--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But I know now that isn’t true; history…" description: "\"“But I know now that isn’t true; history is filled with fictional people. And even the epigraph Fitzgerald placed at the beginning of The Great Gatsby ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dc/robyn-schneider-8121_ezra_but-i-know-now-that-isn-t-true-history-i_1906487.jpg" --- # But I know now that isn’t true; history is filled with… ![“But I know now that isn’t true; history is filled with fictional people. And even the epigraph Fitzgerald placed at the beginning of The Great Gatsby is by a writer who doesn’t exist. We have all been fooled into believing in people who are entirely imaginary—made-up prisoners in a hypothetical…” quote by Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dc/robyn-schneider-8121_ezra_but-i-know-now-that-isn-t-true-history-i_1906487.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dc/robyn-schneider-8121_ezra_but-i-know-now-that-isn-t-true-history-i_1906487.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dc/robyn-schneider-8121_ezra_but-i-know-now-that-isn-t-true-history-i_1906487.jpg) > ““But I know now that isn’t true; history is filled with fictional people. And even the epigraph Fitzgerald placed at the beginning of The Great Gatsby is by a writer who doesn’t exist. We have all been fooled into believing in people who are entirely imaginary—made-up prisoners in a hypothetical panopticon. But the point isn’t whether or not you believe in imaginary people; it’s whether or not you want to.”” [Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often believe in fictional figures, shaping perceptions and values, whether or not they exist. **In simple terms:** We trust imagined people. Key Takeaway Question the reality of the figures you admire. Themes belief fiction history perception identity Mood thoughtful analytical Type essay critical When to use this quote - education - media analysis - personal belief systems Key Concepts mythmaking social construct critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - What fictional influences guide your choices? - Can you distinguish myth from truth? A Different Perspective Imaginary figures can influence actions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believing In People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believing-in-people/) [Ezra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ezra/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ## Related quotes > [“...history is filled with fictional people. We have all been fooled into believing in people who are entirely imaginary - made-up prisoners in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-schneider/history-is-filled-with-fictional-people-we-have-all-been-fooled-into/) [Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/) > [“We have all been fooled into believing in people who are entirely imaginary--made-up prisoners in a hypothetical panopticon. But the point isn't whether or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-schneider/we-have-all-been-fooled-into-believing-in-people-who-are-entirely/) [Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/) > [“We have all been fooled into believing in people who are entirely imaginary--made-up prisoners in a hypothetical panopticon. But the point isn't whether or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-schneider/we-have-all-been-fooled-into-believing-in-people-who-are-entirely-2/) [Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/) > [“I reached for the switch on my desk lamp and flashed HELLO. The lights switched off in Cassidy's bedroom, and her flashlight flicked on.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-schneider/i-reached-for-the-switch-on-my-desk-lamp-and-flashed-hello-the-lights/) [Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/) > [“So," I said as Cassidy and I headed toward Mr. Moreno's room, "I didn't see any secret messages last night." "I didn't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-schneider/so-i-said-as-cassidy-and-i-headed-toward-mr-moreno-s-room-i-didn-t/) [Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/) > [“Words could betray you if you chose the wrong ones, or mean less if you used too many.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-schneider/words-could-betray-you-if-you-chose-the-wrong-ones-or-mean-less-if-2/) [Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/) > [“I mean, don't you want to be like everyone else?" "Not particularly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-schneider/i-mean-don-t-you-want-to-be-like-everyone-else-not-particularly/) [Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/) > [“I suppose she didn't think anyone was looking and had let her guard down, the way you did in an empty room. The way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-schneider/i-suppose-she-didn-t-think-anyone-was-looking-and-had-let-her-guard/) [Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/) > [“I wondered what things became when you no longer needed them, and I wondered what the future would hold once we'd gotten past our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-schneider/i-wondered-what-things-became-when-you-no-longer-needed-them-and-i/) [Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/) > [“Ezra, the girl you're chasing after doesn't exist. I'm not some bohemian adventurer who takes you on treasure hunts and sends you secret messages.