--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I suppose that the…" description: "\"I suppose that the sympathetic/unsympathetic debate about characters sometimes feels to me like a misstatement of purpose. I always think of truly comp..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/119/rick-moody-8542_character_i-suppose-that-the-sympathetic-unsympath_2140808.png" --- # I suppose that the sympathetic/unsympathetic debate about… ![“I suppose that the sympathetic/unsympathetic debate about characters sometimes feels to me like a misstatement of purpose. I always think of truly complex characters are falling between the cracks in that debate.” quote by Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/119/rick-moody-8542_character_i-suppose-that-the-sympathetic-unsympath_2140808.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/119/rick-moody-8542_character_i-suppose-that-the-sympathetic-unsympath_2140808.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/119/rick-moody-8542_character_i-suppose-that-the-sympathetic-unsympath_2140808.png) > “I suppose that the sympathetic/unsympathetic debate about characters sometimes feels to me like a misstatement of purpose. I always think of truly complex characters are falling between the cracks in that debate.” [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Complex characters are oversimplified by binary debates, missing nuance. **In simple terms:** Avoid binary labels for characters. Key Takeaway Embrace nuanced character analysis. Themes complexity nuance character study Mood analytical thoughtful Type literary critical When to use this quote - book reviews - film analysis - creative writing - role‑playing games Key Concepts literary criticism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What questions reveal a character’s hidden depths? - How can we discuss characters without reducing them to simple categories? A Different Perspective Binary debates can still highlight certain traits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Characters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characters/) [Complex characters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complex-characters/) [Complexes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexes/) [Debate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/debate/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Sympathetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sympathetic/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“Some of the people we feel sorry for feel sorry for us for thinking that they are the ones who should be felt sorry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/some-of-the-people-we-feel-sorry-for-feel-sorry-for-us-for-thinking/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [My attitudes aren't directed toward characters at all. I don't feel sympathetic toward some characters, unsympathetic toward others. I don't love some characters, feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/my-attitudes-aren-t-directed-toward-characters-at-all-i-don-t-feel/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“To evade insanity and depression, we unconsciously limit the number of people toward whom we are sincerely sympathetic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/to-evade-insanity-and-depression-we-unconsciously-limit-the-number-of/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“We are sometimes hurt mostly or only not by what happened or is happening to us but by being felt sorry for.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/we-are-sometimes-hurt-mostly-or-only-not-by-what-happened-or-is/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [I wanted readers to be genuinely unsure as to whether she's telling the truth or lying. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-rosenberg/one-must-never-assume-that-a-character-is-sympathetic-because-of/) [Melissa Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-rosenberg/) > [“Life sometimes reminds us that it is sometimes heartless by giving something or someone we really need to someone who does not need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/life-sometimes-reminds-us-that-it-is-sometimes-heartless-by-giving/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“From an encounter in 1862... “Dickens told me,” Dostoyevsky recalled in a letter written years later, “that all the good, simple people in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/from-an-encounter-in-1862-dickens-told-me-dostoyevsky-recalled-in-a/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [I sometimes feel like I could do another job. Anything. 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Or at least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/gestating-characters-feels-something-like-the-mental-equivalent-of/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [ I know I'm not normal in this, but \[ Severus \] Snape is absolutely my favorite character in the Harry Potter books. He is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-chance/i-know-i-m-not-normal-in-this-but-severus-snape-is-absolutely-my/) [Megan Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-chance/) > [“For the vision of a novelist is both complex and specialised; complex, because behind his characters and apart from them must stand something stable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/for-the-vision-of-a-novelist-is-both-complex-and-specialised-complex/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [I am interested in complex characters who are difficult and have numerous sides. But I would love to do a comedy role - something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-simon/i-am-interested-in-complex-characters-who-are-difficult-and-have/) [Eugene Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-simon/) > [I was a little hippie on a world backpacking adventure, and suddenly I became a vampire princess. I still find it hard to believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-fry/i-was-a-little-hippie-on-a-world-backpacking-adventure-and-suddenly-i/) [Lucy Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-fry/) ## More by Rick Moody > [I believe that God locates himself at the spot where you recognize your own fallibility…And the paradox of it all has been that whenever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/i-believe-that-god-locates-himself-at-the-spot-where-you-recognize/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [The Ice Storm, because of the movie, has had, or is to have, a vigorous life in other cultures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/the-ice-storm-because-of-the-movie-has-had-or-is-to-have-a-vigorous/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [Capitalism, in the realm of sexuality, I figure, thinks that we behave in specific ways, like a breast is always going to produce a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/capitalism-in-the-realm-of-sexuality-i-figure-thinks-that-we-behave/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [Literature precedes genre.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/literature-precedes-genre/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [I'm not the guy to ask about the most up to date stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/i-m-not-the-guy-to-ask-about-the-most-up-to-date-stuff/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [“Words are the oldest information storage and retrieval system ever devised. Words are probably older than the cave paintings in France, words have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/words-are-the-oldest-information-storage-and-retrieval-system-ever/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [Writing the book was itself a process of concealing and revealing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/writing-the-book-was-itself-a-process-of-concealing-and-revealing/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [Tangled in one another's arms and nine times out of ten the things you think about a person make it impossible to touch them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/tangled-in-one-another-s-arms-and-nine-times-out-of-ten-the-things/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [The Great Recession is not imaginary, and the effects loom large. There was an article in the NYT about the galloping death rate among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/the-great-recession-is-not-imaginary-and-the-effects-loom-large-there/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [I have worked really hard to defy categorization, to break down a taxonomy whenever it comes my way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/i-have-worked-really-hard-to-defy-categorization-to-break-down-a/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [I am excited by... the new novel by Samantha Hunt. She's a writer I really admire a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/i-am-excited-by-the-new-novel-by-samantha-hunt-she-s-a-writer-i/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [All the stuff that I used to treat with contempt - you know, I'm an artist, man, I don't do that family stuff -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/all-the-stuff-that-i-used-to-treat-with-contempt-you-know-i-m-an/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [Updike worked this way, and I just kinda borrowed it from him. So the memoir will be relief from novel writing for a moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/updike-worked-this-way-and-i-just-kinda-borrowed-it-from-him-so-the/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [ “\[I\]t is things that make us happy when conversation begins to reveal itself as a paltry substitute.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/i-t-is-things-that-make-us-happy-when-conversation-begins-to-reveal/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [When prose gets too stylized and out of control - and Stein is sometimes a good example - when you don't know what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/when-prose-gets-too-stylized-and-out-of-control-and-stein-is/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) [Explore all 80 Rick Moody quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [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'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) David Hudgins > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. 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