--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was not interested in doing the plot of…" description: "\"I was not interested in doing the plot of OEDIPUS in blackface. I did wonder, what would these people have been like if they hadn't been in that situat..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/433/rita-dove-4855_augustus_i-was-not-interested-in-doing-the-plot-o_315909.jpg" --- # I was not interested in doing the plot of OEDIPUS in… ![“I was not interested in doing the plot of OEDIPUS in blackface. I did wonder, what would these people have been like if they hadn't been in that situation? . . . One could look at Oedipus, or at my character Augustus, as a cynical schemer who did everything because he was hungry for power. But…” quote by Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/433/rita-dove-4855_augustus_i-was-not-interested-in-doing-the-plot-o_315909.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/433/rita-dove-4855_augustus_i-was-not-interested-in-doing-the-plot-o_315909.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/433/rita-dove-4855_augustus_i-was-not-interested-in-doing-the-plot-o_315909.jpg) > “I was not interested in doing the plot of OEDIPUS in blackface. I did wonder, what would these people have been like if they hadn't been in that situation? . . . One could look at Oedipus, or at my character Augustus, as a cynical schemer who did everything because he was hungry for power. But that's just too easy. I'm more interested in how humans can embody conflicting goals and emotions.” [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects on the temptation to simplify complex characters into single motives, urging deeper exploration of human contradictions and mixed emotions. **In simple terms:** Avoid oversimplifying people; seek their inner conflicts. Key Takeaway Explore nuanced motivations. Themes psychology human nature conflict character analysis Mood thoughtful analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - literary criticism - psychology - personal reflection - theatrical analysis Key Concepts cynicism power hunger emotional conflict Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize conflicting motives in yourself? - What methods reveal hidden emotional layers? A Different Perspective Reduces characters to binary motives, missing richness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blackface](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blackface/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Crafts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crafts/) [Cynical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cynical/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Oedipus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oedipus/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) ## Related quotes > [I have a huge issue with blackface.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-dolezal/i-have-a-huge-issue-with-blackface/) [Rachel Dolezal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-dolezal/) > [I've seen a lot of Black content creators calling for white folks to stop using the voices of Black folks to make TikToks because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-holliday/i-ve-seen-a-lot-of-black-content-creators-calling-for-white-folks-to/) [Tess Holliday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-holliday/) > [When I decided to make 'Blackface,' a short film about Black Pete, I had little knowledge of the giant cesspool of hate I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/when-i-decided-to-make-blackface-a-short-film-about-black-pete-i-had/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [ \[Zwarte Piet\] is unfortunate, and just like the early American blackface films, if it offends a segment of the population, it shouldn't be shown… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/zwarte-piet-is-unfortunate-and-just-like-the-early-american-blackface/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [I think when black performers performed in blackface, they were kind of taking back slave songs, but it was still a little bit iffy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecile-mclorin-salvant/i-think-when-black-performers-performed-in-blackface-they-were-kind/) [Cecile McLorin Salvant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecile-mclorin-salvant/) > [I thought Black Friday was when everyone puts on blackface and steals children from Wal-Mart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-thought-black-friday-was-when-everyone-puts-on-blackface-and-steals/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Just reading that - just reading that a person can be black and still perform in blackface, making fun of black people for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecile-mclorin-salvant/just-reading-that-just-reading-that-a-person-can-be-black-and-still/) [Cecile McLorin Salvant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecile-mclorin-salvant/) > [No one actually cares about blackface.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-knowles/no-one-actually-cares-about-blackface/) [Michael J. Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-knowles/) > [Speak out, educate, do not be intimidated by the apologists, and do not let extreme racism be mainstreamed. Hopefully there will come a time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-pelosi/speak-out-educate-do-not-be-intimidated-by-the-apologists-and-do-not/) [Christine Pelosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-pelosi/) > [A white face goes with a white mind. Occasionally a black face goes with a white mind. Very seldom a white face will have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/a-white-face-goes-with-a-white-mind-occasionally-a-black-face-goes/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [The Left wields blackface as a political cudgel, feigning offense and making excuses according to political convenience. Conservatives need not embrace the same cynical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-knowles/the-left-wields-blackface-as-a-political-cudgel-feigning-offense-and/) [Michael J. Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-knowles/) > [Actually, the only thing that I can honestly say I really regret now is the blackface thing. I did not understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-waltman/actually-the-only-thing-that-i-can-honestly-say-i-really-regret-now/) [Sean Waltman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-waltman/) > [Not that long ago - in my parents' lives, in fact - actors in minstrel shows wore blackface to mimic and mock African Americans.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-messam/not-that-long-ago-in-my-parents-lives-in-fact-actors-in-minstrel/) [Wayne Messam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-messam/) > [I certainly don't stay out of the sun, and I also don't, as some of my critics have said, put on blackface as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-dolezal/i-certainly-don-t-stay-out-of-the-sun-and-i-also-don-t-as-some-of-my/) [Rachel Dolezal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-dolezal/) > [Blackface remains exoticist and offensive as a practice, not just because of its long tradition of being used to mock black selfhood, sexuality, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-young/blackface-remains-exoticist-and-offensive-as-a-practice-not-just/) [Kevin Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-young/) ## More by Rita Dove > [I think children have talent and insight, but it gets beaten out of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/i-think-children-have-talent-and-insight-but-it-gets-beaten-out-of/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Courage has nothing to do with our determination to be great. It has to do with what we decide in that moment when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/courage-has-nothing-to-do-with-our-determination-to-be-great-it-has/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Libraries