Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it
Mark TwainRead
We are discreet sheep; we wait to see how the drove is going, and then go with the drove. We have two opinions: one private, which we are afraid to express; and another one - the one we use - which we force ourselves to wear to please Mrs. Grundy, until habit makes us comfortable in it, and the custom of defending it presently makes us love it, adore it, and forget how pitifully we came by it. Look at it in politics.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote critiques social conformity and the tendency to suppress personal opinions in favor of societal acceptance.
Mark Twain highlights the idea that people often conform to the opinions and behaviors of the majority, suppressing their true thoughts out of fear of judgment. This discomfort with individuality leads them to adopt beliefs that they initially wore as a mask to fit in, ultimately becoming so accustomed to these views that they forget their origins and may even come to passionately defend them, reflecting the complex dynamics of societal pressure and personal identity.
Themes
ConformityIndividualitySocietyOpinionFear
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used during a speech on the importance of embracing individuality.
More from Mark Twain
All quotes →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.
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To be good is noble; but to show others how to be good is nobler and no trouble.
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Name the greatest of all inventors. Accident.
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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.
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