--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Who is more real? Homer or Ulysses?…" description: "\"Who is more real? Homer or Ulysses? Shakespeare or Hamlet? Burroughs or Tarzan?\" — Robert A. Heinlein" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/robert-a-heinlein-209_burroughs_who-is-more-real-homer-or-ulysses-shakes_3125473.jpg" --- # Who is more real? Homer or Ulysses? Shakespeare or Hamlet?… ![“Who is more real? Homer or Ulysses? Shakespeare or Hamlet? Burroughs or Tarzan?” quote by Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/robert-a-heinlein-209_burroughs_who-is-more-real-homer-or-ulysses-shakes_3125473.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/robert-a-heinlein-209_burroughs_who-is-more-real-homer-or-ulysses-shakes_3125473.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/robert-a-heinlein-209_burroughs_who-is-more-real-homer-or-ulysses-shakes_3125473.jpg) > “Who is more real? Homer or Ulysses? Shakespeare or Hamlet? Burroughs or Tarzan?” [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The question challenges us to consider which fictional characters feel more authentic, prompting reflection on reality versus imagination. **In simple terms:** Which fictional characters seem more real? Key Takeaway Examine how imagination shapes our perception of reality. Themes identity fiction reality literature Mood thoughtful curious Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - reading groups - creative writing workshops - media criticism - philosophical debates Key Concepts existentialism character analysis Questions to Reflect On - What makes a fictional character feel real? - How does cultural context affect our perception of reality? A Different Perspective Some may argue that real historical figures are inherently more real. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ulysses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ulysses/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [He's meant to be that classic Homer, Ulysses, Hercules - a character who goes out or has some gift of some kind. He goes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-redford/he-s-meant-to-be-that-classic-homer-ulysses-hercules-a-character-who/) [Robert Redford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-redford/) > [I didn't read comic books, growing up. I was more of a science fiction/fantasy novel guy. I loved reading Edgar Rice Burroughs' 'Tarzan' and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-l-martin/i-didn-t-read-comic-books-growing-up-i-was-more-of-a-science-fiction/) [Jesse L. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-l-martin/) > [“Lester Dent died thinking his name and works belonged to a pulp past destined to be forgotten. Just a year before his passing, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-robeson/lester-dent-died-thinking-his-name-and-works-belonged-to-a-pulp-past/) Kenneth Robeson > [“I feel as though dispossessed from the semblances of some crystalline reality to which I’d grown accustomed, and to some degree, had engaged in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashim-shanker/i-feel-as-though-dispossessed-from-the-semblances-of-some-crystalline/) [Ashim Shanker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashim-shanker/) > [Science fiction is a dialogue, a tennis match, in which the Idea is volleyed from one side of the net to the other. Ridiculous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/science-fiction-is-a-dialogue-a-tennis-match-in-which-the-idea-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What's with the serum?" I don't know, but it sounds ominous. We better put a telepathic direction finder on Benway. The man's not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/what-s-with-the-serum-i-don-t-know-but-it-sounds-ominous-we-better/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [Cats of all kinds weave in and out of the text; Burroughs has clearly taken to them in a big way in his old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/cats-of-all-kinds-weave-in-and-out-of-the-text-burroughs-has-clearly/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [ I really think \[William\] Burroughs was onto something here, when he said, "Dreams are a biologic necessity and your lifeline into space." ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/i-really-think-william-burroughs-was-onto-something-here-when-he-said/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [In 1911, Edgar Rice Burroughs, having failed at everything else, decided to write a novel. He was then in his mid-thirties, married with two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/in-1911-edgar-rice-burroughs-having-failed-at-everything-else-decided/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Burroughs's voice is hard, derisive, inventive, free, funny, serious, poetic, indelibly American.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/burroughs-s-voice-is-hard-derisive-inventive-free-funny-serious/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Burroughs is the greatest satirical writer since Jonathan Swift. . . . The net result of Naked Lunch will be to make people shudder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/burroughs-is-the-greatest-satirical-writer-since-jonathan-swift-the/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [“Burroughs ... his very junkhood an accomplishment beyond a million dollars.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/burroughs-his-very-junkhood-an-accomplishment-beyond-a-million-dollars/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [ \[william\] Burroughs, incidentally, took up the slogan that we are "Here to go", which contradicts the tendency in Eastern mysticism to advocate staying where… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/william-burroughs-incidentally-took-up-the-slogan-that-we-are-here-to/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [“Did I ever tell you about the man who taught his asshole to talk? His whole abdomen would move up and down, you dig,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/did-i-ever-tell-you-about-the-man-who-taught-his-asshole-to-talk-his/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [Hollis thought he looked like William Burroughs, minus the bohemian substrate (or perhaps the methadone). Like someone who'd be invited quail shooting with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/hollis-thought-he-looked-like-william-burroughs-minus-the-bohemian/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) ## More by Robert A. Heinlein > [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/) > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Ninety percent of all human wisdom is the ability to mind your own business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/ninety-percent-of-all-human-wisdom-is-the-ability-to-mind-your-own/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [If we blow ourselves up we will do it by misapplication of science; if we manage to keep from blowing ourselves up, it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/if-we-blow-ourselves-up-we-will-do-it-by-misapplication-of-science-if/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Nor would anybody suspect. If was one thing all people took for granted, was conviction that if you feed honest figures into a computer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/nor-would-anybody-suspect-if-was-one-thing-all-people-took-for/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Women will forgive anything. Otherwise, the race would have died out long ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/women-will-forgive-anything-otherwise-the-race-would-have-died-out/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Most neuroses and some psychoses can be traced to the unnecessary and unhealthy habit of daily wallowing in the troubles and sins of five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/most-neuroses-and-some-psychoses-can-be-traced-to-the-unnecessary-and/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [No statement should be believed because it is made by an authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/no-statement-should-be-believed-because-it-is-made-by-an-authority/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“Some people are ants by nature; they have to work, even when it’s useless. Few people have a talent for constructive laziness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/some-people-are-ants-by-nature-they-have-to-work-even-when-it-s/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“The instinct to survive is human nature itself, and every aspect of our personalities derives from it. Anything that conflicts with the survival instinct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/the-instinct-to-survive-is-human-nature-itself-and-every-aspect-of/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“I tried to dig out of the computer a call directory for Luna. But it was still sulking. I could not get it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/i-tried-to-dig-out-of-the-computer-a-call-directory-for-luna-but-it/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“this has more aspects than a cat has hair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/this-has-more-aspects-than-a-cat-has-hair/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Never own more than you can carry in both hands at a dead run.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/never-own-more-than-you-can-carry-in-both-hands-at-a-dead-run/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“In Wilson's scale of evaluations breakfast rated just after life itself and ahead of the chance of immortality." ~ By His Bootstraps / Robert A. Heinlein”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/in-wilson-s-scale-of-evaluations-breakfast-rated-just-after-life/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Ignorance is curable, stupid is forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/ignorance-is-curable-stupid-is-forever/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) [Explore all 888 Robert A. Heinlein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) ## More Burroughs quotes > [Hollis thought he looked like William Burroughs, minus the bohemian substrate (or perhaps the methadone). Like someone who'd be invited quail shooting with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/hollis-thought-he-looked-like-william-burroughs-minus-the-bohemian/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“Did I ever tell you about the man who taught his asshole to talk? His whole abdomen would move up and down, you dig,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/did-i-ever-tell-you-about-the-man-who-taught-his-asshole-to-talk-his/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [ \[william\] Burroughs, incidentally, took up the slogan that we are "Here to go", which contradicts the tendency in Eastern mysticism to advocate staying where… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/william-burroughs-incidentally-took-up-the-slogan-that-we-are-here-to/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [“Burroughs ... his very junkhood an accomplishment beyond a million dollars.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/burroughs-his-very-junkhood-an-accomplishment-beyond-a-million-dollars/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [Burroughs is the greatest satirical writer since Jonathan Swift. . . . The net result of Naked Lunch will be to make people shudder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/burroughs-is-the-greatest-satirical-writer-since-jonathan-swift-the/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [Burroughs's voice is hard, derisive, inventive, free, funny, serious, poetic, indelibly American.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/burroughs-s-voice-is-hard-derisive-inventive-free-funny-serious/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [In 1911, Edgar Rice Burroughs, having failed at everything else, decided to write a novel. He was then in his mid-thirties, married with two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/in-1911-edgar-rice-burroughs-having-failed-at-everything-else-decided/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [ I really think \[William\] Burroughs was onto something here, when he said, "Dreams are a biologic necessity and your lifeline into space." ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/i-really-think-william-burroughs-was-onto-something-here-when-he-said/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [Cats of all kinds weave in and out of the text; Burroughs has clearly taken to them in a big way in his old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/cats-of-all-kinds-weave-in-and-out-of-the-text-burroughs-has-clearly/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [“What's with the serum?" I don't know, but it sounds ominous. We better put a telepathic direction finder on Benway. The man's not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/what-s-with-the-serum-i-don-t-know-but-it-sounds-ominous-we-better/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [Science fiction is a dialogue, a tennis match, in which the Idea is volleyed from one side of the net to the other. Ridiculous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/science-fiction-is-a-dialogue-a-tennis-match-in-which-the-idea-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I feel as though dispossessed from the semblances of some crystalline reality to which I’d grown accustomed, and to some degree, had engaged in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashim-shanker/i-feel-as-though-dispossessed-from-the-semblances-of-some-crystalline/) [Ashim Shanker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashim-shanker/) > [People talk about this often in the art world. The press releases have reached a level of absurdity and creativity - creative absurdity -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/people-talk-about-this-often-in-the-art-world-the-press-releases-have/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [As a young child I wanted to be a writer because writers were rich and famous. They lounged around Singapore and Rangoon smoking opium…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/as-a-young-child-i-wanted-to-be-a-writer-because-writers-were-rich/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [There is no right or wrong reading of Naked Lunch, though some readings are more common, and thus Burroughs commercial is not the issue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/there-is-no-right-or-wrong-reading-of-naked-lunch-though-some/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) Browse all 59 Burroughs quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Who is more real? Homer or Ulysses? Shakespeare or Hamlet? Burroughs or Tarzan?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert A. Heinlein" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/who-is-more-real-homer-or-ulysses-shakespeare-or-hamlet-burroughs-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Burroughs" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/who-is-more-real-homer-or-ulysses-shakespeare-or-hamlet-burroughs-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/robert-a-heinlein-209_burroughs_who-is-more-real-homer-or-ulysses-shakes_3125473.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/robert-a-heinlein-209_burroughs_who-is-more-real-homer-or-ulysses-shakes_3125473.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/robert-a-heinlein-209_burroughs_who-is-more-real-homer-or-ulysses-shakes_3125473.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Who is more real? Homer or Ulysses? Shakespeare or Hamlet? Burroughs or Tarzan?” — Robert A. Heinlein", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Robert A. Heinlein", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Who is more real? Homer or...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/who-is-more-real-homer-or-ulysses-shakespeare-or-hamlet-burroughs-or/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/who-is-more-real-homer-or-ulysses-shakespeare-or-hamlet-burroughs-or/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```