--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People ought to be one of two things…" description: "\"People ought to be one of two things, young or dead.\" — Dorothy Parker" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb9/dorothy-parker-700_ought_people-ought-to-be-one-of-two-things-you_2121163.jpg" --- # People ought to be one of two things, young or dead. ![“People ought to be one of two things, young or dead.” quote by Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb9/dorothy-parker-700_ought_people-ought-to-be-one-of-two-things-you_2121163.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb9/dorothy-parker-700_ought_people-ought-to-be-one-of-two-things-you_2121163.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb9/dorothy-parker-700_ought_people-ought-to-be-one-of-two-things-you_2121163.jpg) > “People ought to be one of two things, young or dead.” [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It humorously claims that the only acceptable states are youthful vitality or death, dismissing middle age as undesirable. **In simple terms:** Only youth or death are acceptable. Key Takeaway Embrace youth or accept mortality. Themes youth death ageism Mood wry critical Type satirical philosophical When to use this quote - career planning - health decisions - family planning - personal reflection Key Concepts nihilism satire Questions to Reflect On - Do you fear aging? - What does a fulfilling middle age look like? A Different Perspective Life is more nuanced; middle age can be fulfilling. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [“Remember that there are only three kinds of things anyone need ever do. (1) Things we ought to do (2) Things we've got to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/remember-that-there-are-only-three-kinds-of-things-anyone-need-ever/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [I was never young. Whoever I was then is dead. That's more of your quills. I don't want a hide full, thanks. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/i-was-never-young-whoever-i-was-then-is-dead-that-s-more-of-your/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“but the young dead stay with us, they color our dreams, they make us wonder about ourselves, that we should be so unlucky, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/but-the-young-dead-stay-with-us-they-color-our-dreams-they-make-us/) [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) > [“it wasn't uncommon... that such a girl might die young, but this girl had stayed alive long enough to make her mark, to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-schiller/it-wasn-t-uncommon-that-such-a-girl-might-die-young-but-this-girl-had/) [Lawrence Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-schiller/) > [Now nearly all those I loved and did not understand when I was young are dead, but I still reach out to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/now-nearly-all-those-i-loved-and-did-not-understand-when-i-was-young/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [People ought to shop smart and really think about what they are buying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-crawford/people-ought-to-shop-smart-and-really-think-about-what-they-are-buying/) [Allen Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-crawford/) > [I do think that people ought to have some control over their money, rather than the government, just mandating to them how they're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saxby-chambliss/i-do-think-that-people-ought-to-have-some-control-over-their-money/) [Saxby Chambliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saxby-chambliss/) > [In my opinion, economists and sociologists are the people to whom we ought to turn more than we do for instruction in the grounds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/in-my-opinion-economists-and-sociologists-are-the-people-to-whom-we/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [Although all men are born free, slavery has been the general lot of the human race. Ignorant--they have been cheated; asleep--they have been surprised;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/although-all-men-are-born-free-slavery-has-been-the-general-lot-of/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [On my reading of history people who want to bring us the best are usually the people we ought to be afraid of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/on-my-reading-of-history-people-who-want-to-bring-us-the-best-are/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [All the people ought to decide, but now most states are tossed on the scrap heap and ignored](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-anderson/all-the-people-ought-to-decide-but-now-most-states-are-tossed-on-the/) [John Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-anderson/) > [If u dont do a lot stupid things when u are young, you won't have have funny things to talk about when u are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-u-dont-do-a-lot-stupid-things-when-u-are-young-you-won-t-have-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you don't do stupid things while your young, you have nothing to smile about when your old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-don-t-do-stupid-things-while-your-young-you-have-nothing-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You try all kinds of things when you are young and hopeful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-picasso/you-try-all-kinds-of-things-when-you-are-young-and-hopeful/) [Claude Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-picasso/) > [If you don't do stupid things while you're young, you'll have nothing to smile about when you're old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/komal/if-you-don-t-do-stupid-things-while-you-re-young-you-ll-have-nothing/) [Komal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/komal/) ## More by Dorothy Parker > [There's little in taking or giving, There's little in water or wine: This living, this living, this living, Was never a project of mine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-little-in-taking-or-giving-there-s-little-in-water-or-wine/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Writing is the art of applying the ass to the seat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/writing-is-the-art-of-applying-the-ass-to-the-seat/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Hollywood is the one place on earth where you could die of encouragement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/hollywood-is-the-one-place-on-earth-where-you-could-die-of/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [“The two most beautiful words in the English language are 'check enclosed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/the-two-most-beautiful-words-in-the-english-language-are-check/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Sometimes I think Ill give up trying, and just go completely Russian and sit on a stove and moan all day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/sometimes-i-think-ill-give-up-trying-and-just-go-completely-russian/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [I was always sweet, at