--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm not sure at all that literature…" description: "\"I'm not sure at all that literature should be studied on the university level. ... Why should people study books? Isn't it rather silly to study Pride ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d2/susan-sontag-332_book_i-m-not-sure-at-all-that-literature-shou_2193043.jpg" --- # I'm not sure at all that literature should be studied on… ![“I'm not sure at all that literature should be studied on the university level. ... Why should people study books? Isn't it rather silly to study Pride and Prejudice. Either you get it or you don't.” quote by Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d2/susan-sontag-332_book_i-m-not-sure-at-all-that-literature-shou_2193043.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d2/susan-sontag-332_book_i-m-not-sure-at-all-that-literature-shou_2193043.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d2/susan-sontag-332_book_i-m-not-sure-at-all-that-literature-shou_2193043.jpg) > “I'm not sure at all that literature should be studied on the university level. ... Why should people study books? Isn't it rather silly to study Pride and Prejudice. Either you get it or you don't.” [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author questions the purpose of studying literature, suggesting it may be unnecessary or frivolous. **In simple terms:** Is studying literature worthwhile? Key Takeaway Consider the real benefits of literary study. Themes education purpose literature Mood skeptical inquisitive Type philosophical academic When to use this quote - university curriculum - personal reading - academic debate Key Concepts critical thinking cultural literacy Questions to Reflect On - What do we lose by ignoring classic works? - How does literature shape worldview? A Different Perspective Literature can foster empathy and critical analysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Prejudice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prejudice/) [Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride/) [Pride And Prejudice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride-and-prejudice/) [Silly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silly/) [University](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university/) ## Related quotes > [“The celestial brightness of Pride and Prejudice is unequalled even in Jane Austen's other work; after a life of much disappointment and grief, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-jenkins/the-celestial-brightness-of-pride-and-prejudice-is-unequalled-even-in/) [Elizabeth Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-jenkins/) > [“The one time I tried to get her to watch Pride and Prejudice, she hadn’t been able to sit still. Granted, it was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyxandra-harvey/the-one-time-i-tried-to-get-her-to-watch-pride-and-prejudice-she-hadn/) [Alyxandra Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyxandra-harvey/) > [“My hand lowers to the small of her back, and I leave her with one last kiss to the forehead that feels more genuine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krista-ritchie/my-hand-lowers-to-the-small-of-her-back-and-i-leave-her-with-one-last/) [Krista Ritchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krista-ritchie/) > [“Whatever lessens suffering in yourself and others, that is right. Whatever increases suffering, that is wrong. The answer is within you. When you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satish-kumar/whatever-lessens-suffering-in-yourself-and-others-that-is-right/) [Satish Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satish-kumar/) > [It's absurd to think of 'Pride and Prejudice,' this classic, beloved book, beset with a zombie uprising. The goal is to make you suspend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-grahame-smith/it-s-absurd-to-think-of-pride-and-prejudice-this-classic-beloved-book/) [Seth Grahame-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-grahame-smith/) > [“When The Journal of Words compiled its list of the one hundred best novels written in English, do you know that Pride and Prejudice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-thomas-ford/when-the-journal-of-words-compiled-its-list-of-the-one-hundred-best/) [Michael Thomas Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-thomas-ford/) > [“When I asked her what she'd thought of Pride and Prejudice, she only wondered aloud how anyone could have written a novel set in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-cooper/when-i-asked-her-what-she-d-thought-of-pride-and-prejudice-she-only/) [Michelle Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-cooper/) > [“As he walked out into the North Carolina sunshine, Lola's hand in his, a smile curved one corner of his lips. Not so long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-gibson/as-he-walked-out-into-the-north-carolina-sunshine-lola-s-hand-in-his/) [Rachel Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-gibson/) > [“Of those of us who comprise the real clan of the book, who read not to judge the reading of others but to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/of-those-of-us-who-comprise-the-real-clan-of-the-book-who-read-not-to/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“What am I to give the housemaids here? and do you object to my reading novels, if Lady Eskdale says there is no harm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-eden/what-am-i-to-give-the-housemaids-here-and-do-you-object-to-my-reading/) [Emily Eden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-eden/) > [“I wouldn’t have minded a rather more detailed conclusion (to Pride and Prejudice) — say, a twenty-page sex scene featuring the two principals, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-wouldn-t-have-minded-a-rather-more-detailed-conclusion-to-pride-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What on earth did you say to Isola? She stopped in on her way to pick up Pride and Prejudice and to berate me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ann-shaffer/what-on-earth-did-you-say-to-isola-she-stopped-in-on-her-way-to-pick/) [Mary Ann Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ann-shaffer/) > [“Can you put your hands on my crotch?” “Why, hell no, I cannot.” I didn’t remember anything like this happening in Pride and Prejudice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-echols/can-you-put-your-hands-on-my-crotch-why-hell-no-i-cannot-i-didn-t/) [Jennifer Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-echols/) > [I feel that Pride and Prejudice is an incredibly well constructed novel on every level. The dialogue is great. The character development is great.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-sittenfeld/i-feel-that-pride-and-prejudice-is-an-incredibly-well-constructed/) [Curtis Sittenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-sittenfeld/) > [It taught me to hope," said he, "as I had scarcely ever allowed myself to hope before." Mr. Darcy - Pride and Prejudice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/it-taught-me-to-hope-said-he-as-i-had-scarcely-ever-allowed-myself-to/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) ## More by Susan Sontag > [the appetite for thinking must be regulated, as all sensible people know, for it may stifle one's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-appetite-for-thinking-must-be-regulated-as-all-sensible-people/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [We are ruled by quotations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/we-are-ruled-by-quotations/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Unfortunately, moral beauty in art - like physical beauty in a person - is extremely perishable. 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It’s biologically + psychologically too turbulent a time to be cooped up inside, made to sit all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/why-not-eliminate-schooling-between-age-12-16-it-s-biologically/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [To photograph people is to violate them, by seeing them as they never see themselves, by having knowledge of them that they can never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/to-photograph-people-is-to-violate-them-by-seeing-them-as-they-never/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [One set of messages of the society we live in is: Consume. Grow. Do what you want. Amuse yourselves. The very working of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/one-set-of-messages-of-the-society-we-live-in-is-consume-grow-do-what/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Currently intellectuals in Western Europe and North America are extremely demoralized and shaken by the rise of a virulent conservative tendency (which some have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/currently-intellectuals-in-western-europe-and-north-america-are/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [With the modern diseases (once TB, now cancer) the romantic idea that the disease expresses the character is invariably extended to assert that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/with-the-modern-diseases-once-tb-now-cancer-the-romantic-idea-that/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [As objects of contemplation, images of the atrocious can answer to several different needs. To steel oneself against weakness. To make oneself more numb.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/as-objects-of-contemplation-images-of-the-atrocious-can-answer-to/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [The creative phase of an idea coincides with the period during which it insists, cantankerously, on its boundaries, on what makes it different; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-creative-phase-of-an-idea-coincides-with-the-period-during-which/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Photographs objectify: they turn an event or a person into something that can be possessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/photographs-objectify-they-turn-an-event-or-a-person-into-something/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [I'm not interested in giving aid and comfort to the neo­-Conservatives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/i-m-not-interested-in-giving-aid-and-comfort-to-the-neo-conservatives/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [The feminist movement has been important to me because it's made me feel less odd and also because it has made me understand some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-feminist-movement-has-been-important-to-me-because-it-s-made-me/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) [Explore all 644 Susan Sontag quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) ## More Book 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/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. 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