Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.
John SteinbeckRead
All Americans believe that they are born fishermen. For a man to admit a distaste for fishing would be like denouncing mother-love or hating moonlight.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that fishing is an integral part of the American identity, akin to fundamental values like love for family and appreciation for nature.
In this quote, John Steinbeck highlights the deep cultural significance of fishing in American life. He implies that to dislike fishing is not just a personal preference but a rejection of a cherished and almost universal American ideal, similar to rejecting love for one's mother or the beauty of moonlight. This underscores the emotional and symbolic weight that fishing carries in the collective consciousness of Americans, representing a connection to nature, tradition, and shared experiences.
Themes
FishingIdentityNatureCultureAmericana
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about American traditions to emphasize shared values.
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.
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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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