--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We need myths to get by. We need story…" description: "\"We need myths to get by. We need story; otherwise the tremendous randomness of experience overwhelms us. Story is what penetrates.\" — Robert Coover" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3b/robert-coover-23200_myth_we-need-myths-to-get-by-we-need-story-ot_1285295.jpg" --- # We need myths to get by. We need story; otherwise the… ![“We need myths to get by. We need story; otherwise the tremendous randomness of experience overwhelms us. Story is what penetrates.” quote by Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3b/robert-coover-23200_myth_we-need-myths-to-get-by-we-need-story-ot_1285295.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3b/robert-coover-23200_myth_we-need-myths-to-get-by-we-need-story-ot_1285295.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3b/robert-coover-23200_myth_we-need-myths-to-get-by-we-need-story-ot_1285295.jpg) > “We need myths to get by. We need story; otherwise the tremendous randomness of experience overwhelms us. Story is what penetrates.” [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Myths and stories give structure to chaotic experiences, helping us find meaning and coherence. **In simple terms:** Stories give order to chaos. Key Takeaway Cultivate narratives that make sense of randomness. Themes myth storytelling meaning order Mood inspirational reflective Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - education - therapy - marketing - personal journaling Key Concepts narrative psychology cognitive framing Questions to Reflect On - What personal myth guides you? - How can you create healthier stories? A Different Perspective Relying on myths can oversimplify reality and ignore nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth/) [Myths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myths/) [Myths Need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myths-need-2306729/) [Need Myths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need-myths-4168002/) [Need Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need-story-653514/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Randomness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/randomness/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Story Penetrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story-penetrates-4168003/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) ## Related quotes > [We need myths that will identify the individual not with his local group but with the planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/we-need-myths-that-will-identify-the-individual-not-with-his-local/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [“We need myths that will help us to identify with all our fellow-beings, not simply with those who belong to our ethnic, national or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/we-need-myths-that-will-help-us-to-identify-with-all-our-fellow/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [We can keep from a child all knowledge of earlier myths, but we cannot take from him the need for mythology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/we-can-keep-from-a-child-all-knowledge-of-earlier-myths-but-we-cannot/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [“Creation myths need a devil”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-shrage/creation-myths-need-a-devil/) [Elliot Shrage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-shrage/) > [“The loss of that oral tradition and the breakdown of communication between generations had set my family adrift, floating aimlessly without history and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wilson/the-loss-of-that-oral-tradition-and-the-breakdown-of-communication/) [Diane Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wilson/) > [For what are myths if not the imposing of order on phenomena that do not possess order in themselves? And all myths, however they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-what-are-myths-if-not-the-imposing-of-order-on-phenomena-that-do/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We have this thing as human beings: we have a profound need for story. That's what kids need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/we-have-this-thing-as-human-beings-we-have-a-profound-need-for-story/) [Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/) > [We, in America, love a story - we need a story to get involved in. But then everything becomes more about how the story…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-pitt/we-in-america-love-a-story-we-need-a-story-to-get-involved-in-but/) [Brad Pitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-pitt/) > [It has been said that sometimes we need a story more than food in order to live. p 374](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/it-has-been-said-that-sometimes-we-need-a-story-more-than-food-in/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [I need another story something to get off my chest. My life gets kinda boring need something that I can confess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/one-republic/i-need-another-story-something-to-get-off-my-chest-my-life-gets-kinda/) [One Republic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/one-republic/) > [I need another story, something to get off my chest. My life is kind of boring, needs something that I can confess till all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/one-republic/i-need-another-story-something-to-get-off-my-chest-my-life-is-kind-of/) [One Republic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/one-republic/) > [“all of us need a story outside ourselves, a form through which we imagine ourselves as players in the game.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/all-of-us-need-a-story-outside-ourselves-a-form-through-which-we/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [There's a certain amount of world-building that I hold off on until I need it for the story. World building in advance isn't really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-van-eekhout/there-s-a-certain-amount-of-world-building-that-i-hold-off-on-until-i/) [Greg van Eekhout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-van-eekhout/) > [“You have information for us? No, you have all the information you need in your head, what you want, what you need, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v/you-have-information-for-us-no-you-have-all-the-information-you-need/) [V](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v/) > [Being there for people but no one being there for you when you need them seems to be the story of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-there-for-people-but-no-one-being-there-for-you-when-you-need/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Robert Coover > [Metafiction says something. It has to do with taking a large fiction itself and writing within it; that kind of self-reflecting writing that emerges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/metafiction-says-something-it-has-to-do-with-taking-a-large-fiction/) [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) > [I learned my realism from guys like Kafka.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/i-learned-my-realism-from-guys-like-kafka/) [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) > [“She strives, understanding the futility of it, for perfection.