--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is reality, whether you like it or…" description: "\"This is reality, whether you like it or not--all those frivolities of summer, the light and shadow, the living mask of green that trembled over everyth..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67c/willa-cather-634_deceit_this-is-reality-whether-you-like-it-or-n_664478.jpg" --- # This is reality, whether you like it or not--all those… ![“This is reality, whether you like it or not--all those frivolities of summer, the light and shadow, the living mask of green that trembled over everything, they were lies, and this is what was underneath. This is the truth.” quote by Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67c/willa-cather-634_deceit_this-is-reality-whether-you-like-it-or-n_664478.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67c/willa-cather-634_deceit_this-is-reality-whether-you-like-it-or-n_664478.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67c/willa-cather-634_deceit_this-is-reality-whether-you-like-it-or-n_664478.jpg) > “This is reality, whether you like it or not--all those frivolities of summer, the light and shadow, the living mask of green that trembled over everything, they were lies, and this is what was underneath. This is the truth.” [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Underlying truths persist beneath superficial distractions; recognizing them reveals reality. **In simple terms:** See beyond surface appearances. Key Takeaway Seek deeper truth. Themes truth perception reality Mood serious inquisitive Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - media consumption - personal relationships - political discourse Key Concepts illusion critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - What masks hide your reality? - How can you discern truth from illusion? A Different Perspective Hard to confront uncomfortable truths. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Deceit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deceit/) [Frivolity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frivolity/) [Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/green/) [Lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lies/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Light and shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light-and-shadow/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Mask](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mask/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Reality Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-like-1147802/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) [Summer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summer/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Underneath Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/underneath-truth-5288085/) [You like it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you-like-it/) ## Related quotes > [“... the wind sprang up afresh, with a kind of bitter song, as if it said: "This is reality, whether you like it or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/the-wind-sprang-up-afresh-with-a-kind-of-bitter-song-as-if-it-said/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“The pale, cold light of the winter sunset did not beautify - it was like the light of truth itself. When the smoky clouds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/the-pale-cold-light-of-the-winter-sunset-did-not-beautify-it-was-like-2/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [The reality is, like any band, you can never quite quantify who does what.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-mason/the-reality-is-like-any-band-you-can-never-quite-quantify-who-does/) [Nick Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-mason/) > [Arguing with reality it like trying to teach a cat to bark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/arguing-with-reality-it-like-trying-to-teach-a-cat-to-bark/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [“Don't you go and dump reality on us like a garbage truck.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etgar-keret/don-t-you-go-and-dump-reality-on-us-like-a-garbage-truck/) [Etgar Keret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etgar-keret/) > [Reality is like a face reflected in the blade of a knife; its properties depend on the angle from which we view it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hsing-yun/reality-is-like-a-face-reflected-in-the-blade-of-a-knife-its/) [Hsing Yun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hsing-yun/) > [To use words to sense reality is like going with a lamp to search for darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-korzybski/to-use-words-to-sense-reality-is-like-going-with-a-lamp-to-search-for/) [Alfred Korzybski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-korzybski/) > [“But that reality was like nothing I'd ever seen before: a reality that didn't seem to fit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/but-that-reality-was-like-nothing-i-d-ever-seen-before-a-reality-that/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Reality is like a fine wine,” he said to me. “It will not appeal to children.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/reality-is-like-a-fine-wine-he-said-to-me-it-will-not-appeal-to/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [Doing a reality show is like being in a fraternity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bert-kreischer/doing-a-reality-show-is-like-being-in-a-fraternity/) [Bert Kreischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bert-kreischer/) > [Our view of reality is like a map with which to negotiate the terrain of life. If the map is true and accurate, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/our-view-of-reality-is-like-a-map-with-which-to-negotiate-the-terrain/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [Perception is a prism, and reality is like shot silk - depends where the light hits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-stone/perception-is-a-prism-and-reality-is-like-shot-silk-depends-where-the/) [Jennifer Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-stone/) > [Everytime I think that when I dream of love it makes me happy. But if it is reality is like my dream come true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djricks/everytime-i-think-that-when-i-dream-of-love-it-makes-me-happy-but-if/) [DjRicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djricks/) > [The pictures we saw before we got down here didn't even touch the reality of what it is like being here. We can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/connie-sellecca/the-pictures-we-saw-before-we-got-down-here-didn-t-even-touch-the/) [Connie Sellecca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/connie-sellecca/) > ['Dancing With the Stars' has become a phenomenon, and when I look at that type of reality show, it's like a variety show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-ziering/dancing-with-the-stars-has-become-a-phenomenon-and-when-i-look-at/) [Ian Ziering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-ziering/) ## More by Willa Cather > [The end is nothing; the road is all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/the-end-is-nothing-the-road-is-all/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Of all the bewildering things about a new country, the absence of human landmarks is one of the most depressing and disheartening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/of-all-the-bewildering-things-about-a-new-country-the-absence-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Success is less interesting than struggle. There is great pleasure in the effort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/success-is-less-interesting-than-struggle-there-is-great-pleasure-in/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“I only knew the schoolbooks said he "died in the wilderness, of a broken heart." "More than him has done that," said Antonia sadly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/i-only-knew-the-schoolbooks-said-he-died-in-the-wilderness-of-a/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“Have the last word ma'm," he said cheerfully. "It's a lady's privilege.