--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We see everything from the narrator's…" description: "\"We see everything from the narrator's point of view, so exposition about the world is limited to what impinges directly on him and the story he's telli..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa9/neal-stephenson-362_considering_we-see-everything-from-the-narrator-s-po_2414154.png" --- # We see everything from the narrator's point of view, so… ![“We see everything from the narrator's point of view, so exposition about the world is limited to what impinges directly on him and the story he's telling. Considering how old the world is, we learn very little about its history, which I think is a good thing.” quote by Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa9/neal-stephenson-362_considering_we-see-everything-from-the-narrator-s-po_2414154.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa9/neal-stephenson-362_considering_we-see-everything-from-the-narrator-s-po_2414154.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa9/neal-stephenson-362_considering_we-see-everything-from-the-narrator-s-po_2414154.png) > “We see everything from the narrator's point of view, so exposition about the world is limited to what impinges directly on him and the story he's telling. Considering how old the world is, we learn very little about its history, which I think is a good thing.” [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Narration is limited to the protagonist’s perspective, restricting world‑building to direct experiences. **In simple terms:** Story is told only through what the narrator sees. Key Takeaway Embrace limited viewpoint for mystery. Themes narration perspective world‑building Mood thoughtful intriguing Type analytical literary When to use this quote - science fiction - character study - mystery - exploration Key Concepts subjectivity epistemology Questions to Reflect On - How does a narrow lens affect reader curiosity? - What is lost when history is omitted? A Different Perspective Limited view may hide crucial context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Considering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/considering/) [Exposition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exposition/) [Good thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-thing/) [Good things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-things/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Narrator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrator/) [Narrator Point](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrator-point-6088691/) [Narrators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrators/) [Point of view](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/point-of-view/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Story telling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story-telling/) [Telling Considering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telling-considering-6088692/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Views](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/views/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [I very much like the idea of the unreliable narrator. Shaping my fictions as monologues - by introducing the "I" - allows me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/i-very-much-like-the-idea-of-the-unreliable-narrator-shaping-my/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [I chose the title Dogwalker because that describes me pretty well. I spend a lot of time walking around with my dogs. I'd say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-bradford/i-chose-the-title-dogwalker-because-that-describes-me-pretty-well-i/) [Arthur Bradford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-bradford/) > [One of the strategies for doing first-person is to make the narrator very knowing, so that the reader is with somebody who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/one-of-the-strategies-for-doing-first-person-is-to-make-the-narrator/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [It is hard to create a first-person narrator that can be a child and yet is able to take in enough information for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/it-is-hard-to-create-a-first-person-narrator-that-can-be-a-child-and/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [One naturally identifies to some extent with an "I" female narrator going through something that you recognize whether you've gone through it or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-goldstein/one-naturally-identifies-to-some-extent-with-an-i-female-narrator/) [Ann Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-goldstein/) > [I can't reasonably pretend to be a transparent and omniscient narrator who brings no personal perspective. That person doesn't exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-crabapple/i-can-t-reasonably-pretend-to-be-a-transparent-and-omniscient/) [Molly Crabapple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-crabapple/) > [The eagerness of a listener quickens the tongue of a narrator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/the-eagerness-of-a-listener-quickens-the-tongue-of-a-narrator/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [Before I think we was emcees, we was more or less narrators too. Because if you look at the early '80s hip hop, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raekwon/before-i-think-we-was-emcees-we-was-more-or-less-narrators-too/) [Raekwon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raekwon/) > [Using a first-person narrator is simply a matter of hearing the voice inside yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lee-burke/using-a-first-person-narrator-is-simply-a-matter-of-hearing-the-voice/) [James Lee Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lee-burke/) > [The unreliable narrator is an odd concept. The way I see it, we're all unreliable narrators of our lives who usually have absolute trust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-pinborough/the-unreliable-narrator-is-an-odd-concept-the-way-i-see-it-we-re-all/) [Sarah Pinborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-pinborough/) > [If you have a single narrator, a person like an "I" - "'I' did this" and "'I' did that" - it automatically solves the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/if-you-have-a-single-narrator-a-person-like-an-i-i-did-this-and-i-did/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [A narrator should not supply interpretations of his work; otherwise he would have not written a novel, which is a machine for generating