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-schneider/ezra-the-girl-you-re-chasing-after-doesn-t-exist-i-m-not-some/) [Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/) > [One of the things that makes characters real is details. Life offers a lot of details. You just have to choose and use them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-earls/one-of-the-things-that-makes-characters-real-is-details-life-offers-a/) [Nick Earls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-earls/) > [History is filled with fictional people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/history-is-filled-with-fictional-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Fictional people are people, too, otherwise why would we care what happens to them?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/fictional-people-are-people-too-otherwise-why-would-we-care-what/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [There should be unemployment insurance for fictional people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-dunn/there-should-be-unemployment-insurance-for-fictional-people/) [Katherine Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunn/) > [“If you want to make people believe in imaginary entities such as gods and nations, you should make them sacrifice something valuable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/if-you-want-to-make-people-believe-in-imaginary-entities-such-as-gods/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) ## More by Robyn Schneider > [“Sometimes I think that everyone has a tragedy waiting for them, that the people buying milk in their pajamas or picking their noses at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-schneider/sometimes-i-think-that-everyone-has-a-tragedy-waiting-for-them-that/) [Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/) > [“It was the answer to the wrong mystery--the mystery I didn't ever want to solve. And so we sat there in the sickening sillage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-schneider/it-was-the-answer-to-the-wrong-mystery-the-mystery-i-didn-t-ever-want/) [Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/) > [“Breathing: the miracle cure everyone's been looking for." -Lane-”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-schneider/breathing-the-miracle-cure-everyone-s-been-looking-for-lane/) [Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/) > [“We have all been fooled into believing in people who are entirely imaginary--made-up prisoners in a hypothetical panopticon. But the point isn't whether or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-schneider/we-have-all-been-fooled-into-believing-in-people-who-are-entirely/) [Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/) > [“Delete,” he said. “I keep telling you.” But I couldn’t. Even though I wasn’t sure what the point was anymore. No one kept in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-schneider/delete-he-said-i-keep-telling-you-but-i-couldn-t-even-though-i-wasn-t/) [Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/) > [“How many beers do y'all think it takes before one internationally scientist turns to another and says, 'Dude, bet you twenty bucks I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-schneider/how-many-beers-do-y-all-think-it-takes-before-one-internationally/) [Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/) > [“And that was when I saw what Cassidy had done to herself: the gold and red ribbing on her sweater-vest, the matching stripes on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-schneider/and-that-was-when-i-saw-what-cassidy-had-done-to-herself-the-gold-and/) [Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/) > [“Eastwood was distorted for me, a picturesque place meant to lull its residents into believing that behind our gates and beyond our curfew, nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-schneider/eastwood-was-distorted-for-me-a-picturesque-place-meant-to-lull-its/) [Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/) > [“Imaginary prisoners are still prisoners.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-schneider/imaginary-prisoners-are-still-prisoners/) [Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/) > [“...but I didn't care, because the magnificent possibility of kissing Cassidy Thorpe had turned into an indisputable fact of my daily existence...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-schneider/but-i-didn-t-care-because-the-magnificent-possibility-of-kissing/) [Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/) > [“I do know that I spent a long time existing, and now, I intend to live.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-schneider/i-do-know-that-i-spent-a-long-time-existing-and-now-i-intend-to-live/) [Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/) > [“Words could betray you if you chose the wrong ones, or mean less if you used too many. Jokes could be grandly miscalculated, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-schneider/words-could-betray-you-if-you-chose-the-wrong-ones-or-mean-less-if/) [Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/) > [“Sorry,' I apologized, realizing she was the sort of girl who got upset when someone used an unfamiliar word, rather than learning what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-schneider/sorry-i-apologized-realizing-she-was-the-sort-of-girl-who-got-upset/) [Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/) > [“I’ll keep going. Because that’s all you can do