Posts Tagged ‘toni morrison’
Toni Morrison: Inherit Inheritance
on Thursday, December 31, 2020Toni Morrison Money Quote saying the wealthy get inheritances to keep them in the money along with the rest of the old-boy network. Toni Morrison said:
“Everybody gets everything handed to them. The rich inherit it. I don’t mean just inheritance of money. I mean what people take for granted among the middle and upper classes, which is nepotism, the old-boy network” — Toni Morrison
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In this quote, author Toni Morrison appears to be criticizing the advantages that people born into wealthy or well-connected families take for granted. She notes that the rich not only inherit money through family wealth, but they also benefit from “nepotism” and networking among people of similar socioeconomic status (“the old-boy network”).
Morrison suggests these social privileges effectively give upper- and middle-class people a head start in life by providing access to opportunities through family connections.
In contrast, those without wealth or social status do not have the same advantages “handed to them” automatically. The quote implies Morrison believes class privilege allows some to easily obtain benefits that others have to work much harder to achieve on their own merits alone.
Birthday: February 18, 1931 – Death: August 5, 2019
Toni Morrison: Earnings Squander
on Tuesday, August 6, 2019Toni Morrison Money Quote saying in the New Yorker of 2017 that money can be wasted and it can be used for real things where it is needed and can bring fulfillment to us. Toni Morrison said:
“Part of my pride in working for Her was earning money I could squander: on movies, candy, paddleballs, jacks, ice-cream cones. But a larger part of my pride was based on the fact that I gave half my wages to my mother, which meant that some of my earnings were used for real things — an insurance-policy payment or what was owed to the milkman or the iceman” — Toni Morrison
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In this quote, Toni Morrison is reflecting on her childhood experience of working to earn money and the pride she took in both enjoying small pleasures with some of her wages, but also contributing financially to her family through giving half of her earnings to her mother.
The best interpretation is that Morrison felt a dual sense of pride – she was proud to have independence and agency over some of her money to buy little treats, but she took even greater pride in being able to help support her family practically through the portion of her wages that went towards necessities like insurance, bills for milk and ice delivery.
Morrison viewed both aspects – enjoying modest personal rewards of her work as well as meaningfully assisting her mother through her earnings – as contributing to her self-worth and positive identity at that stage of her life. The quote conveys Morrison’s appreciation for both the small joys and real responsibilities that came with her early working experience.
Birthday: February 18, 1931 – Death: August 5, 2019