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/have-the-last-word-ma-m-he-said-cheerfully-it-s-a-lady-s-privilege/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > ["More than him has done that," said Antonia sadly, and the girls murmured assent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/more-than-him-has-done-that-said-antonia-sadly-and-the-girls-murmured/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Nothing mattered ... but writing books, and living the kind of life that made it possible to write them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/nothing-mattered-but-writing-books-and-living-the-kind-of-life-that/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“Money and office and success are the consolations of impotence. Fortune turns kind to such solid people and lets them suck their bone in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/money-and-office-and-success-are-the-consolations-of-impotence/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [But she still had that something which fires the imagination, could still stop one's breath for a moment by a look or gesture that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/but-she-still-had-that-something-which-fires-the-imagination-could/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“You remember how homesick I used to get, and what long talks we used to have coming from school? We've someway always felt alike…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/you-remember-how-homesick-i-used-to-get-and-what-long-talks-we-used/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“He placed this book in my grandmother's hands, looked at her entreatingly, and said, with an earnestness which I shall never forget, "Te-e-ach, te-e-ach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/he-placed-this-book-in-my-grandmother-s-hands-looked-at-her/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [The sincerity of feeling that is possible between a writer and a reader is one of the finest things I know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/the-sincerity-of-feeling-that-is-possible-between-a-writer-and-a/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [One realizes that human relationships are the tragic necessity of human life; that they can never be wholly satisfactory, that every ego is half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/one-realizes-that-human-relationships-are-the-tragic-necessity-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Our tree became the talking tree of the fairy tale; legends and stories nestled like birds in its branches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/our-tree-became-the-talking-tree-of-the-fairy-tale-legends-and/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“Isn’t it queer: there are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/isn-t-it-queer-there-are-only-two-or-three-human-stories-and-they-go/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) [Explore all 434 Willa Cather quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) ## More Deceit quotes > [There is no deceit in death. It delivers precisely what it has promised. Betrayal, though ... betrayal is the willful slaughter of hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/km-ii/there-is-no-deceit-in-death-it-delivers-precisely-what-it-has/) [KM II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/km-ii/) > [ “Where there are kashays (anger-pride-deceit-greed), there is worldly life. As long as anger-pride-deceit-greed exist; one is a sansaari \[living a worldly life\] regardless of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-are-kashays-anger-pride-deceit-greed-there-is-worldly/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [When one fib becomes due as it were, you must forge another to take up the old acceptance; and so the stock of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/when-one-fib-becomes-due-as-it-were-you-must-forge-another-to-take-up/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [“The fact that I can get away with something is the very reason why I shouldn’t do it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/the-fact-that-i-can-get-away-with-something-is-the-very-reason-why-i/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [So may the outward shows be least themselves; The world is still deceived with ornament.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-may-the-outward-shows-be-least-themselves-the-world-is-still/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don't let him, trick you into thinking he will always be there for you, because the minute a more prettier women walks into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-let-him-trick-you-into-thinking-he-will-always-be-there-for-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A false mind is false in everything, just as a cross eye always looks askant. But one may err once, nay, a hundred times,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/a-false-mind-is-false-in-everything-just-as-a-cross-eye-always-looks/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [Self-deceit is a sure defeat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasneem-hameed/self-deceit-is-a-sure-defeat/) [Tasneem Hameed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasneem-hameed/) > [Only fools argue whether to eat meat or not. They don't understand truth nor do they meditate on it. Who can define what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guru-nanak/only-fools-argue-whether-to-eat-meat-or-not-they-don-t-understand/) [Guru Nanak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guru-nanak/) > [“You can be bit in the leg by a rattlesnake and seek help to heal your wound, or you can run after it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/you-can-be-bit-in-the-leg-by-a-rattlesnake-and-seek-help-to-heal-your/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [While the prosecution has said this is about the defendants lies, one worries that those lies already have been buried under too much discussion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-berg/while-the-prosecution-has-said-this-is-about-the-defendants-lies-one/) [David Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-berg/) > [It is discouraging how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-coward/it-is-discouraging-how-many-people-are-shocked-by-honesty-and-how-few/) [Noel Coward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-coward/) > [“They have secret weapons that break the heart of innocents, elevate stress levels, shoot down to make it look guilt. They can burn from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-karvouni/they-have-secret-weapons-that-break-the-heart-of-innocents-elevate/) [Maria Karvouni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-karvouni/) > [Our distrust of another justifies his deceit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/our-distrust-of-another-justifies-his-deceit/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [You used me when you needed a companion, I love you unconditionally. Now you think you are done while I can't get over you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/usman-ismaheel/you-used-me-when-you-needed-a-companion-i-love-you-unconditionally/) [Usman Ismaheel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/usman-ismaheel/) [Browse all 990 Deceit quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deceit/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "This is reality, whether you like it or not--all those frivolities of summer, the light and shadow, the living mask of green that trembled over everything, they were lies, and this is what was underneath. 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