Consider the following examples (λ> = ghci, $ = shell):
λ> writeFile "d" $ show "d"
$ cat d
"d"
λ> writeFile "d" "d"
$ cat d
d
λ> writeFile "backslash" $ show "\\"
$ cat backslash
"\\"
λ> writeFile "backslash" "\\"
$ cat backslash
\
λ> writeFile "cat" $ show "
