--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The fictional work is a kind of actor…" description: "\"The fictional work is a kind of actor that wears a satirical garb but can put on other costumes as well.\" — Will Self" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b7/will-self-2296_actor_the-fictional-work-is-a-kind-of-actor-th_931739.png" --- # The fictional work is a kind of actor that wears a… ![“The fictional work is a kind of actor that wears a satirical garb but can put on other costumes as well.” quote by Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b7/will-self-2296_actor_the-fictional-work-is-a-kind-of-actor-th_931739.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b7/will-self-2296_actor_the-fictional-work-is-a-kind-of-actor-th_931739.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b7/will-self-2296_actor_the-fictional-work-is-a-kind-of-actor-th_931739.png) > “The fictional work is a kind of actor that wears a satirical garb but can put on other costumes as well.” [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fiction acts as an actor in satire, capable of assuming many roles. **In simple terms:** Fiction is versatile. Key Takeaway Use fiction to explore perspectives. Themes satire versatility identity Mood analytical critical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - political satire - identity exploration - creative writing Key Concepts theatre literature social commentary Questions to Reflect On - What roles can fiction play for you? - How does satire reveal truth? A Different Perspective Satire can alienate audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Actor Wears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor-wears-1523065/) [Actors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actors/) [Costumes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/costumes/) [Fictional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fictional/) [Fictional Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fictional-work-1523066/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Other](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/other/) [Satirical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satirical/) [Satirical Garb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satirical-garb-1523063/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) [Wears Satirical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wears-satirical-1523064/) [Well](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/well/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [“If the characters of a fictional work can be readers or spectators, we, its readers or spectators, can be fictions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/if-the-characters-of-a-fictional-work-can-be-readers-or-spectators-we/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [The out-of-work actor wears out more than shoe leather. 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If somebody is able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/we-cannot-have-a-society-in-which-some-dictator-some-place-can-start/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [“A premature death does not only rob one of the countless instances where one would have experienced pleasure, it also saves one from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-premature-death-does-not-only-rob-one-of-the-countless-instances/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [I'm crushed by the responsibility of writing a satirical book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/i-m-crushed-by-the-responsibility-of-writing-a-satirical-book/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [“An expensive coffin does not decrease the deceased’s chances of going to hell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/an-expensive-coffin-does-not-decrease-the-deceased-s-chances-of-going/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“For their never-ending endeavours to obtain or retain wealth, countries desperately need companies, because they—unlike most human beings—have the means of production, and human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/for-their-never-ending-endeavours-to-obtain-or-retain-wealth/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) ## More by Will Self > [As for critical writing about modernism, its moments of lucidity are but fulgurations illuminating the dark and incomprehensible landscape of its subject's unabashed difficulty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/as-for-critical-writing-about-modernism-its-moments-of-lucidity-are/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [“As my voice died away I became conscious of the voice of another woman two tables away. I couldn't hear what she was saying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/as-my-voice-died-away-i-became-conscious-of-the-voice-of-another/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [That tertiary education is under a sustained assault by a political and - it often seems - social consensus that equates all education with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/that-tertiary-education-is-under-a-sustained-assault-by-a-political/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [I'm an anarchist. I'm implacably opposed to heirarchical systems of power and control. I also mistrust crowds, as they often operate according to their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-m-an-anarchist-i-m-implacably-opposed-to-heirarchical-systems-of/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [What fiction offers us is an intimacy shorn of the messy contingencies of human existence - gender, race, class or age. Those moments of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/what-fiction-offers-us-is-an-intimacy-shorn-of-the-messy/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [I'd rather fiddle with my phone for precious seconds than neglect an apostrophe; I'd rather insert a word laboriously keyed out than resort to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-d-rather-fiddle-with-my-phone-for-precious-seconds-than-neglect-an/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [I'm very happy for whatever plaudits might come the way of my work, but I never ever sit down to write x with y…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-m-very-happy-for-whatever-plaudits-might-come-the-way-of-my-work/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [As a writer, I'm not convinced that we are the best equipped to understand how we go about the business of literary production.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/as-a-writer-i-m-not-convinced-that-we-are-the-best-equipped-to/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [“I explained to him - as I withdrew the cup, ripped open the sachet and dunked the tea bag - that tea was an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-explained-to-him-as-i-withdrew-the-cup-ripped-open-the-sachet-and/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [There is something mysteriously powerful that can happen when young, inchoate minds come into contact with older and more worldly ones in a spirit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/there-is-something-mysteriously-powerful-that-can-happen-when-young/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [It would seem that I, who never could make much sense of physics when I was at school, have now gained a strong sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/it-would-seem-that-i-who-never-could-make-much-sense-of-physics-when/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [Drug use and procrastination often go hand in tourniquet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/drug-use-and-procrastination-often-go-hand-in-tourniquet/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [“…with the morbid realisation that his sexual being was a dull thing, a lifeless thing, a mass-produced marionette with chipped paint and fraying strings”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/with-the-morbid-realisation-that-his-sexual-being-was-a-dull-thing-a/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [A creative life cannot be sustained by approval any more than it can be destroyed by criticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/a-creative-life-cannot-be-sustained-by-approval-any-more-than-it-can/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [I don't think in terms of that bizarre tautology 'value for money' in my literary and journalistic work - and nor will I in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-don-t-think-in-terms-of-that-bizarre-tautology-value-for-money-in/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) [Explore all 172 Will Self quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) ## More Actor quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. 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I've been getting away with it ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshay-kumar/i-once-told-someone-i-could-act-they-totally-bought-it-i-ve-been/) [Akshay Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshay-kumar/) > [There has got to be a way for me to have a role on TV or in film that is just as normal as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adeel-akhtar/there-has-got-to-be-a-way-for-me-to-have-a-role-on-tv-or-in-film-that/) [Adeel Akhtar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adeel-akhtar/) > [I love casting against type and doing things you wouldn't expect, because I think you get more interesting performances that way. Hollywood loves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-goyer/i-love-casting-against-type-and-doing-things-you-wouldn-t-expect/) [David S. 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In the meantime, I did my first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-de-armas/when-i-was-13-i-auditioned-for-the-theater-school-and-i-was-there-for/) [Ana de Armas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-de-armas/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) > [Actors don't hate acting. Most people don't hate acting! 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