American Pastoral Literature and Writing Quotes

If Jerry knew that Zuckerman was "impotent and incontinent" after prostate surgery, Zuckerman's purity might be easier to grasp.

If you don't write anything, you can't write something untrue. But, as soon as you write something down, it's going to be wrong to someone, somewhere, on some level. That's all Zuckerman is trying to say.

Zuckerman wants to make really sure we understand that he understands that he's writing fiction, and that since he never even talked to the Swede about any of this stuff, it can't be right. At the same time, he's hoping to capture some of the emotions the Swede likely felt.