---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nevertheless, his very superiority kept…"
description: "\"“Nevertheless, his very superiority kept him from being a success in college--the independence was mistaken for egotism, and the refusal to accept Yale..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee7/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_egotism_nevertheless-his-very-superiority-kept-h_544311.jpg"
---

#  Nevertheless, his very superiority kept him from being a…

![“Nevertheless, his very superiority kept him from being a success in college--the independence was mistaken for egotism, and the refusal to accept Yale standards with the proper awe seemed to belittle all those who had.” quote by F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee7/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_egotism_nevertheless-his-very-superiority-kept-h_544311.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee7/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_egotism_nevertheless-his-very-superiority-kept-h_544311.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee7/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_egotism_nevertheless-his-very-superiority-kept-h_544311.jpg)

> ““Nevertheless, his very superiority kept him from being a success in college--the independence was mistaken for egotism, and the refusal to accept Yale standards with the proper awe seemed to belittle all those who had.””

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

His exceptional talent was misread as arrogance, leading to conflict with institutional expectations and social peers.

**In simple terms:** Talent mistaken for ego caused failure in college.

Key Takeaway

Recognize how perception shapes opportunity.

Themes

talent misinterpretation social norms

Mood

analytical critical

Type

literary observational

When to use this quote

- academic settings
- career advancement
- team dynamics
- leadership roles

Key Concepts

psychology identity institutional pressure

Questions to Reflect On

- How can one convey confidence without seeming egotistical?
- What strategies help align personal standards with institutional expectations?

A Different Perspective

Perceived ego can hinder collaboration and growth.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[College Independence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college-independence-4544724/) [Egotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/egotism/) [Egotism Refusal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/egotism-refusal-4544723/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Independence Mistaken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independence-mistaken-4544722/) [Mistaken Egotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistaken-egotism-2957892/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/)

## Related quotes

> [Self-confidence may be mistaken for egotism if it is not accompanied by humility of the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/self-confidence-may-be-mistaken-for-egotism-if-it-is-not-accompanied/)

[Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/)

> [Something was making him nibble at the edge of stale ideas as if his sturdy physical egotism no longer nourished his peremptory heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/something-was-making-him-nibble-at-the-edge-of-stale-ideas-as-if-his/)

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> [Do not feel that you are destined not to make that final liberation in this life. This is egotism in a reverse form. Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/do-not-feel-that-you-are-destined-not-to-make-that-final-liberation/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [Ego erodes the inner tank of wisdom and humility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemmy-nola-http-wwwamoreloveforlifecom/ego-erodes-the-inner-tank-of-wisdom-and-humility/)

[Kemmy Nola Http://wwwamoreloveforlifecom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemmy-nola-http-wwwamoreloveforlifecom/)

> [“Never allow your ego to diminish your ability to listen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-hopkins/never-allow-your-ego-to-diminish-your-ability-to-listen/)

[Gary Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-hopkins/)

> [Honesty, I went through terrible, terrible times where I just took myself over the coals. I thought I must be the most impure person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/honesty-i-went-through-terrible-terrible-times-where-i-just-took/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [How dare you ever in ya life walk past me without acknowledging their man as God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ll-cool-j/how-dare-you-ever-in-ya-life-walk-past-me-without-acknowledging-their/)

[LL Cool J](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ll-cool-j/)

> [When Jerry Lewis and I were big, we used to go to parties, and everybody thought I was big-headed and stuck up, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-martin/when-jerry-lewis-and-i-were-big-we-used-to-go-to-parties-and/)

[Dean Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-martin/)

> [Liberalism makes this mistake in regard to private property and Marxism makes it in regard to socialized property... The Marxist illusion is partly derived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/liberalism-makes-this-mistake-in-regard-to-private-property-and/)

[Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/)

> [What's wrong with this egotism? If a man doesn't delight in himself and the force in him and feel that he and it are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/what-s-wrong-with-this-egotism-if-a-man-doesn-t-delight-in-himself/)

[Sherwood Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-anderson/)

> [We cannot be happy until we can love ourselves without egotism and our friends without tyranny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/we-cannot-be-happy-until-we-can-love-ourselves-without-egotism-and/)

[Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/)

> [“The lower a human being descends, the more asleep and inhumane he becomes. Those beings that lack Compassion, Love, and Peace are the true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-ripstein/the-lower-a-human-being-descends-the-more-asleep-and-inhumane-he/)

[Jacqueline Ripstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-ripstein/)

> [Elimination of Ego requires humility. EGO-LESS is the fuel to a wise mind and a truly positive reality!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-compton/elimination-of-ego-requires-humility-ego-less-is-the-fuel-to-a-wise/)

[Bobby Compton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-compton/)

> [“... a man doesn't like to have his ego popped, especially when he prides himself on his sagacity, and then to be proved wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-a-bucchianeri/a-man-doesn-t-like-to-have-his-ego-popped-especially-when-he-prides/)

