--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My belief is that 'recluse' is a code…" description: "\"My belief is that 'recluse' is a code word generated by journalists ... meaning, 'doesn't like to talk to reporters'.\" — Thomas Pynchon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b43/thomas-pynchon-533_belief_my-belief-is-that-recluse-is-a-code-word_983847.jpg" --- # My belief is that 'recluse' is a code word generated by… ![“My belief is that 'recluse' is a code word generated by journalists ... meaning, 'doesn't like to talk to reporters'.” quote by Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b43/thomas-pynchon-533_belief_my-belief-is-that-recluse-is-a-code-word_983847.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b43/thomas-pynchon-533_belief_my-belief-is-that-recluse-is-a-code-word_983847.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b43/thomas-pynchon-533_belief_my-belief-is-that-recluse-is-a-code-word_983847.jpg) > “My belief is that 'recluse' is a code word generated by journalists ... meaning, 'doesn't like to talk to reporters'.” [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The term “recluse” is a media‑crafted label that masks a desire for privacy and control over one’s narrative. **In simple terms:** Labels can hide true motives. Key Takeaway Question media labels critically. Themes privacy media identity Mood skeptical reflective Type analytical critical When to use this quote - public relations - personal branding - media analysis Key Concepts social perception journalistic framing Questions to Reflect On - Why do journalists use shorthand labels? - How does labeling affect personal agency? A Different Perspective Labels can oversimplify complex individuals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Belief Recluse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief-recluse-1969600/) [Code](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/code/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [Journalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalist/) [Journalists Meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalists-meaning-1969602/) [Programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming/) [Recluse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recluse/) [Recluse Code](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recluse-code-1969601/) [Talk Reporters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talk-reporters-961375/) ## Related quotes > [I don't talk to reporters, because they're gonna write what they want to write, so let 'em write what they want to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-malone/i-don-t-talk-to-reporters-because-they-re-gonna-write-what-they-want/) [Moses Malone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-malone/) > [I always talk about the reporters that grovel when they wanna write something that you wanna hear but not necessarily millions of people wanna…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-always-talk-about-the-reporters-that-grovel-when-they-wanna-write/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [I scarcely talk to reporters at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-russell/i-scarcely-talk-to-reporters-at-all/) [Leon Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-russell/) > [When I say I don't get involved in politics, I merely mean that I don't talk to reporters about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-russell/when-i-say-i-don-t-get-involved-in-politics-i-merely-mean-that-i-don/) [Leon Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-russell/) > [There's no question that sources sometimes have interests aside from the truth when they talk to reporters. That's why reporters have to very aggressively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-keller/there-s-no-question-that-sources-sometimes-have-interests-aside-from/) [Bill Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-keller/) > [“The grandeur of space, dig it. Zillions of stars, each one gets its own pixel.” “Awesome.” “Maybe, but it’s code’s all it is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/the-grandeur-of-space-dig-it-zillions-of-stars-each-one-gets-its-own/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [The press has always written that I am a recluse and a mysterious woman, but I am more down-to-earth than they think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnetha-faltskog/the-press-has-always-written-that-i-am-a-recluse-and-a-mysterious/) [Agnetha Faltskog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnetha-faltskog/) > [“The Howard Hughes thing hadn’t actually sounded like such a bad deal until about...oh, eight thirty-five this morning. Something about having his ex carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-betts/the-howard-hughes-thing-hadn-t-actually-sounded-like-such-a-bad-deal/) [Heidi Betts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-betts/) > [The temptation is to stay inside; to subside into the kind of recluse whom neighborhood children regard with derision and little awe; to let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-temptation-is-to-stay-inside-to-subside-into-the-kind-of-recluse/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I'm not really comfortable with who I am to be honest. I feel more free to step into the shoes of somebody else. There's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-kwanten/i-m-not-really-comfortable-with-who-i-am-to-be-honest-i-feel-more/) [Ryan Kwanten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-kwanten/) > [They say that God is everywhere, and yet we always think of Him as somewhat of a recluse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/they-say-that-god-is-everywhere-and-yet-we-always-think-of-him-as/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [I am something of a recluse by nature. I am that cordless screwdriver that has to charge for twenty hours to earn ten minutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/i-am-something-of-a-recluse-by-nature-i-am-that-cordless-screwdriver/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [The perfect mystic is not an ecstatic devotee lost in contemplation of Oneness, nor a saintly recluse shunning all commerce with mankind, but "the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abu-sa-id-abul-khayr/the-perfect-mystic-is-not-an-ecstatic-devotee-lost-in-contemplation/) [Abu-Sa'id Abul-Khayr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abu-sa-id-abul-khayr/) > ["Gun-wielding recluse gunned down by local police" isn't the epitaph I want. I am hoping for "Witnesses reported the sound up to two hundred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nicoll/gun-wielding-recluse-gunned-down-by-local-police-isn-t-the-epitaph-i/) [James Nicoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nicoll/) > [“The Just and the unJust inhabiting the same body, so close you can’t pry us apart, but we are not friends. He speaks, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ward-just/the-just-and-the-unjust-inhabiting-the-same-body-so-close-you-can-t/) [Ward Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ward-just/) ## More by Thomas Pynchon > [“How strange tonight, this city. As if something trembled below its surface, waiting to burst through.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/how-strange-tonight-this-city-as-if-something-trembled-below-its/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“It was one of those great iron afternoons in London: the yellow sun being teased apart by a thoasand chimneys breathing, fawning upward without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/it-was-one-of-those-great-iron-afternoons-in-london-the-yellow-sun/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Surely for as long as there have been nights as bad as this one---something to raise the possibility of another night that could actually,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/surely-for-as-long-as-there-have-been-nights-as-bad-as-this-one/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Death glided by, shadowless, among the empties on the grass.