Fiction is the enemy of history. Fiction makes us believe in structure, in beginnings and middles and endings, in tragedy and comedy. There is neither tragedy nor comedy in war, only disorder and harm.

Sarah Moss
About This Quote

One of the most interesting and unique quotes by George Orwell is this: “Fiction is the enemy of history. Fiction makes us believe in structure, in beginnings and middles and endings, in tragedy and comedy. There is neither tragedy nor comedy in war, only disorder and harm.” Essentially, this statement captures the essence of why people write fiction. And it does it with understanding, understanding of what war is really like, understanding of the reality that fiction doesn’t capture.

Fiction does not capture the full truth. And, while many authors see this as a negative, others see it as a positive thing. This statement is a strong argument for why people write fiction.

Source: The Tidal Zone

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More Quotes By Sarah Moss
  1. Fiction is the enemy of history. Fiction makes us believe in structure, in beginnings and middles and endings, in tragedy and comedy. There is neither tragedy nor comedy in war, only disorder and harm.
  2. It was important to tell people. To let people know that this can happen. Your child's body can stop. Stop breathing, stop beating.
  3. I dislike Tolkien, another Oxonian Old Norse obsessive, with his war games and made-up language in a world without women.
  4. Stories have endings; that's why we tell them, for reassurance that there is meaning in our lives. But like a diagnosis, a story can become a prison, a straight road mapped out by the people who went before. Stories are not the truth.
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