--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm just trying to look at something…" description: "\"I'm just trying to look at something without blinking, to see what it is like, or it could have been like, and how that had something to do with the wa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53b/toni-morrison-271_books_i-m-just-trying-to-look-at-something-wit_1963653.jpg" --- # I'm just trying to look at something without blinking, to… ![“I'm just trying to look at something without blinking, to see what it is like, or it could have been like, and how that had something to do with the way we live now. Novels are always inquiries for me.” quote by Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53b/toni-morrison-271_books_i-m-just-trying-to-look-at-something-wit_1963653.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53b/toni-morrison-271_books_i-m-just-trying-to-look-at-something-wit_1963653.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53b/toni-morrison-271_books_i-m-just-trying-to-look-at-something-wit_1963653.jpg) > “I'm just trying to look at something without blinking, to see what it is like, or it could have been like, and how that had something to do with the way we live now. Novels are always inquiries for me.” [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) ## 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 uses a metaphor of unblinking observation to explore how past possibilities inform present life, viewing novels as ongoing inquiries. **In simple terms:** Observe without blinking to understand past and present; novels are questions. Key Takeaway Use curiosity to connect past insights with current life. Themes literature reflection curiosity Mood contemplative inquisitive Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - reading habits - creative writing - personal growth Key Concepts narrative inquiry temporal perception Questions to Reflect On - What past possibilities shape your present? - How does literature help you question life? A Different Perspective Interpretations of the metaphor may differ among readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Inquiry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inquiry/) [Live Now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-now/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I'm just trying to look at everything as positive as I can to keep me motivated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-green/i-m-just-trying-to-look-at-everything-as-positive-as-i-can-to-keep-me/) [Gerald Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-green/) > [If you're on Tinder and you're really trying to look for love, that's going too far. You have to be yourself... and find love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/redfoo/if-you-re-on-tinder-and-you-re-really-trying-to-look-for-love-that-s/) [Redfoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/redfoo/) > [That awkward moment when you're trying not to look when someone is staring at you!..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/autocorrects/that-awkward-moment-when-you-re-trying-not-to-look-when-someone-is/) Autocorrects > [“Fashion is a disease of trying to look alike!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/fashion-is-a-disease-of-trying-to-look-alike/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [If you look at my career over the past twenty years, I've always been trying to look around corners for low-income communities of color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/if-you-look-at-my-career-over-the-past-twenty-years-i-ve-always-been/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [There's the moon trying to look romanticMoon's too old that's her troubleAren't we all?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-mcgough/there-s-the-moon-trying-to-look-romanticmoon-s-too-old-that-s-her/) [Roger McGough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-mcgough/) > [I'm just trying to look at different ways to see how the ball can go in the hoop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markelle-fultz/i-m-just-trying-to-look-at-different-ways-to-see-how-the-ball-can-go/) [Markelle Fultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markelle-fultz/) > [It's not worth trying to please others when all they look at is outward appearance, work on pleasing God, he looks at your heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-not-worth-trying-to-please-others-when-all-they-look-at-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm always trying to look for how I can find human stories that aren't just dramas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-hawke/i-m-always-trying-to-look-for-how-i-can-find-human-stories-that-aren/) [Ethan Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-hawke/) > [Trying to look for the right one Trying to stay with that one ended up with out one](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-rojas/trying-to-look-for-the-right-one-trying-to-stay-with-that-one-ended/) Stephanie Rojas > [I'm into nice clothes and trying to look good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-oxlade-chamberlain/i-m-into-nice-clothes-and-trying-to-look-good/) [Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-oxlade-chamberlain/) > [“He went down trying not to look long at her, as though she were the sun, but he saw her, as one sees the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-went-down-trying-not-to-look-long-at-her-as-though-she-were-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [I'm trying to look into each character and try to realize her as someone who is also me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillipa-soo/i-m-trying-to-look-into-each-character-and-try-to-realize-her-as/) [Phillipa Soo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillipa-soo/) > [I'm always trying to look for different roles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-close/i-m-always-trying-to-look-for-different-roles/) [Eric Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-close/) > [I'm always trying to look for different ways to step my game up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-jefferson/i-m-always-trying-to-look-for-different-ways-to-step-my-game-up/) [Justin Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-jefferson/) ## More by Toni Morrison > [Perhaps that's what all human relationships boiled down to: Would you save my life? or would you take it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/perhaps-that-s-what-all-human-relationships-boiled-down-to-would-you/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [In times of dread, artists must never choose to remain silent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/in-times-of-dread-artists-must-never-choose-to-remain-silent/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“Not know it was hard;knowing it was harder”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/not-know-it-was-hard-knowing-it-was-harder/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“Didn’t everything on God’s earth have or acquire defense?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/didn-t-everything-on-god-s-earth-have-or-acquire-defense/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [If you can't count, they can cheat you. If you can't read, they can beat you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/if-you-can-t-count-they-can-cheat-you-if-you-can-t-read-they-can-beat/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“You looked at them and wondered why the were so ugly; you looked closely and could not find the source. Then you realized that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/you-looked-at-them-and-wondered-why-the-were-so-ugly-you-looked/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [All she saw, down in the cellar well beneath the stoop, was a light yellow feather with a tip of green. And she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/all-she-saw-down-in-the-cellar-well-beneath-the-stoop-was-a-light/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [For me, Art is the restoration of order. 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Its threat gave her direction, clarity, audacity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/she-was-fierce-in-the-presence-of-death-heroic-even-as-she-was-at-no/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) [Explore all 774 Toni Morrison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) ## 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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