“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions.
Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too,
can become great”
-- Mark Twain
Using an example from history, science, literature, film or
your own experience respond to the following questions. Analyze the above quote; what does Twain mean
in your opinion? Also, write about the
concept of ambition. Are ambitions a
positive or a negative influence in life?
Explain!!!
250 Word due by Thursday the 26th
Student reply due by Sunday the 29th
“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great”. In other words, do not let anyone hold you down, and if you keep yourself surrounded by good people with goals, who have motivation, you will follow in their footsteps. People are influenced with their surroundings and their friends, so if you have good influences, you will follow.
ReplyDeleteThere is no definite answer to if ambitions are positive or negative, good or bad, because each ambition is different. If you aim to help the starving children, then obviously you have good ambitions. But, if your goal in life is to be the number one worst serial killer, then I would say your ambitions are bad. It all depends on the path you choose and who you choose to go through it with.
I agree with Gabby. I see music artists who often give to kids who have nothing.
Deletegreat examples! amazed you disn't throw theif in with serial killer though.
Delete“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great by Mark Twain. This quote means so much. In his life he achieved a lot. From this quote it helps me to understand that there were people who tried to question his triumph. People who hate your success are little to you. Meaning you can live upon being greater than their smallness. Other people who compliment you ,and help you get there are on your side ,and respect your decisions. They like that you are for success. They respect that you have taken failure ,and perfected it. They understand what obstacles you have faced ,and what journey you have overcome. In literature a man may be in trouble with debt so he gets a(n) excellent job ,and pays off all debt. I guy rescues another respective people who give to help. I have thought about the people in my life. I thought of who is here to support me ,and to who is not. Like some people envy power ,and success. Some respect ,and show loyalty to power ,and success. He fought for what he believed in. His life may have changed the way some people view others. This quote makes you just think hard. You truly have to understand this quote to relate to it. He was an very respectful author.
ReplyDeleteHe wanted to bring out the better for all people.
I agree with laire's statement that he wanted to bring out the better for all people, and we need more people like him
DeleteI agree that people you surround yourself with have a great influence on what you do in life.
Delete“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great” -Mark Twain. This quote in my opinion means a lot. In his life to death he has achieved a lot. This quote makes me understand that people were trying to question his victorious triumph. He was a big author, everyone knew about him. Mark Twain was in the Confederate Army for a long time. He also tried changing people for the better. there was a lot of people who respected him and there were others who hated for what he believed. The people that disrespected Mark Twain, he cared little about. People who respected Mark Twain, complimented him, gave him a thumbs up and had every little ounce of respect for him because, he knew what he was doing it life and he achieved greatness. The civil war was a big time for Mark Twain. Mark Twain didn't care about having power, he basically wanted to make a name for himself, he pretty much just wanted to be remembered as that guy who wasn't greedy but he was ambitious to other people and inspirational. he took his failure and he perfected it. we read books he wrote in his times. he changed the way some people view others. Mark Twain despised racism, and he hated greed and wealth.
ReplyDeletein this quote it shows me Mark Twain was a very ambitious person and let very little people in his way
The quote “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great” can many different meanings. The meaning that I put on this quote is to not let anyone hold you down. Make friends with people that will be there for you when you need them. You can become great if you set your mind to it. To relate this to Mark’s life he just wanted what was best for everyone. He achieved a lot in his life. Mark was all for success. I can relate this quote to my life because this is what I try and do. I try to put myself in a good group of people and try and stay out of trouble. Sometimes if you get mixed in with the wrong group of people you can end up doing drugs and getting into a lot of trouble. My mom always told me if I get in trouble I have to find my way out of it because I got myself there. Thinking back on this now she really does have a good point. If you’re going to make bad chooses in life why should people help you?
ReplyDeleteMark twain once said “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great”. This quote is 100% true. People who try and bring you down or are always having negative comments about your life and who you are will just keep doing that until they see what they want. Staying away from people like that will help in the long run. People who are positive and are always encouraging you will make you a greater person and make you want to start encouraging others also. If you keep negative people away, your life will be full of great things.
