I need help interpreting this QUOTE??

Question

heres the quote, on history,:

"it is not the literal past, the "facts" of history, that shape us, but images of the past embodied in language."

I'm pretty sure this means that its not the facts of history that are written down such as dates in textbooks, but the way you perceive it in your head.

i have to defend this quote. i do beleive it is totally true but how can i explain this in a paragraph???

like...

i beleive this is true because iuse images to help distinguish and understand things daily...

ugh im so confused!

helP! thanks :) :)

Answer 1

It is the Readers Perspective as to How it is interpreted. This statement can be True Some People and still be False to Others. It depends on the readers perception of the statement. Much like " Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder". What may be drop dead Gorgeous to me, may be Repulsive to someone else".

Answer 2

The facts are conveyed as words, and the words by their very nature have a certain tone associated with them. When reading or hearing about an event the author or lecturer's choice of words greatly influences you're outlook on an event or person. There are two sides to every story and language is used to express each one.

Answer 3

Well thing is, this is true of everything we hear about.  We aren't there for most events we learn about, we hear of them from others or the news.

So one person could describe the event as a lovely silvery winter day with the crystaline ice spires glistening like diamonds while another could say ya we woke up freezing our aasses off in an ice fishing hut - same event.

To deal with it and defend it, consider that any event we don't personally attend, we have to hear about.  That means two influencing factors come into mix with the truth of what happened.  One is the teller's impression or viewpoint of it.  The second is the choice of language used to convey their mental image to us.

This is both more and less of a dramatic big deal than the quote makes it sound.  It is much less, because it's true of everything we hear about, a hundred times a day.  It's more, because wow - that's true of everything we hear about!  Our actual "snapshot" accuracy of most things is not there at all, only what the person telling us filtered in and filtered out of their story.

Answer 4

It means that what happened doesn't matter, only what you think happened.  And the next part is about body language.  Like a little wiggle could mean, "hi, sailor.", or "I have fleas in my underwear".  But whatever you think is inside your head is really there, because your head is like this bony beachball, with lost of junk inside, like pieces of popcorn, and...well, I digress - but the point is this -

We are all just skinbags filled with people parts.

Chew on that awhile, my friend.

Answer 5

History isn't just facts, its history, it happened in real life and in real time and to real people.  History is what makes us who we are today.  It's not just that your own perception of history makes you who you are, it's every single person's perception of history that makes us who we are.  It means that its not just the physical or apparent that shape us, it's the hidden and mental.  It's the individual mindset of every individual that has walked this earth.  Everyone of us count, without even one of us, we all would be different.  That is shown through our language, spoken and perceived.

I know this is a little fragmented, but I hope that you will get the general idea of what I am trying to tell you.  And anyway, I don't want to do your homework for you.