Coherence Quote by Stephen King
““Any battle-seasoned general will tell you that, even in a small-scale engagement (as this one was), there always comes a point where coherence breaks down, and the narrative flow, and any real sense of how things are going. These matters are re-created by historians later on. The need to re-create the myth of coherence may be one of the reasons why history exists in the first place.””
About This Quote
Source Interview: Author discussion on history, 2020
Historians impose narrative coherence on chaotic events, creating myths that justify history’s existence
In simple terms: Historians create coherent stories from messy events
Key Takeaway
Question the narratives presented as history
Themes
history
memory
mythmaking
Mood
thoughtful
critical
Type
philosophical
reflective
When to use this quote
- teaching history
- writing
- research
- media analysis
Key Concepts
narrative
construction
truth
Questions to Reflect On
- What biases affect historical narratives?
- How can we seek multiple perspectives?
A Different Perspective
Coherence may oversimplify complex realities
![“By exposing the multiplicity, the facticity, the repetition and stereotype at the heart of every aesthetic gesture, photography deconstructs the possibility of differentiating between the original and the copy. [Photography calls] into question the whole concept of the uniqueness of the art…” quote by Rosalind E. Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/3ba/rosalind-e-krauss-42138_aesthetic_by-exposing-the-multiplicity-the-factici_88008.jpg)
