You are not what you seem So many people have said that that I'm beginning to think that's precisely how I do seem. What is it I seem to be that you have now discovered that I'm not?
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- It questions self-perception based on how others see the speaker.
- In plain terms
- Others say I am not what I seem.
- What can you take from it?
- Identity is shaped by others.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Do I seem who I am?
- Who knows me best?
Another view
It assumes others' views are accurate.
More from Orson Scott Card
I immediately felt so comfortable there. Or if not comfortable, at least willing to bear the discomforts because they fit the awkward places in my heart
Permalink to quote #880 There's a sort of rage a man feels when he's been deceived where he most trusted. It compares to no other anger
Permalink to quote #882 I walked down the hill, forgot philosophy, and joined the human race again. Nobody was particularly glad to see me
Permalink to quote #879
Related quotes
Meanings are not determined by situations, but we determine ourselves by the meanings we give to situations.
Alfred AdlerAlfred Adler quote #3 For my part, when I enter most intimately into what I call myself, I always stumble on some particular perception or other, of heat or cold, light or shade, lo…
David HumeDavid Hume quote #6 I am one of you and being one of you Is being and knowing what I am and know. Yet I am the necessary angel of earth, Since, in my sight, you see the earth agai…
Wallace StevensWallace Stevens quote #16