in this world, no matter how strong the current beats against you, or how heavy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-schneider/i-ll-keep-going-because-that-s-all-you-can-do-in-this-world-no-matter/) [Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/) > [“I finally got up around noon, after having decided that, as far as monogamous relationships go, I could probably do worse than marrying my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-schneider/i-finally-got-up-around-noon-after-having-decided-that-as-far-as/) [Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/) [Explore all 82 Robyn Schneider quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/) ## More Ezra quotes > [“Sometimes, the best results come from the worst ideas. - Ezra”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-dawn/sometimes-the-best-results-come-from-the-worst-ideas-ezra/) [Scarlett Dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-dawn/) > [“I was just Molly, remember? And he was Ezra F-something Baptiste.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-higginson/i-was-just-molly-remember-and-he-was-ezra-f-something-baptiste/) [Rachel Higginson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-higginson/) > [Ezra Klein gets under my skin. He seems to spout the party line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mickey-kaus/ezra-klein-gets-under-my-skin-he-seems-to-spout-the-party-line/) [Mickey Kaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mickey-kaus/) > [“His lips slowly twitched. “As a gentleman, I think you should sleep off the drugs in your system.” Again, his wide, full lips curved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-dawn/his-lips-slowly-twitched-as-a-gentleman-i-think-you-should-sleep-off/) [Scarlett Dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-dawn/) > [“It had been a constant journey of battles and wars with the beast that is Ezra, and I was sure there would be more.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/love-belvin/it-had-been-a-constant-journey-of-battles-and-wars-with-the-beast/) Love Belvin > [“EZR7.6 this Ezra went up from Babylon: and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which Jehovah, the God of Israel,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/ezr7-6-this-ezra-went-up-from-babylon-and-he-was-a-ready-scribe-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Anything was better than Ezra learning to play the bassoon...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/anything-was-better-than-ezra-learning-to-play-the-bassoon/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“they pulled Ezra through the streets in a wooden cage. Blake was sure of God. Villon was a mugger. Lorca sucked cock. T. S.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/they-pulled-ezra-through-the-streets-in-a-wooden-cage-blake-was-sure/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“5And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-hayford/5and-ezra-opened-the-book-in-the-sight-of-all-the-people-for-he-was/) [Jack Hayford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-hayford/) > [“I wondered what things became when you no longer needed them, and I wondered what the future would hold once we'd gotten past our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-schneider/i-wondered-what-things-became-when-you-no-longer-needed-them-and-i/) [Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/) > [“It’s nothing compared to happiness.” I snorted through gritted teeth. “What happiness?” “Exactly.” “Reality interrupts—” Jaw clenching, my nostrils flared as I felt a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-dawn/it-s-nothing-compared-to-happiness-i-snorted-through-gritted-teeth/) [Scarlett Dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-dawn/) > [“Jack’s face was now buried in his hands, his elbows still on his knees, and he hunched as he fisted his hair. “Ezra?” Evidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-dawn/jack-s-face-was-now-buried-in-his-hands-his-elbows-still-on-his-knees/) [Scarlett Dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-dawn/) > [“Av tre ting og ikke mere, svarer Ezra: av kornet på marken, av fisken i sjøen og av dyr og fugl i skogen. Av…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/knut-hamsun/av-tre-ting-og-ikke-mere-svarer-ezra-av-kornet-p-marken-av-fisken-i/) [Knut Hamsun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/knut-hamsun/) > [ “Then I \[Ezra\] proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyndale/then-i-ezra-proclaimed-a-fast-there-at-the-river-of-ahava-that-we/) [Tyndale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyndale/) > [“ This is who Ezra is dating now. He is now into girls who are into dressing up as nineteenth century prostitutes. For the hats. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leila-sales/this-is-who-ezra-is-dating-now-he-is-now-into-girls-who-are-into/) [Leila Sales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leila-sales/) [Browse all 37 Ezra quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ezra/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But I know now that isn’t true; history is filled with fictional people. And even the epigraph Fitzgerald placed at the beginning of The Great Gatsby is by a writer who doesn’t exist. We have all been fooled into believing in people who are entirely imaginary—made-up prisoners in a hypothetical panopticon. 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