--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can't reasonably pretend to be a…" description: "\"I can't reasonably pretend to be a transparent and omniscient narrator who brings no personal perspective. That person doesn't exist.\" — Molly Crabapple" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51b/molly-crabapple-17140_i-can_i-can-t-reasonably-pretend-to-be-a-trans_684426.jpg" --- # I can't reasonably pretend to be a transparent and… ![“I can't reasonably pretend to be a transparent and omniscient narrator who brings no personal perspective. That person doesn't exist.” quote by Molly Crabapple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51b/molly-crabapple-17140_i-can_i-can-t-reasonably-pretend-to-be-a-trans_684426.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51b/molly-crabapple-17140_i-can_i-can-t-reasonably-pretend-to-be-a-trans_684426.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51b/molly-crabapple-17140_i-can_i-can-t-reasonably-pretend-to-be-a-trans_684426.jpg) > “I can't reasonably pretend to be a transparent and omniscient narrator who brings no personal perspective. That person doesn't exist.” [Molly Crabapple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-crabapple/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A narrator cannot be completely unbiased; personal perspective is inevitable. **In simple terms:** Narrators have inherent bias. Key Takeaway Acknowledge your viewpoint. Themes bias storytelling subjectivity Mood thoughtful analytical Type reflective philosophical When to use this quote - writing - film - journalism Key Concepts literature philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How does bias affect truth? - Can transparency mitigate bias? A Different Perspective Complete objectivity is impossible. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Narrators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrators/) [Omniscient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/omniscient/) [Perspective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perspective/) ## Related quotes > [The omniscient narrator is a bizarre technique, when you think about it, and no one uses it much anymore. But for the novels I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/min-jin-lee/the-omniscient-narrator-is-a-bizarre-technique-when-you-think-about/) [Min Jin Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/min-jin-lee/) > [“In any long fiction, Henry James remarked, use of the first-person point of view is barbaric. James may go too far, but his point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/in-any-long-fiction-henry-james-remarked-use-of-the-first-person/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [When you pick up a book, everyone knows it's imaginary. You don't have to pretend it's not a book. We don't have to pretend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/when-you-pick-up-a-book-everyone-knows-it-s-imaginary-you-don-t-have/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [The third person narrator, instead of being omniscient, is like a constantly running surveillance tape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-vachss/the-third-person-narrator-instead-of-being-omniscient-is-like-a/) [Andrew Vachss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-vachss/) > [Early on, I settled on the first-person strategy as a way to deal with exposition and world-description issues. As long as the book is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/early-on-i-settled-on-the-first-person-strategy-as-a-way-to-deal-with/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“Search for truth, not for meaning. Meaning comes from the perspective of a person who interprets the truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-rim/search-for-truth-not-for-meaning-meaning-comes-from-the-perspective/) [J.R. Rim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-rim/) > [“Some years ago, two social psychologists, Edward Jones and Richard Nisbett, argued that when it comes to explaining people's behavior-something like achievement problems, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-m-steele/some-years-ago-two-social-psychologists-edward-jones-and-richard/) Claude M. Steele > [If you speak to a person from your own perspective, that person wont understand you. Like the air talking to water. The words stay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-papian/if-you-speak-to-a-person-from-your-own-perspective-that-person-wont/) [Ruben Papian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-papian/) > [In the perspective of every person lies a lens through which we may better understand ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-langer/in-the-perspective-of-every-person-lies-a-lens-through-which-we-may/) [Ellen Langer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-langer/) > [“The distance between one historical period and another is a very small step in comparison to the huge metaphysical gap we must leap to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-distance-between-one-historical-period-and-another-is-a-very/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I see the world from the perspective of a 5'8" person, not someone who is 6'4". so naturally, I'm going to choose certain lens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mann/i-see-the-world-from-the-perspective-of-a-5-8-person-not-someone-who/) [Michael Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mann/) > [It’s okay if no one believes like you, all experience is unique, no one has the same synapses, can’t think like you, for this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanya-davis/it-s-okay-if-no-one-believes-like-you-all-experience-is-unique-no-one/) [Tanya Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanya-davis/) > [How to explain? How to describe? Even the omniscient viewpoint quails.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/how-to-explain-how-to-describe-even-the-omniscient-viewpoint-quails/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [About 120 million of us place the big bang 2,500 years after the Babylonians and Sumerians learned to brew beer. If our polls are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/about-120-million-of-us-place-the-big-bang-2-500-years-after-the/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [The Bible does not profess to make men omniscient, but simply to tell them enough to make them happy and good, if they will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-van-dyke/the-bible-does-not-profess-to-make-men-omniscient-but-simply-to-tell/) [Henry Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-van-dyke/) ## More by Molly Crabapple > [“Girls like me used the Web in all the ways our parents feared. We read anarchist manifestos and exchanged lurid porn with grown men.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-crabapple/girls-like-me-used-the-web-in-all-the-ways-our-parents-feared-we-read/) [Molly Crabapple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-crabapple/) > [I didn't want to be beholden to one person. So I did something where I had hundreds of people who backed the work. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-crabapple/i-didn-t-want-to-be-beholden-to-one-person-so-i-did-something-where-i/) [Molly Crabapple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-crabapple/) > [I love comics, but I'd rather cut off my thumbs than do nothing but.