My father was the quintessential husband and dad.
Sidney PoitierRead
My father was a certain kind of man - I saw how he treated my mother and his family and how he treated strangers. And I vowed I would never make a film that would not reflect properly on my father's name.
Interpretation
The quote reflects the influence of family values on personal integrity and responsibility in one's work.
Sidney Poitier emphasizes the profound impact that his father's character and treatment of family and strangers had on him. By vowing to reflect his father's values in his film work, he acknowledges the importance of integrity and respect in both personal and professional life, showcasing how family influence shapes one's identity and aspirations.
In practice
In a speech about values and work ethic, this quote could illustrate the importance of family influence.
My father was the quintessential husband and dad.
I wanted to explore the values that are at work, underpinning my life.
We suffer pain, we hang tight to hope, we nurture expectations, we are plagued occasionally by fears, we are haunted by defeats and unrealized hopes . . . The hoplessness of which I speak is not limited.
We're all imperfect, and life is simply a perpetual, unending struggle against those imperfections.
I was the only Black person on the set. It was unusual for me to be in a circumstance in which every move I made was tantamount to representation of 18 million people.
Okay listen, you think I'm so inconsequential? Then try this on for size. All those who see unworthiness when they look at me and are given thereby to denying me value - to you I say, I'm not talking about being AS GOOD as you. I hereby declare myself BETTER than you.
Fatherhood is the unending imperfect task of turning yourself into your dad while secretly maintaining the unbridled elation of your boyhood
Family life itself, that safest, most traditional, most approved of female choices, is not a sanctuary: It is, perpetually, a dangerous place.
Talk with your daughters, Play with your sons. You need to be a better friend to them than anyone else. This society offers lots of evil friends. Before they make those kinds of friends, they need to find their best friend in you.
My immediate family was always very supportive. It was my own fear of the rest of the world not accepting me, the rest of our society not accepting my wish to be an actor.
That's my parenting style - 'Go watch the TV.' I'm one of 11 children, and my mother's parenting style was, 'There's the TV. Go watch it. Mommy's got 10 other people to take care of.'
Your father, Jo. He never loses patience, never doubts or complains, but always hopes, and works and waits so cheerfully that one is ashamed to do otherwise before him.
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