are where it all begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/libraries-are-where-it-all-begins/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [My inspiration comes from everywhere, just walking down the street and I never know where it's going to come from, so I keep a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/my-inspiration-comes-from-everywhere-just-walking-down-the-street-and/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [To write for PC reasons, because you think you ought to be dealing with this subject, is never going to yield anything that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/to-write-for-pc-reasons-because-you-think-you-ought-to-be-dealing/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [All of us have moments in our childhood where we come alive for the first time. And we go back to those moments and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/all-of-us-have-moments-in-our-childhood-where-we-come-alive-for-the/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [The First Book: Go ahead, it won't bite. Well... maybe a little. More a nip, like. A tingle. It's pleasurable, really. You see, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/the-first-book-go-ahead-it-won-t-bite-well-maybe-a-little-more-a-nip/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Sometimes a word is found so right it trembles at the slightest explanation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/sometimes-a-word-is-found-so-right-it-trembles-at-the-slightest/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Listen how they say your name. If they can't say that right, there's no way they're going to know how to treat you proper,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/listen-how-they-say-your-name-if-they-can-t-say-that-right-there-s-no/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [People write me from all over the country, asking me, and sometimes even telling me, what they think a poet laureate should do. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/people-write-me-from-all-over-the-country-asking-me-and-sometimes/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Creative writing and literacy go hand and hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/creative-writing-and-literacy-go-hand-and-hand/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [There are distinct duties of a poet laureate. I plan a reading series at the Library of Congress and advise the librarian. The rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/there-are-distinct-duties-of-a-poet-laureate-i-plan-a-reading-series/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [My first advice would be to read, read, read, which sounds interesting coming in a digital age, but it's so much easier to listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/my-first-advice-would-be-to-read-read-read-which-sounds-interesting/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [To me, a poem is almost like someone whispering to another person, or you hear the whispering in your head. I hope with my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/to-me-a-poem-is-almost-like-someone-whispering-to-another-person-or/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [I prefer to explore the most intimate moments, the smaller, crystallized details we all hinge our lives on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/i-prefer-to-explore-the-most-intimate-moments-the-smaller/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) [Explore all 106 Rita Dove quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) ## More Augustus quotes > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [That pipe, just so happens to lead to the room where I make the most delicious flavored chocolate covered fudge." Then he will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-depp/that-pipe-just-so-happens-to-lead-to-the-room-where-i-make-the-most/) [Johnny Depp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-depp/) > [Christianity has carried civilization along with it, whithersoever it has gone; and, as if to show that the latter does not depend on physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustus-william-hare/christianity-has-carried-civilization-along-with-it-whithersoever-it/) [Augustus William Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustus-william-hare/) > [“When you fear nothing, you have nothing to fear”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-f-chandler/when-you-fear-nothing-you-have-nothing-to-fear/) S.F. Chandler > [I am in the midst of a soliloquy! I wrote this out and memorized it and if you interrupt me I will completely screw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-am-in-the-midst-of-a-soliloquy-i-wrote-this-out-and-memorized-it/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Ma'am," Augustus said, nodding toward her, "Your daughter's car has just been deservingly egged by a blind man. Please close the door and go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/ma-am-augustus-said-nodding-toward-her-your-daughter-s-car-has-just/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [A man who wouldn't cheat for a poke don't want one bad enough. --Augustus "Gus" McCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-mcmurtry/a-man-who-wouldn-t-cheat-for-a-poke-don-t-want-one-bad-enough/) [Larry McMurtry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-mcmurtry/) > [“As quick as boiled asparagus!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/as-quick-as-boiled-asparagus/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) > [WHEN AUGUSTUS CAME OUT on the porch the blue pigs were eating a rattlesnake—not a very big one. It had probably just been crawling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-mcmurtry/when-augustus-came-out-on-the-porch-the-blue-pigs-were-eating-a/) [Larry McMurtry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-mcmurtry/) > [“Six times during my life has this tomb of my soul led me to the brink of that eternal darkness into which all men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-williams/six-times-during-my-life-has-this-tomb-of-my-soul-led-me-to-the-brink/) [John Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-williams/) > [According to the conventions of the genre, Augustus Waters kept his sense of humor till the end, did not for a moment waiver in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/according-to-the-conventions-of-the-genre-augustus-waters-kept-his/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“His excitement was adorable. I couldn't resist. I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. -Hazel Grace Lancaster, The Fault In Our Stars”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/his-excitement-was-adorable-i-couldn-t-resist-i-leaned-over-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Out of nowhere, Augustus asked, "do you believe in an after life?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/out-of-nowhere-augustus-asked-do-you-believe-in-an-after-life/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [ He \[Caesar Augustus\] found a city built of brick; he left it built of marble. \[Lat., Urbem lateritiam accepit, mamoream relinquit.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suetonius/he-caesar-augustus-found-a-city-built-of-brick-he-left-it-built-of/) [Suetonius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suetonius/) > [“Augustus was amazing, but he’d overdone everything at the picnic, right down to the sandwiches that were metaphorically resonant but tasted terrible and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/augustus-was-amazing-but-he-d-overdone-everything-at-the-picnic-right/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) Browse all 137 Augustus quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was not interested in doing the plot of OEDIPUS in blackface. 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