QuoteProject
We wish to learn all the curious, outlandish ways of all the different countries, so that we can "show off" and astonish people when we get home. We wish to excite the envy of our untraveled friends with our strange foreign fashions which we can't shake off.
Mark Twain
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote reflects a desire to travel and learn about other cultures primarily for the sake of impressing others.

Mark Twain's quote highlights the human tendency to seek out experiences and knowledge that may stand out to others. It suggests that part of our motivation for exploring new cultures and adopting foreign customs is not just for personal enrichment, but also to astonish those back home, showcasing our adventures with a hint of pride and envy-inducing novelty.

Themes

TravelCultureImpressionLearningFashions

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in a travel blog to emphasize the joy of discovering new cultures.

More from Mark Twain

Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it
Mark TwainRead
The easy part of being an artist is figuring out the message that everyone else is ready to hear. The hard part is waiting for the proper lull to make the announcement.
Mark TwainRead
You can't reason with your heart; it has its own laws, and thumps about things which the intellect scorns.
Mark TwainRead
To be good is noble; but to show others how to be good is nobler and no trouble.
Mark TwainRead
Name the greatest of all inventors. Accident.
Mark TwainRead
In Paris they just simply opened their eyes and stared when we spoke to them in French! We never did succeed in making those idiots understand their own language.
Mark TwainRead

Similar quotes

My people are going to learn the principles of democracy, the dictates of truth and the teachings of science. Superstition must go.
Mustafa Kemal AtaturkRead
In my work a good library is essential. It enables me to learn the background and previous discussions of the various issues I am called upon to decide. It provides the stability and continuity for the rule of law.
Sandra Day O'ConnorRead
Your ancestors fought for you to have a share in that institution over there. It's yours. See the school board, and every Friday night hold your meetings there. Have your wives clean it up Saturday morning for the children to enter Monday. Your organization is not a praying institution. It's a fighting institution. It's an educational institution along industrial lines. Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living!
Mother JonesRead
Schools and schoolmasters, as we have them today, are not popular as places of education and teachers, but rather prisons and turnkeys in which children are kept to prevent them disturbing and chaperoning their parent.
George Bernard ShawRead
It is my firm belief that all successful languages are grown and not merely designed from first principles
Bjarne StroustrupRead
You'll never make your mark as a writer unless you develop a respect for words and a curiosity about their shades of meaning that is almost obsessive. The English language is rich in strong and supple words. Take the time to root around and find the ones you want
William ZinsserRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.

Quote by Mark Twain | QuoteProject