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-crabapple/i-love-comics-but-i-d-rather-cut-off-my-thumbs-than-do-nothing-but/) [Molly Crabapple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-crabapple/) > [When I started my own business, I funded it as a naked model. I still think that the sex industry can, for some men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-crabapple/when-i-started-my-own-business-i-funded-it-as-a-naked-model-i-still/) [Molly Crabapple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-crabapple/) > [I feel like the traditional patron system meant that you would kiss the ass of one rich person and then hide all of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-crabapple/i-feel-like-the-traditional-patron-system-meant-that-you-would-kiss/) [Molly Crabapple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-crabapple/) > [I had difficulty being friends with women who hadn't worked in either the sex or beauty industries. I felt like other women sometimes overvalued…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-crabapple/i-had-difficulty-being-friends-with-women-who-hadn-t-worked-in-either/) [Molly Crabapple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-crabapple/) > [The thing is, Guantánamo is also a naval base, and they're under the delusion - especially the people on the naval side who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-crabapple/the-thing-is-guant-namo-is-also-a-naval-base-and-they-re-under-the/) [Molly Crabapple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-crabapple/) > [Rohini Mohan read. While she did, I sketched her. She writes with such beauty and violence, and it seemed like the best way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-crabapple/rohini-mohan-read-while-she-did-i-sketched-her-she-writes-with-such/) [Molly Crabapple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-crabapple/) > [Mainstream feminism might remember that the war on women always starts with the war on whores.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-crabapple/mainstream-feminism-might-remember-that-the-war-on-women-always/) [Molly Crabapple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-crabapple/) > [Innocence is always the state of being untouched. Sometimes it's synonymous with virginity, so sometimes it's quite literal, but sometimes it's more of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-crabapple/innocence-is-always-the-state-of-being-untouched-sometimes-it-s/) [Molly Crabapple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-crabapple/) > [I absorbed the lie that any smart woman would use birth control and be responsible for her body. Obviously that's not true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-crabapple/i-absorbed-the-lie-that-any-smart-woman-would-use-birth-control-and/) [Molly Crabapple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-crabapple/) > [Working a model liberated me from ever having to hold a day job. I transitioned from doing that to working full-time as an artist.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-crabapple/working-a-model-liberated-me-from-ever-having-to-hold-a-day-job-i/) [Molly Crabapple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-crabapple/) > [When you hold a graphic novel in your hands, you're holding artist blood made ink.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-crabapple/when-you-hold-a-graphic-novel-in-your-hands-you-re-holding-artist/) [Molly Crabapple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-crabapple/) > [Maybe you shouldn't be working as a jailer in Guantánamo. Maybe that's why you feel spiritually unhealthy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-crabapple/maybe-you-shouldn-t-be-working-as-a-jailer-in-guant-namo-maybe-that-s/) [Molly Crabapple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-crabapple/) > [Despite everything we know about photo manipulation, a photo is still considered an objective document.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-crabapple/despite-everything-we-know-about-photo-manipulation-a-photo-is-still/) [Molly Crabapple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-crabapple/) [Explore all 38 Molly Crabapple quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-crabapple/) ## More I can quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [My team mates are fundamental for my characteristics, if they send in crosses I can play inside the area.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/filippo-inzaghi/my-team-mates-are-fundamental-for-my-characteristics-if-they-send-in/) [Filippo Inzaghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/filippo-inzaghi/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [I love playing for my country, getting the support. Especially for the kids and everybody, showing my example of what I can achieve so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-sharapova/i-love-playing-for-my-country-getting-the-support-especially-for-the/) [Maria Sharapova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-sharapova/) > [I always step on the plane with my right foot and touch the outside of the plane with my left hand. Sometimes you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-davis/i-always-step-on-the-plane-with-my-right-foot-and-touch-the-outside/) [Hope Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-davis/) > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [I don't want to be famous famous. I'm happy on the second tier, where I have autonomy on a professional level but I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-reece/i-don-t-want-to-be-famous-famous-i-m-happy-on-the-second-tier-where-i/) [Gabrielle Reece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-reece/) > [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [From my experience of having served for 3000 days, I can say that anything can be achieved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/from-my-experience-of-having-served-for-3000-days-i-can-say-that/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) > [I take the responsibility of playing another ethnicity very, very seriously, and I promise myself and those people that I will represent them with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cliff-curtis/i-take-the-responsibility-of-playing-another-ethnicity-very-very/) [Cliff Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cliff-curtis/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [I'm Catholic and I can't commit suicide, but I plan to drink myself to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-m-catholic-and-i-can-t-commit-suicide-but-i-plan-to-drink-myself-to/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [I remember my friend Johnny von Neumann used to say, 'with four parameters I can fit an elephant and with five I can make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enrico-fermi/i-remember-my-friend-johnny-von-neumann-used-to-say-with-four/) [Enrico Fermi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enrico-fermi/) > [I recognize I am essentially a failed human being in the sense that I can't possibly live up to the expectations of an Almighty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-recognize-i-am-essentially-a-failed-human-being-in-the-sense-that-i/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) Browse all 24,836 I can quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I can't reasonably pretend to be a transparent and omniscient narrator who brings no personal perspective. 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