first. Oh, it's so easy to be sweet to people before you love them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/i-was-always-sweet-at-first-oh-it-s-so-easy-to-be-sweet-to-people/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Now to me, Edith looks like something that would eat her young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/now-to-me-edith-looks-like-something-that-would-eat-her-young/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Misfortune, and recited misfortune especially, can be prolonged to the point where it ceases to excite pity and arouses only irritation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/misfortune-and-recited-misfortune-especially-can-be-prolonged-to-the/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [The sun's gone dim, and the moon's gone black. For I loved him, and he didn't love back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/the-sun-s-gone-dim-and-the-moon-s-gone-black-for-i-loved-him-and-he/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [There's a hell of a distance between wisecracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-a-hell-of-a-distance-between-wisecracking-and-wit-wit-has/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Oh, life is a glorious cycle of song, A medley of extemporanea; And love is a thing that can never go wrong; And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/oh-life-is-a-glorious-cycle-of-song-a-medley-of-extemporanea-and-love/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Enjoyed it! One more drink and I'd have been under the host.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/enjoyed-it-one-more-drink-and-i-d-have-been-under-the-host/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [This living, this living, this living Was never a project of mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/this-living-this-living-this-living-was-never-a-project-of-mine/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Flowers are heaven's masterpiece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/flowers-are-heaven-s-masterpiece/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [It costs me never a stab nor squirm / To tread by chance upon a worm. / Aha, my little dear, / I say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/it-costs-me-never-a-stab-nor-squirm-to-tread-by-chance-upon-a-worm/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) [Explore all 398 Dorothy Parker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) ## More Ought quotes > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [I do conscientiously and sincerely believe that the Order of Freemasonry, if not the greatest, is one of the greatest moral and political evils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/i-do-conscientiously-and-sincerely-believe-that-the-order-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [This, at last, was where things were as they ought to be. Everything was in its place -- the tree, the earth underneath, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/this-at-last-was-where-things-were-as-they-ought-to-be-everything-was/) [Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/) > [The worst advice? 'Don't listen to the critics.' I think that you really ought to listen to the critics, because sometimes they're telling you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-worst-advice-don-t-listen-to-the-critics-i-think-that-you-really/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Economists think about what people ought to do. Psychologists watch what they actually do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/economists-think-about-what-people-ought-to-do-psychologists-watch/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [The Ten Commandments don't tell you what you ought to do: They only put ideas into your head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bibesco/the-ten-commandments-don-t-tell-you-what-you-ought-to-do-they-only/) [Elizabeth Bibesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bibesco/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [We ought to observe that practice which is the hardest of all-especially for young physicians-we ought to throw in no medicine at all-to abstain-to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-randolph-of-roanoke/we-ought-to-observe-that-practice-which-is-the-hardest-of-all/) John Randolph of Roanoke > [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [The first thing you ought to do is verify what I present. Just because I say it doesn't make it true. So check it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-first-thing-you-ought-to-do-is-verify-what-i-present-just-because/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [In the dim background of our mind we know meanwhile what we ought to be doing: getting up, dressing ourselves, answering the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/in-the-dim-background-of-our-mind-we-know-meanwhile-what-we-ought-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [There are a great many colored people who are ashamed of the cake-walk, but I think they ought to be proud of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-weldon-johnson/there-are-a-great-many-colored-people-who-are-ashamed-of-the-cake/) [James Weldon Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-weldon-johnson/) > [Force ought to follow justice and not to precede.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-coke/force-ought-to-follow-justice-and-not-to-precede/) [Edward Coke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-coke/) > [We must allow the Bible to say what is says, not what we think it ought to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-bridges/we-must-allow-the-bible-to-say-what-is-says-not-what-we-think-it/) [Jerry Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-bridges/) Browse all 3,519 Ought quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People ought to be one of two things, young or dead.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dorothy Parker" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/people-ought-to-be-one-of-two-things-young-or-dead/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ought" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/people-ought-to-be-one-of-two-things-young-or-dead/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb9/dorothy-parker-700_ought_people-ought-to-be-one-of-two-things-you_2121163.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb9/dorothy-parker-700_ought_people-ought-to-be-one-of-two-things-you_2121163.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb9/dorothy-parker-700_ought_people-ought-to-be-one-of-two-things-you_2121163.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People ought to be one of two things, young or dead.” — Dorothy Parker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dorothy Parker", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "People ought to be one of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/people-ought-to-be-one-of-two-things-young-or-dead/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/people-ought-to-be-one-of-two-things-young-or-dead/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```