--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm not sure we're presenting ourselves…" description: "\"I'm not sure we're presenting ourselves as real role models. I don't think literature has ever been a real place for role models.\" — Mac Barnett" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86e/mac-barnett-23936_books_i-m-not-sure-we-re-presenting-ourselves_3069197.png" --- # I'm not sure we're presenting ourselves as real role… ![“I'm not sure we're presenting ourselves as real role models. I don't think literature has ever been a real place for role models.” quote by Mac Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86e/mac-barnett-23936_books_i-m-not-sure-we-re-presenting-ourselves_3069197.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86e/mac-barnett-23936_books_i-m-not-sure-we-re-presenting-ourselves_3069197.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86e/mac-barnett-23936_books_i-m-not-sure-we-re-presenting-ourselves_3069197.png) > “I'm not sure we're presenting ourselves as real role models. I don't think literature has ever been a real place for role models.” [Mac Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-barnett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker doubts that literature provides genuine role models, suggesting it fails to reflect real-life exemplars. **In simple terms:** Literature lacks true role models. Key Takeaway Seek real-life mentors beyond books. Themes literature role models authenticity Mood reflective critical Type analytical thought‑provoking When to use this quote - teaching - parenting - writing workshops - reading groups Key Concepts representation idealization cultural influence Questions to Reflect On - How can we find authentic role models in stories? - What qualities make a role model truly real? A Different Perspective Literature can still inspire values despite imperfect examples. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Role models](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/role-models/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [It seems to me that literature is giving way a little bit to the immediacy of other diversions, other forms of entertainment. What will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-salter/it-seems-to-me-that-literature-is-giving-way-a-little-bit-to-the/) [James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/) > [Ordinary women of grace are, in a sense, my real role models.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-wright-edelman/ordinary-women-of-grace-are-in-a-sense-my-real-role-models/) [Marian Wright Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-wright-edelman/) > [The National Security Council's real role is to coordinate the various activities of the government of the United States in the furtherance of American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-north/the-national-security-council-s-real-role-is-to-coordinate-the/) [Oliver North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-north/) > [We need to have our children look up to real role models.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-stewart/we-need-to-have-our-children-look-up-to-real-role-models/) [Corey Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-stewart/) > [The vice president can play a real role in that, in helping solve some of the biggest problems in the country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hickenlooper/the-vice-president-can-play-a-real-role-in-that-in-helping-solve-some/) [John Hickenlooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hickenlooper/) > [Just why I sent it to the publishers would be hard to say, but when I had finished it I felt that it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/just-why-i-sent-it-to-the-publishers-would-be-hard-to-say-but-when-i/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [We do literature a real disservice if we reduce it to knowledge or to use, to a problem to be solved. If literature solves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-garber/we-do-literature-a-real-disservice-if-we-reduce-it-to-knowledge-or-to/) [Marjorie Garber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-garber/) > [“Writers of literature, if they are real writers, know that their readers are confused about reality and the emotions derived from that reality and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-cicero/writers-of-literature-if-they-are-real-writers-know-that-their/) [Noah Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-cicero/) > [Literature, real literature, must not be gulped down like some potion which may be good for the heart or good for the brain—the brain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/literature-real-literature-must-not-be-gulped-down-like-some-potion/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [I don't accept the idea that literature can be just entertainment and that there is no consequences of literature in the real world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/i-don-t-accept-the-idea-that-literature-can-be-just-entertainment-and/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [I expected more from literature than from real, naked life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/i-expected-more-from-literature-than-from-real-naked-life/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [The Russian yearning for the meaning of life is the major theme of our literature, and this is the real point of our intelligentsia's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-berdyaev/the-russian-yearning-for-the-meaning-of-life-is-the-major-theme-of/) [Nikolai Berdyaev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-berdyaev/) > [“Literature is the real life of imaginary people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefanos-livos/literature-is-the-real-life-of-imaginary-people/) [Stefanos Livos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefanos-livos/) > [I'm not sure that an athlete is prepared to be a role model. He has a lot of attention paid to him that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-knight/i-m-not-sure-that-an-athlete-is-prepared-to-be-a-role-model-he-has-a/) [Bobby Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-knight/) > [We think literature is immortal, but even that decays and ultimately turns to dust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-farren/we-think-literature-is-immortal-but-even-that-decays-and-ultimately/) [Mick Farren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-farren/) ## More by Mac Barnett > [I'd much rather have a book that a few people love intensely than a book that a lot of people like okay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-barnett/i-d-much-rather-have-a-book-that-a-few-people-love-intensely-than-a/) [Mac Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-barnett/) > [Kevin Cornell and I have worked together a bunch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-barnett/kevin-cornell-and-i-have-worked-together-a-bunch/) [Mac Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-barnett/) > [“I live well! I may have been swallowed, but I have no intention of being eaten.