carol-oates-344_close_nothing-is-mythic-close-up-nothing-is-my_1276429.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Nothing is 'mythic,' close up. Nothing is 'mythic' where you live.” — 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": "“Nothing is 'mythic,' close up. Nothing...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/nothing-is-mythic-close-up-nothing-is-mythic-where-you-live/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/nothing-is-mythic-close-up-nothing-is-mythic-where-you-live/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
