--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But I'll tell you the same thing I tell…" description: "\"“But I'll tell you the same thing I tell my students when they complain about the depressing nature of American literature: life is not a PG feel-good ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf4/matthew-quick-1377_american-literature_but-i-ll-tell-you-the-same-thing-i-tell_3131340.png" --- # But I'll tell you the same thing I tell my students when… ![“But I'll tell you the same thing I tell my students when they complain about the depressing nature of American literature: life is not a PG feel-good movie. Real life often ends badly, like our marriage did, Pat. And literature tries to document this reality, while showing us it is still possible…” quote by Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf4/matthew-quick-1377_american-literature_but-i-ll-tell-you-the-same-thing-i-tell_3131340.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf4/matthew-quick-1377_american-literature_but-i-ll-tell-you-the-same-thing-i-tell_3131340.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf4/matthew-quick-1377_american-literature_but-i-ll-tell-you-the-same-thing-i-tell_3131340.png) > ““But I'll tell you the same thing I tell my students when they complain about the depressing nature of American literature: life is not a PG feel-good movie. Real life often ends badly, like our marriage did, Pat. And literature tries to document this reality, while showing us it is still possible for people to endure nobly.”” [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is harsh, not a feel‑good story; literature should reflect reality while showing noble endurance. **In simple terms:** Life is tough; literature shows perseverance. Key Takeaway Embrace reality, seek noble endurance. Themes realism hope human endurance Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - teaching literature - writing workshops - personal coping Key Concepts literary criticism philosophy of suffering narrative truth Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance truth with hope? - What role does literature play in coping? A Different Perspective May be overly bleak for some readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-literature/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Literature Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature-life/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Real life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-life/) ## Related quotes > [“You might like that one. But I’ll tell you the same thing I tell my students when they complain about the depressing nature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/you-might-like-that-one-but-i-ll-tell-you-the-same-thing-i-tell-my/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [“Real life often ends badly, like our marriage did, Pat. And literature tries to document this reality, while showing us it is still possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/real-life-often-ends-badly-like-our-marriage-did-pat-and-literature/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [Books should confuse. Literature abhors the typical. Literature flows to the particular, the mundane, the greasiness of paper, the taste of warm beer, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rodriguez/books-should-confuse-literature-abhors-the-typical-literature-flows/) [Richard Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rodriguez/) > [Life is not a PG feel-good movie. Real life often ends badly. Literature tries to document this reality, while showing us it is still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/life-is-not-a-pg-feel-good-movie-real-life-often-ends-badly/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [“Cliff says Sylvia Plath's work is very depressing to read, and that his own daughter had recently suffered through The Bell Jar because she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/cliff-says-sylvia-plath-s-work-is-very-depressing-to-read-and-that/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [“I do wonder why women are always hemorrhaging in American literature. -Pat Peoples”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/i-do-wonder-why-women-are-always-hemorrhaging-in-american-literature/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [“I do see why Nikki likes the novel, as it's written so well, but her liking it makes me worry now that Nikki doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/i-do-see-why-nikki-likes-the-novel-as-it-s-written-so-well-but-her/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [I think most Native American literature is unreadable by the vast majority of Native Americans. Generally speaking Indians don't read books. It's not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/i-think-most-native-american-literature-is-unreadable-by-the-vast/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [What had brought me to New York in the autumn of 1972 was a letter of recommendation written by Norman Mailer, the author of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolcott/what-had-brought-me-to-new-york-in-the-autumn-of-1972-was-a-letter-of/) [James Wolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolcott/) > [It is one of the paradoxes of American literature that our writers are forever looking back with love and nostalgia at lives they couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-broyard/it-is-one-of-the-paradoxes-of-american-literature-that-our-writers/) [Anatole Broyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-broyard/) > [Héctor Tobar's accomplished first novel affords a perspective that is overdue and urgently needed in North American literature- -an insider's vision of L.A. as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-dybek/h-ctor-tobar-s-accomplished-first-novel-affords-a-perspective-that-is/) [Stuart Dybek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-dybek/) > [Janet Mock's honest and sometimes searing journey is a rare and important look into la vida liminal, one that she manages to negotiate remarkably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raquel-cepeda/janet-mock-s-honest-and-sometimes-searing-journey-is-a-rare-and/) [Raquel Cepeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raquel-cepeda/) > [American literature was enriched with Men Who Loved Allison … Of the actual and eventual worth of this romance I cannot pretend to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-branch-cabell/american-literature-was-enriched-with-men-who-loved-allison-of-the/) [James Branch Cabell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-branch-cabell/) > [Throughout African-American literature, the writer has, in a sense, been burdened by the necessity of pleading the case for the whole race. For example,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-ligon/throughout-african-american-literature-the-writer-has-in-a-sense-been/) [Glenn Ligon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-ligon/) > [Without literature, life is hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/without-literature-life-is-hell/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) ## More by Matthew Quick > [I grew up in a blue-collar neighborhood and was raised by a man who did not emote, ever... I always cry at movies, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/i-grew-up-in-a-blue-collar-neighborhood-and-was-raised-by-a-man-who/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [Life is not a PG feel-good movie. Real life often ends badly. Literature tries to document this reality, while showing us it is still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/life-is-not-a-pg-feel-good-movie-real-life-often-ends-badly/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [Maybe my movie isn't over, I say, because sometimes moviemakers trick the audience with a false bad ending, and just when you think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/maybe-my-movie-isn-t-over-i-say-because-sometimes-moviemakers-trick/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [“Like maybe he really, truly believes I'm worth listening to, worth saving.