Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.
John SteinbeckRead
So in our pride we ordered for breakfast an omelet, toast and coffee and what has just arrived is a tomato salad with onions, a dish of pickles, a big slice of watermelon and two bottles of cream soda.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote humorously illustrates the disparity between expectations and reality.
In this humorous observation by John Steinbeck, the speaker highlights the absurdity of a situation where the meal ordered, presumably a simple breakfast, is replaced by a bizarre assortment of foods that do not match the expectation. The humor lies in the contrast of the mundane breakfast order against the surprising, almost ridiculous delivery of unexpected items, prompting the reader to reflect on the unpredictability of life.
Themes
ExpectationRealityHumorSurpriseLife
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a humorous speech about the unpredictability of life.
More from John Steinbeck
All quotes βAt one point, as Samuel urges Adam to raise his boys well regardless of the blood that might be in them, Adam tells him, "You can't make a race horse of a pig." Samuel replies, "No, but you can make a very fast pig.
John SteinbeckRead
And when that crop grew, and was harvested, no man had crumbled a hot clod in his fingers and let the earth sift past his fingertips. No man had touched the seed, or lusted for the growth. Men ate what they had not raised, had no connection with the bread. The land bore under iron, and under iron gradually died; for it was not loved or hated, it had no prayers or curses.
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The comfortable people in tight houses felt pity at first, and then distaste, and finally hatred for the migrant people.
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People do not want advice - they want corroboration.
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It is one of the triumphs of the human that he can know a thing and still not believe it.
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