ReplyDeleteI know many people who bring people down daily. For example, my one friend was starting a new sport and some of her teammates would ask why she would still play after not being one of the best or one of the starters on the team. When this person told me that I gave very positive advice. When she went back and when they asked again she simply just said "because I'm doing this for me and eventually I will be where I want to be, which is a starter" Eventually she did get better and ended up where she wanted. Although there were people who tried bringing her down, the positive, greater people kept her up and she proved them wrong.
Did you ever feel like you have been put down by the people you care dearly about, such as your friends, maybe even your family? People constantly struggle with this daily. Have you noticed? If not open your eyes! Today its known as a type of bullying. Mark Twain stated, "keep away from the people that belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great,make you feel that you, too, can become great." I agree one hundred percent! The people that say there your friend but than say " You can't do it! Your not good enough!" They are not the kind of people you want to be with. Think about it? Would you want to be told by someone that your not good enough so why bother try? Wouldnt you feel like your defeated, or maybe you feel like maybe you want to quit at whatever it is your doing? Well don't! Never stop yourself from doing something good just because your friend said something like this. It only means that there not your true friend. A true friend doesnt put you down. So get up and figure out who they are. I can relate to this quote. Ive been their. I once had this friend were they thought that i couldnt succeed at becoming a teacher, but here i am going to vocational school to become what i always wanted to become. When they said that to me at the time i believed them, but a few years went by and i said to myself that i can do it. And guess what i am, and everytime i see them, i say to myself that i cant wait to prove them wrong. What im saying is that i thought positive about it. Instead of not following what i really wanted to be. Maybe you should think positive to. Try it?
ReplyDeleteThis quote, “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great”, is a nice quote. Don't let other people judge you, or put you down. No ones better then another person, everyone is the same. Everyone needs motivation. If your're with those types of people, with goals and that are great, you too will do so. If you get picked on, then maybe you would stop what your doing, but if your around those people who are good, and supportive, you'll do better. For example, if you play a sport like football, and you see someone you really like from a football team, you'll want to be like them. Since they are great, you can become great too, were all human and equal. That person, or thing, that you follow is a great motivation. I have friends that motivate me everyday, and it feels great. People who can't relate to others, or don't get motivation from others, can really hurt them. If you try to accomplish something alone, you probably wont complete it. If there's someone there to help you and get you going, it'll be a lot better. Ambitions are good, everyone has them and have set goals. I believe they are positive.
ReplyDeleteI agree 100% with you.
DeleteThis quote is very inspirational and is meaningful. I believe that this quote means that you can live without the people who put you down because the most important people in your life are the people who compliment you and are your true friends. I think all people should live up to this quote because we really don’t need people that put us down because we all need support not someone who is going to make fun of us. People don’t understand how much it hurts someone when they say things that are hurtful and cruel. I really like this quote and believe everyone should follow it. If people didn’t talk or communicate with the people that belittle them then it would get the point across to those people that what they are saying is hurtful and they might stop.
ReplyDeleteMark Twain’s quote means to me that you should surround yourself with people who believe in you. When people support you it really feels like you’ll succeed. On the contrary, when people belittle you, you lose faith in yourself; either that, or you become more stubborn in your self-belief. That makes it harder for you to succeed. Sometimes you keep trying, sometimes you give up.
ReplyDeleteWalt Disney is an example of this. He was belittled by his father but encouraged by mother and brother. Because of the encouragement and his ambition, he went on to make classic movies like Dumbo, Pinocchio, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves , build Disneyland and then turned the swamps of Florida into Disney World. Walt Disney’s vision to make the movies that are known to the world was fueled by his ambition - he made full length animated movies and then color movies, before anyone else. He dreamed of building a grand playground and thanks to his ambition, he made Disney World possible.
I think ambition is a good thing. It keeps you going when people don’t believe in you. It also helps you to reach for things you never thought possible. Having people around you that believe in you helps you achieve your dreams.
Without ambition what does a person do with their life? Ambition fuels us to create, to be successful. Without it we would never have put a man on the moon, heck we probably would never have gotten off the ground for a sustained amount of time in the first place. We wouldn’t have computers. The Roman Empire wouldn’t have ever been born, Alexander the Great would never have conquered Persia.