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/like-maybe-he-really-truly-believes-i-m-worth-listening-to-worth/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [...I am now watching the movie of my life as I live it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/i-am-now-watching-the-movie-of-my-life-as-i-live-it/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [You need to make time for family no matter what happens in your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/you-need-to-make-time-for-family-no-matter-what-happens-in-your-life/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [When she needed help most, she was abandoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/when-she-needed-help-most-she-was-abandoned/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [I am so happy. I am so impossibly happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/i-am-so-happy-i-am-so-impossibly-happy/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [“the only way you could meet my crazy was by doing something crazy for yourself”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/the-only-way-you-could-meet-my-crazy-was-by-doing-something-crazy-for/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [When I travel round the country, people can't place my accent; if there's someone in the audience, they'll be like, 'You're from Philadelphia', but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/when-i-travel-round-the-country-people-can-t-place-my-accent-if-there/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [“Empiezo a comprender que tenemos una clase de amistad en la que no se necesitan muchas palabras.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/empiezo-a-comprender-que-tenemos-una-clase-de-amistad-en-la-que-no-se/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [When she needed help most, she was abandoned--and only when she offered help to others was she beloved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/when-she-needed-help-most-she-was-abandoned-and-only-when-she-offered/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [“Sounds like the start of a beautiful friendship, Leonard. It really does.” “Here’s looking at you, kid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/sounds-like-the-start-of-a-beautiful-friendship-leonard-it-really/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [“The whole time I pretend I have mental telepathy. And with my mind only, I’ll say — or think? — to the target, 'Don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/the-whole-time-i-pretend-i-have-mental-telepathy-and-with-my-mind/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [Someday an opportunity will come. Think about Harry Potter. His life is terrible, but then a letter arrives, he gets on a train, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/someday-an-opportunity-will-come-think-about-harry-potter-his-life-is/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) [Explore all 240 Matthew Quick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) ## More American literature quotes > [American literature was enriched with Men Who Loved Allison … Of the actual and eventual worth of this romance I cannot pretend to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-branch-cabell/american-literature-was-enriched-with-men-who-loved-allison-of-the/) [James Branch Cabell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-branch-cabell/) > [“I have seen them stagger out of their movie palaces and blink their empty eyes in the face of reality once more, and stagger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/i-have-seen-them-stagger-out-of-their-movie-palaces-and-blink-their/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [Janet Mock's honest and sometimes searing journey is a rare and important look into la vida liminal, one that she manages to negotiate remarkably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raquel-cepeda/janet-mock-s-honest-and-sometimes-searing-journey-is-a-rare-and/) [Raquel Cepeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raquel-cepeda/) > [Héctor Tobar's accomplished first novel affords a perspective that is overdue and urgently needed in North American literature- -an insider's vision of L.A. as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-dybek/h-ctor-tobar-s-accomplished-first-novel-affords-a-perspective-that-is/) [Stuart Dybek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-dybek/) > [It is one of the paradoxes of American literature that our writers are forever looking back with love and nostalgia at lives they couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-broyard/it-is-one-of-the-paradoxes-of-american-literature-that-our-writers/) [Anatole Broyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-broyard/) > [I think most Native American literature is unreadable by the vast majority of Native Americans. 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For example,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-ligon/throughout-african-american-literature-the-writer-has-in-a-sense-been/) [Glenn Ligon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-ligon/) > [“Don Raimondo tells me what he can’t tell them. “The emptiness on the surface of a wall left by a sold bookshelf is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erri-deluca/don-raimondo-tells-me-what-he-can-t-tell-them-the-emptiness-on-the/) Erri DeLuca > [What had brought me to New York in the autumn of 1972 was a letter of recommendation written by Norman Mailer, the author of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolcott/what-had-brought-me-to-new-york-in-the-autumn-of-1972-was-a-letter-of/) [James Wolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolcott/) > [Here is one of the fundamental defects of American fiction--perhaps the one character that sets it off sharply from all other known kinds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/here-is-one-of-the-fundamental-defects-of-american-fiction-perhaps/) [H. 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