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/death-glided-by-shadowless-among-the-empties-on-the-grass/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“People read what news they wanted to and each accordingly built his own rathouse of history's rags and straws.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/people-read-what-news-they-wanted-to-and-each-accordingly-built-his/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Out of that night and day of unconditional wrath, folks would've expected to see any city, if it survived, all newly reborn, purified by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/out-of-that-night-and-day-of-unconditional-wrath-folks-would-ve/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“As spread thighs are to the libertine...so was the letter V to young Stencil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/as-spread-thighs-are-to-the-libertine-so-was-the-letter-v-to-young/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Oedipa wondered whether, at the end of this (if it were supposed to end), she too might not be left with only compiled memories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/oedipa-wondered-whether-at-the-end-of-this-if-it-were-supposed-to-end/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/if-they-can-get-you-asking-the-wrong-questions-they-don-t-have-to/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“remember didn't you sneak away from camp to have a moment alone with What you felt stirring across the land . . . it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/remember-didn-t-you-sneak-away-from-camp-to-have-a-moment-alone-with/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Through rain...then through dreaming glass, green with the evening. And herself in chair, old-fashioned, bonneted, looking west over the deck of Earth, inferno red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/through-rain-then-through-dreaming-glass-green-with-the-evening-and/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“She knew instinctively: he will be fine as the fraternity boy just out of an Ivy League school who knows he will never stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/she-knew-instinctively-he-will-be-fine-as-the-fraternity-boy-just-out/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Lovely morning, World War Two.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/lovely-morning-world-war-two/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Listen to anything and take it apart again. Spectrum analysis, in my head. I can break down chords, and timbres, and words too into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/listen-to-anything-and-take-it-apart-again-spectrum-analysis-in-my/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [A screaming comes across the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/a-screaming-comes-across-the-sky/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) [Explore all 483 Thomas Pynchon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) ## More Belief quotes > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“MIND & GRIND Self-belief and hard work can propel you past more talented peers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamil-ali/mind-grind-self-belief-and-hard-work-can-propel-you-past-more/) [Kamil Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamil-ali/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [It took me 20 years of hard training to get the physique I have today. what you need is what i had - BELIEF…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/branch-warren/it-took-me-20-years-of-hard-training-to-get-the-physique-i-have-today/) [Branch Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/branch-warren/) > [“Here is a fundamental difference between the man of faith and the man of unbelief. The unbeliever is 'of the world', judges everything by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-w-pink/here-is-a-fundamental-difference-between-the-man-of-faith-and-the-man/) [Arthur W. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-w-pink/) > [“She herself vacillated when it came to belief. She did not particularly believe in God. Or, rather, she didn't believe in a particular God.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allegra-goodman/she-herself-vacillated-when-it-came-to-belief-she-did-not/) [Allegra Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allegra-goodman/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [“Rigid traditions capture souls prisons of spiritual thought man’s religion has captured a god grown too small and very weak.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-w-earle/rigid-traditions-capture-souls-prisons-of-spiritual-thought-man-s/) [David W Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-w-earle/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [In business, as in politics, it is never easy to go against the beliefs and attitudes held by the majority. The businessman who moves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-paul-getty/in-business-as-in-politics-it-is-never-easy-to-go-against-the-beliefs/) [J. Paul Getty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-paul-getty/) > [There's no greatest moment in the arts. It's a life; it's a continuity thing. You can't have a great moment because it's spiritual. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/there-s-no-greatest-moment-in-the-arts-it-s-a-life-it-s-a-continuity/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [To preserve an unclouded capacity for the enjoyment of life is an unusual moral and psychological achievement. Contrary to popular belief, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/to-preserve-an-unclouded-capacity-for-the-enjoyment-of-life-is-an/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) [Browse all 10,268 Belief quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My belief is that 'recluse' is a code word generated by journalists ... meaning, 'doesn't like to talk to reporters'.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Pynchon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/my-belief-is-that-recluse-is-a-code-word-generated-by-journalists/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Belief" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/my-belief-is-that-recluse-is-a-code-word-generated-by-journalists/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b43/thomas-pynchon-533_belief_my-belief-is-that-recluse-is-a-code-word_983847.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b43/thomas-pynchon-533_belief_my-belief-is-that-recluse-is-a-code-word_983847.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b43/thomas-pynchon-533_belief_my-belief-is-that-recluse-is-a-code-word_983847.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My belief is that 'recluse' is a code word generated by journalists ... meaning, 'doesn't like to talk to…” — Thomas Pynchon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Thomas Pynchon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My belief is that 'recluse' is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/my-belief-is-that-recluse-is-a-code-word-generated-by-journalists/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/my-belief-is-that-recluse-is-a-code-word-generated-by-journalists/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```