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/she-strives-understanding-the-futility-of-it-for-perfection/) [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) > [I see no reason to stop writing. But the reason isn't always one of your own. The mind is not invulnerable, and it can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/i-see-no-reason-to-stop-writing-but-the-reason-isn-t-always-one-of/) [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) > [If you start thinking about the kids being born now, for them the computer is ancient history. So one imagines that when children think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/if-you-start-thinking-about-the-kids-being-born-now-for-them-the/) [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) > [“Black holes are the seductive dragons of the universe, outwardly quiescent yet violent at the heart, uncanny, hostile, primeval, emitting a negative radiance that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/black-holes-are-the-seductive-dragons-of-the-universe-outwardly/) [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) > [“I nearly drownded on the Big River back home, but I didn't. Instead, I come to love the river, though the river never loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/i-nearly-drownded-on-the-big-river-back-home-but-i-didn-t-instead-i/) [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) > [There's no need to inundate the world with books and language. It's just too full already. There's so much rubbish hiding in the world.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/there-s-no-need-to-inundate-the-world-with-books-and-language-it-s/) [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) > [“Oh, he shouldn't be surprised, he's a Marxist and has nothing but contempt for the bourgeois capitalist press, yet paradoxically he is also somehow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/oh-he-shouldn-t-be-surprised-he-s-a-marxist-and-has-nothing-but/) [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) > [“Why we write. Because art blows life into the lifeless, death into the deathless. Because art's lie is preferable, in truth, to life's beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/why-we-write-because-art-blows-life-into-the-lifeless-death-into-the/) [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) > [What I saw quite clearly in the '80s, before the internet, was that the whole world was shifting toward digital formats, and that didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/what-i-saw-quite-clearly-in-the-80s-before-the-internet-was-that-the/) [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) > [Some ways of naming a generation are fruitful and some are not. Postmodernism is not. It doesn't really say anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/some-ways-of-naming-a-generation-are-fruitful-and-some-are-not/) [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) > [People, fearing their own extinction, are willing to accept and perpetuate hand-me-down answers to the meaning of life and death; and, fearing a weakening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/people-fearing-their-own-extinction-are-willing-to-accept-and/) [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) > [“No matter how much sunlight and fresh air she lets in, there’s always this dark little pocket of lingering night which she has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/no-matter-how-much-sunlight-and-fresh-air-she-lets-in-there-s-always/) [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) > [“...'Well, I think of you as a straight shooter, Sheriff, but one who can't stop lustin' after the goddamn ineffable.' "She said that, hunh?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/well-i-think-of-you-as-a-straight-shooter-sheriff-but-one-who-can-t/) [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) [Explore all 24 Robert Coover quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) ## More Myth quotes > [Mythology is something that always has opportunities to explore. 'It' has been on Earth for millions of years. He's been in contact with humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-muschietti/mythology-is-something-that-always-has-opportunities-to-explore-it/) [Andy Muschietti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-muschietti/) > [I have always been fascinated by the supernatural elements in stories, whether fairy tales, myths, film or literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudi-canavan/i-have-always-been-fascinated-by-the-supernatural-elements-in-stories/) [Trudi Canavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudi-canavan/) > [Beware of self-indulgence. The romance surrounding the writing profession carries several myths: that one must suffer in order to be creative; that one must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/beware-of-self-indulgence-the-romance-surrounding-the-writing/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > ['Sex and The City' was made to correct the myth that if you were single at a certain age, you were a leper. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-patrick-king/sex-and-the-city-was-made-to-correct-the-myth-that-if-you-were-single/) [Michael Patrick King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-patrick-king/) > [If it is written and read with serious attention, a novel, like a myth or any great work of art, can become an initiation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/if-it-is-written-and-read-with-serious-attention-a-novel-like-a-myth/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [“Believe reality is what you were taught was myth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-a-mcgirr/believe-reality-is-what-you-were-taught-was-myth/) [Nicholas A. McGirr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-a-mcgirr/) > [ The fall \[of your soul\] from perfection into duality...was naturally followed by the discovery of the duality of good and evil...This is the Biblical… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-fall-of-your-soul-from-perfection-into-duality-was-naturally/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [“I argue that the Jesus of the Gospels is essentially a myth. The Gospels are largely fiction. They were created around the turn of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvar-elleg-rd/i-argue-that-the-jesus-of-the-gospels-is-essentially-a-myth-the/) [Alvar Ellegård](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvar-elleg-rd/) > [Those who claim absolutism is merely a myth are right that it has been misused simply as a byword for political centralisation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-wilson/those-who-claim-absolutism-is-merely-a-myth-are-right-that-it-has/) [Peter Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-wilson/) > [I think the older you get, you start to break down the myth and you get to the dirt of it - and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jena-malone/i-think-the-older-you-get-you-start-to-break-down-the-myth-and-you/) [Jena Malone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jena-malone/) > [“And we cannot keep our balance. Myth gives way to Reason. Revelation to Orthodoxy. We must dance or go mad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-cheetham/and-we-cannot-keep-our-balance-myth-gives-way-to-reason-revelation-to/) [Tom Cheetham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-cheetham/) > [Canada is a myth people made up to entertain children, like the Tooth Fairy. There’s no such place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-moore/canada-is-a-myth-people-made-up-to-entertain-children-like-the-tooth/) [Christopher Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) > [In each studio there is a human being dressed in the full regalia of his myth fearing to expore a vulnerable opening, spreading not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/in-each-studio-there-is-a-human-being-dressed-in-the-full-regalia-of/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [The greatest reward of this constant interrogation, confrontation with the brutality of my country, is that it has freed me from hosts and myths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/the-greatest-reward-of-this-constant-interrogation-confrontation-with/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [Contrary to a common myth, while there are general guidelines, there is no exact 'right' way to run ... I am amazed by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grete-waitz/contrary-to-a-common-myth-while-there-are-general-guidelines-there-is/) [Grete Waitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grete-waitz/) [Browse all 2,141 Myth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We need myths to get by. We need story; otherwise the tremendous randomness of experience overwhelms us. 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