interpretations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/a-narrator-should-not-supply-interpretations-of-his-work-otherwise-he/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [Everyone is interesting except the narrator in a first-person story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/everyone-is-interesting-except-the-narrator-in-a-first-person-story/) [William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/) > [ Lauren Kirshner creates a first-person narrator you never stop rooting for. . . . \[Where We Have to Go\] highlights Kirshner as a new… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-whittall/lauren-kirshner-creates-a-first-person-narrator-you-never-stop/) [Zoe Whittall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-whittall/) ## More by Neal Stephenson > [“I study dead languages for a living,” I said. “That’s why you hired me. Why should I be up to speed on your line…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/i-study-dead-languages-for-a-living-i-said-that-s-why-you-hired-me/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“Other people - store clerks, burger flippers, software engineers, the whole vocabulary of meaningless jobs that make up Life in America - other people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/other-people-store-clerks-burger-flippers-software-engineers-the/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“It is what you don’t expect,” he’d said, “that most needs looking for.” “Do”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/it-is-what-you-don-t-expect-he-d-said-that-most-needs-looking-for-do/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“...the insects here see you as a big slab of animated but not very well defended food. The ability to move, far from being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/the-insects-here-see-you-as-a-big-slab-of-animated-but-not-very-well/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“There was no way that these guys were going to let a bleeding, barefoot woman simply wander off alone into the streets. Two of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/there-was-no-way-that-these-guys-were-going-to-let-a-bleeding/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“Space and Time! Two minor omissions that no one is likely to notice," grumbled Newton.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/space-and-time-two-minor-omissions-that-no-one-is-likely-to-notice/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [See, the world is full of things more powerful than us. But if you know how to catch a ride, you can go places,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/see-the-world-is-full-of-things-more-powerful-than-us-but-if-you-know/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“Hey,” Shaftoe says, “if we surrender to you, you’ll kill us. Right?” “Yes.” “If you guys surrender to us, we won’t kill you. Promise.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/hey-shaftoe-says-if-we-surrender-to-you-you-ll-kill-us-right-yes-if/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“My men think you are dead now, and won’t waste balls on you,” Jack said. “In fact I have let you live, but for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/my-men-think-you-are-dead-now-and-won-t-waste-balls-on-you-jack-said/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“You’ve probably heard the expression that the Industry feeds off of biomass, like a whale straining krill from the ocean.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/you-ve-probably-heard-the-expression-that-the-industry-feeds-off-of/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“The Deliverator belongs to an elite order, a hallowed subcategory. He’s got esprit up to here. 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Likewise”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/and-people-could-only-make-sense-of-complicated-matters-through/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“Van Eck phreaking,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/van-eck-phreaking/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“When the Deliverator puts the hammer down, shit happens.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/when-the-deliverator-puts-the-hammer-down-shit-happens/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) [Explore all 633 Neal Stephenson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) ## More Considering quotes > [When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked "What is a hero?" ...My answer was that a hero is someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/when-the-first-superman-movie-came-out-i-was-frequently-asked-what-is/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) > [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“... she took her husband's jokes and joviality as patiently as everything else, considering that "men would be so", and viewing the stronger sex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/she-took-her-husband-s-jokes-and-joviality-as-patiently-as-everything/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [One of the most destructive mistakes we Christians make is to prioritize shared beliefs over shared relationship, which is deeply ironic considering we worship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-held-evans/one-of-the-most-destructive-mistakes-we-christians-make-is-to/) [Rachel Held Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-held-evans/) > [“Have you ever considered the idea that some of our life experiences should be looked upon as stepping stones, needed in order to cross…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-turano/have-you-ever-considered-the-idea-that-some-of-our-life-experiences/) [Jen Turano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-turano/) > [There is no reason not to consider the world as one gigantic painting,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/there-is-no-reason-not-to-consider-the-world-as-one-gigantic-painting/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [While we are contending for our own liberty, we should be very cautious not to violate the conscience of others, ever considering that God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/while-we-are-contending-for-our-own-liberty-we-should-be-very/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [I have given up considering happiness as relevant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-have-given-up-considering-happiness-as-relevant/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [I feel in me the vocation of the Priest. 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