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Mark Twain's Views On Ignorance And Confidence

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“All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure” (Twain). Twain's quote is one of the more blatantly true quotes about this life thus far. At first the quote is puzzling, but looking deeper into the connotation of the words, Mark Twain’s true meaning is clear. When looking for the meaning in Twain’s quote, it is important not to confuse ignorance with stupidity. Twain’s meaning of ignorance might be somewhere along the lines of refusing to accept that this one thing is true or can never change. For example, in more recent years, equality for all humans has been rapidly spreading across America. The Women’s Rights movement is a prime example of the truth behind Twain’s quote. Women, and men, across America have been pushing for more equal rights for women since July 14, 1848 (nwhp.org). The most well-known act by this group is when women got the right to vote. This right would not have been granted without the “ignorance” of one group. Remember, this is ignorance as in refusing to believe something is true or will not change, not stupidity. …show more content…

Leaving ignorance behind, confidence can carry people and their aspirations so far. If someone has confidence in their ideas and their beliefs, it is hard to stop them. For example, during WWII, many women, and boys not quite old enough or register for the army, worked the factory jobs left behind by the men who went to war. After the war, men wanted their jobs back and to force women back to working at home. Women had the confidence in the idea that they too deserved to have jobs in factories and offices and soon, being either a house-wife or having a job became normal. This is because these women had confidence in their idea and the “Twain ignorance” that anything and everything can

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