[E.A. Bucchianeri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-a-bucchianeri/)

> [There's no ifs and buts or maybes, you're gonna miss, you're gonna miss my loving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-rawls/there-s-no-ifs-and-buts-or-maybes-you-re-gonna-miss-you-re-gonna-miss/)

[Lou Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-rawls/)

## More by F. Scott Fitzgerald

> [“His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/his-dream-must-have-seemed-so-close-that-he-could-hardly-fail-to/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [“There was a ripe mystery about it, a hint of bedrooms upstairs more beautiful and cool than other bedrooms, of gay and radiant activities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/there-was-a-ripe-mystery-about-it-a-hint-of-bedrooms-upstairs-more/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [I want you to take a red-hot bath as hot as you can bear it, and just relax your nerves. You can read in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-want-you-to-take-a-red-hot-bath-as-hot-as-you-can-bear-it-and-just/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [Tireless passion, fierce jealousy, longing to possess and crush-these alone were left of all his love for Rosalind; these remained to him as payment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/tireless-passion-fierce-jealousy-longing-to-possess-and-crush-these/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [I found something! Courage--just that; courage as a rule of life and something to cling to always.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-found-something-courage-just-that-courage-as-a-rule-of-life-and/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [“Life is a series of successful gestures...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/life-is-a-series-of-successful-gestures/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [“Another dawn flung itself across the river; a belated taxi hurried along the street, its lamps still shining like burning eyes in a face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/another-dawn-flung-itself-across-the-river-a-belated-taxi-hurried/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [“She plucked a twig and broke it, but she found no spring in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/she-plucked-a-twig-and-broke-it-but-she-found-no-spring-in-it/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [“I'm one of those people who go through the world giving other people thrills but getting few myself except those I read into men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-m-one-of-those-people-who-go-through-the-world-giving-other-people/)

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[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

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[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [“It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And then one fine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/it-eluded-us-then-but-that-s-no-matter-tomorrow-we-will-run-faster/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

[Explore all 1,568 F. Scott Fitzgerald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

## More Egotism quotes

> [There's no ifs and buts or maybes, you're gonna miss, you're gonna miss my loving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-rawls/there-s-no-ifs-and-buts-or-maybes-you-re-gonna-miss-you-re-gonna-miss/)

[Lou Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-rawls/)

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[E.A. Bucchianeri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-a-bucchianeri/)

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> [“The lower a human being descends, the more asleep and inhumane he becomes. Those beings that lack Compassion, Love, and Peace are the true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-ripstein/the-lower-a-human-being-descends-the-more-asleep-and-inhumane-he/)

[Jacqueline Ripstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-ripstein/)

> [We cannot be happy until we can love ourselves without egotism and our friends without tyranny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/we-cannot-be-happy-until-we-can-love-ourselves-without-egotism-and/)

[Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/)

> [What's wrong with this egotism? If a man doesn't delight in himself and the force in him and feel that he and it are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/what-s-wrong-with-this-egotism-if-a-man-doesn-t-delight-in-himself/)

[Sherwood Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-anderson/)

> [Liberalism makes this mistake in regard to private property and Marxism makes it in regard to socialized property... The Marxist illusion is partly derived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/liberalism-makes-this-mistake-in-regard-to-private-property-and/)

[Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/)

> [When Jerry Lewis and I were big, we used to go to parties, and everybody thought I was big-headed and stuck up, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-martin/when-jerry-lewis-and-i-were-big-we-used-to-go-to-parties-and/)

[Dean Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-martin/)

> [How dare you ever in ya life walk past me without acknowledging their man as God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ll-cool-j/how-dare-you-ever-in-ya-life-walk-past-me-without-acknowledging-their/)

[LL Cool J](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ll-cool-j/)

> [Honesty, I went through terrible, terrible times where I just took myself over the coals. I thought I must be the most impure person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/honesty-i-went-through-terrible-terrible-times-where-i-just-took/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [“Never allow your ego to diminish your ability to listen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-hopkins/never-allow-your-ego-to-diminish-your-ability-to-listen/)

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> [Ego erodes the inner tank of wisdom and humility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemmy-nola-http-wwwamoreloveforlifecom/ego-erodes-the-inner-tank-of-wisdom-and-humility/)

[Kemmy Nola Http://wwwamoreloveforlifecom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemmy-nola-http-wwwamoreloveforlifecom/)

> [Do not feel that you are destined not to make that final liberation in this life. This is egotism in a reverse form. Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/do-not-feel-that-you-are-destined-not-to-make-that-final-liberation/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [Peace is only possible if men cease to place their happiness in the possession of things "which cannot be shared," and if they raise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-benda/peace-is-only-possible-if-men-cease-to-place-their-happiness-in-the/)

[Julien Benda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-benda/)

> [If a person loves only one other person, and is indifferent to his fellow men, his love is not love but a symbiotic attachment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/if-a-person-loves-only-one-other-person-and-is-indifferent-to-his/)

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