“When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.” –Reader’s Digest, September 1937 (pg. 75)
It was much harder than I thought to choose only one Twain
quote to comment on; I enjoyed so many of them. But this one in particular stood out to me because of how hysterical and relatable it is.
It’s a pretty common thing for us to think that we know more
than our parents. At least for me, this was the constant struggle between my
mom and me when I was growing up. I always failed to heed my mother’s advice
because I thought she didn’t know what she was talking about. It wasn’t until I
went to college and had to live on my own that I actually realized how right
she was about everything.
It’s truly idiotic to
ever presume we know more than our parents. They’ve been alive way longer and
will always have those years of experience and knowledge over us.
This is exactly what Twain’s remark is getting at. But it
still portrays the prideful idea of thinking we are more intelligent than our
parents, and that’s what makes it funny. He doesn’t consider the possibility that
he himself had matured; naturally it was his father that had done the learning.
To this day, I catch myself doing the same thing. Don’t get
me wrong, I have a lot more respect for my parents’ wisdom than I used to. But
there is still a small part of me that harbors this foolish pride, thinking I’ve
got it all figured out.
So this quote begs the question- do we ever really grow out of that?
I love this quote! I feel like everyone can relate to this quote to some extent. I think that most people, especially in college, find themselves realizing every now and then that their parents were right. From the small thing to the big decisions, most people have ignored the advice of their elders at some point in their life – and regretted it. Not to say that parents are infallible. I just think that it’s about time they get a little credit. :)
ReplyDeleteI really liked this quote too! I still today have moments of realization when I find myself admitting that my parents were right. I agree with what you said about young people having a tendency of being prideful. The older I get, the more I realize I still have a lot to learn. It is so easy when we are young to be ignorant of the truth in order to fulfill our own confidence and pride. I think it is important to value the opinions and words of the elderly because only time and experience can provide true wisdom.
ReplyDeleteI actually marked this as one of my six favorite quotations as well. I enjoyed it for the same reasons you listed. I too am finding out just how smart and right my parents are about everything--especially my mother. I've admitted she's right more times in the last two years than I ever have in the 19 years of my lifetime. I think realizing that our parents are right and that we should start valuing their input is part of growing up, and I'm glad we're all discovering this now, while we still have time to listen.
ReplyDeleteA great quote, but probably not something from MT. His father died when he was 11 years old.
ReplyDelete