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-barnett/i-live-well-i-may-have-been-swallowed-but-i-have-no-intention-of/) [Mac Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-barnett/) > [“A clue! From M!" "Who's M?" "Maybe M is for Mackintosh! Maybe Grabes ans Mackintosh are in cahoots!" "Or maybe M is for Mom.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-barnett/a-clue-from-m-who-s-m-maybe-m-is-for-mackintosh-maybe-grabes-ans/) [Mac Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-barnett/) > [Danger is the snack food of a true sleuth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-barnett/danger-is-the-snack-food-of-a-true-sleuth/) [Mac Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-barnett/) > [I think the trick of writing a good picture book manuscript is to leave that space for illustration. An illustrated novel can do the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-barnett/i-think-the-trick-of-writing-a-good-picture-book-manuscript-is-to/) [Mac Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-barnett/) > [Every Librarian is a highly trained agent. An expert in intelligence, counterintelligence, Boolean searching, and hand-to-hand combat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-barnett/every-librarian-is-a-highly-trained-agent-an-expert-in-intelligence/) [Mac Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-barnett/) > [Not only is a good prank harmless, but, like a good story, it reveals an essential truth that would otherwise be hidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-barnett/not-only-is-a-good-prank-harmless-but-like-a-good-story-it-reveals-an/) [Mac Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-barnett/) > [Too often we tell kids pleasant stories devoid of truth, and stories without truth are not good stories. Our audience deserves more from us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-barnett/too-often-we-tell-kids-pleasant-stories-devoid-of-truth-and-stories/) [Mac Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-barnett/) > [We put authors on such a pedestal, and it's a moment that humanizes the whole thing, and lends an absurdity to what otherwise is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-barnett/we-put-authors-on-such-a-pedestal-and-it-s-a-moment-that-humanizes/) [Mac Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-barnett/) > [Pranking is a great way to indicate the underlying absurdities of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-barnett/pranking-is-a-great-way-to-indicate-the-underlying-absurdities-of-the/) [Mac Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-barnett/) > [“He checked out his surrounding. More books. A drinking fountain. A poster showing a guy slam-dunking a basketball with one hand and holding a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-barnett/he-checked-out-his-surrounding-more-books-a-drinking-fountain-a/) [Mac Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-barnett/) > [ I love those adult writers with the pranking ethos, \[Don\] DeLillo and \[Donald\] Barthelme and David Foster Wallace. I don't see any reason not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-barnett/i-love-those-adult-writers-with-the-pranking-ethos-don-delillo-and/) [Mac Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-barnett/) > [“Dana was what Steve called a "silent partner" in the Brixton Brothers Detective Agency. Being a silent partner meant that Dana didn't carry a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-barnett/dana-was-what-steve-called-a-silent-partner-in-the-brixton-brothers/) [Mac Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-barnett/) > [“I may have been swallowed, said the duck, but I have no intention of being eaten.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-barnett/i-may-have-been-swallowed-said-the-duck-but-i-have-no-intention-of/) [Mac Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-barnett/) [Explore all 25 Mac Barnett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-barnett/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm not sure we're presenting ourselves as real role models. I don't think literature has ever been a real place for role models.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mac Barnett" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-barnett/i-m-not-sure-we-re-presenting-ourselves-as-real-role-models-i-don-t/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-barnett/i-m-not-sure-we-re-presenting-ourselves-as-real-role-models-i-don-t/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86e/mac-barnett-23936_books_i-m-not-sure-we-re-presenting-ourselves_3069197.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86e/mac-barnett-23936_books_i-m-not-sure-we-re-presenting-ourselves_3069197.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86e/mac-barnett-23936_books_i-m-not-sure-we-re-presenting-ourselves_3069197.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm not sure we're presenting ourselves as real role models. I don't think literature has ever been a real…” — Mac Barnett", "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": "Mac Barnett", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-barnett/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm not sure we're presenting ourselves...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-barnett/i-m-not-sure-we-re-presenting-ourselves-as-real-role-models-i-don-t/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-barnett/i-m-not-sure-we-re-presenting-ourselves-as-real-role-models-i-don-t/#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 } } ] } ```