--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is literature which for me opened the…" description: "\"It is literature which for me opened the mysterious and decisive doors of imagination and understanding. To see the way others see. To think the way ot..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3a/salman-rushdie-153_books_it-is-literature-which-for-me-opened-the_121868.jpg" --- # It is literature which for me opened the mysterious and… ![“It is literature which for me opened the mysterious and decisive doors of imagination and understanding. To see the way others see. To think the way others think. And above all, to feel.” quote by Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3a/salman-rushdie-153_books_it-is-literature-which-for-me-opened-the_121868.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3a/salman-rushdie-153_books_it-is-literature-which-for-me-opened-the_121868.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3a/salman-rushdie-153_books_it-is-literature-which-for-me-opened-the_121868.jpg) > “It is literature which for me opened the mysterious and decisive doors of imagination and understanding. To see the way others see. To think the way others think. And above all, to feel.” [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Literature opens doors to other perspectives, allowing us to see, think, and feel as others do, enriching imagination and understanding. **In simple terms:** Books let us inhabit other minds. Key Takeaway Reading expands empathy and imagination. Themes literature empathy imagination understanding Mood inspired curious Type literary reflective When to use this quote - Studying diverse curricula - Cross‑cultural friendships - Creative writing workshops Key Concepts cognitive empathy narrative transport Practical Applications - Read fiction from varied cultures - Discuss interpretations in groups Questions to Reflect On - What does literature reveal about your own assumptions? - How can reading change your worldview? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) ## Related quotes > [“I had never kissed a boy, had never even considered that I might enjoy such an unclean thing, until literature opened my eyes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hopkins/i-had-never-kissed-a-boy-had-never-even-considered-that-i-might-enjoy/) [Ellen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-hopkins/) > [What I really have in my head, my imagination, my understanding of music, I never really get that out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/what-i-really-have-in-my-head-my-imagination-my-understanding-of/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [The capacity you're thinking of is imagination; without it there can be no understanding, indeed no fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-trevor/the-capacity-you-re-thinking-of-is-imagination-without-it-there-can/) [William Trevor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-trevor/) > [I believe in the art of literature, I believe in freedom of the imagination, I believe in the kind of liberties that we enjoy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-believe-in-the-art-of-literature-i-believe-in-freedom-of-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [An enchanted world is one that speaks to the soul, to the mysterious depths of the heart and imagination where we find value, love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-moore/an-enchanted-world-is-one-that-speaks-to-the-soul-to-the-mysterious/) [Thomas Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-moore/) > [Mars tugs at the human imagination like no other planet. With a force mightier than gravity, it attracts the eye to its shimmering red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-noble-wilford/mars-tugs-at-the-human-imagination-like-no-other-planet-with-a-force/) John Noble Wilford > [I want literature to open all the doors that I can't open by myself, and to allow me to see things that I wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ronk/i-want-literature-to-open-all-the-doors-that-i-can-t-open-by-myself/) [Martha Ronk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ronk/) > [I credit literature for the reason I act because that was the door to me saying, ‘Oh! I can be somebody else. I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-kidman/i-credit-literature-for-the-reason-i-act-because-that-was-the-door-to/) [Nicole Kidman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-kidman/) > [The Arab world also won the Nobel with me. 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It takes courage to take this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-shorter/the-arts-can-open-the-door-to-the-imagination-pushing-the-envelope-of/) [Wayne Shorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-shorter/) > [Imagine: you've spent all day traipsing round London, lost in a maze of chaos, trying to find a hidden illusion; you've been living on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-brooks/imagine-you-ve-spent-all-day-traipsing-round-london-lost-in-a-maze-of/) [Kevin Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-brooks/) > [Literature has always been the greatest fuel for my imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-coon/literature-has-always-been-the-greatest-fuel-for-my-imagination/) [Carrie Coon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-coon/) > [I think technical people now should learn literature, because literature teaches you a great deal about how - the depths and variety of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-think-technical-people-now-should-learn-literature-because/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) ## More by Salman Rushdie > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [It's a terrible thing that your life turns into a good story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/it-s-a-terrible-thing-that-your-life-turns-into-a-good-story/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Sometimes by a woodland stream he watched the water rush over the pebbled bed, its tiny modulations of bounce and flow. 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I remember in 1989, two months before the fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-not-a-prophet-but-i-always-thought-it-was-natural-for/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'd wanted to create a storm so that I could become more famous and richer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-d-wanted-to-create-a-storm-so-that-i-could-become-more-famous-and/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Who what am I? My answer: I am the sum total of everything that went before me, of all I have been seen done,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/who-what-am-i-my-answer-i-am-the-sum-total-of-everything-that-went/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“...proving once again that there was no escape from recurrence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/proving-once-again-that-there-was-no-escape-from-recurrence/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“information, in a stream-of-consciousness soliloquy that revealed the extent to which he had internalised the adversarial fragmentation of American culture and made it a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/information-in-a-stream-of-consciousness-soliloquy-that-revealed-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [A little bit of one story joins onto an idea from another, and hey presto, . . . not old tales but new ones.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/a-little-bit-of-one-story-joins-onto-an-idea-from-another-and-hey/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'm a novelist. Fortunately I don't have to rule the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-a-novelist-fortunately-i-don-t-have-to-rule-the-world/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [The First Amendment defends all forms of speech including hate speech, which is why groups like Ku Klux Klan are allowed to utter their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-first-amendment-defends-all-forms-of-speech-including-hate-speech/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) [Explore all 1,087 Salman Rushdie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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