--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He may be a malevolent sorcerer, but Tiny…" description: "\"He may be a malevolent sorcerer, but Tiny Cooper is his own goddamned man, and if he wants to be a gigantic skipper, then that's his right as a huge Am..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1db/john-green-12_may_he-may-be-a-malevolent-sorcerer-but-tiny_2588087.jpg" --- # He may be a malevolent sorcerer, but Tiny Cooper is his… ![“He may be a malevolent sorcerer, but Tiny Cooper is his own goddamned man, and if he wants to be a gigantic skipper, then that's his right as a huge American.” quote by John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1db/john-green-12_may_he-may-be-a-malevolent-sorcerer-but-tiny_2588087.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1db/john-green-12_may_he-may-be-a-malevolent-sorcerer-but-tiny_2588087.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1db/john-green-12_may_he-may-be-a-malevolent-sorcerer-but-tiny_2588087.jpg) > “He may be a malevolent sorcerer, but Tiny Cooper is his own goddamned man, and if he wants to be a gigantic skipper, then that's his right as a huge American.” [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even a villain can claim autonomy; ambition defines identity regardless of morality. **In simple terms:** People seek power and freedom. Key Takeaway Respect personal agency, even in antagonists. Themes power identity freedom Mood thoughtful critical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - politics - business - creative projects - personal ambition Key Concepts moral ambiguity self‑determination Questions to Reflect On - Is ambition always justified? - When does self‑interest harm others? A Different Perspective Glorifying harmful behavior can be risky. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Skipper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skipper/) ## Related quotes > [“Tiny!" I shout, but he doesn't turn around;he just keeps skipping. I don't start to skip after his crazy ass or anything but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green-and-david-levithan/tiny-i-shout-but-he-doesn-t-turn-around-he-just-keeps-skipping-i-don/) [John Green and David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green-and-david-levithan/) > [“I have waited outside in the cold gray-lit car-exhausted frigidity and caused the possible broken bones in Gary's hand to hear a band that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-have-waited-outside-in-the-cold-gray-lit-car-exhausted-frigidity/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [You can say a lot of bad things about Tiny Cooper. I know, because I have said them. But for a guy who knows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/you-can-say-a-lot-of-bad-things-about-tiny-cooper-i-know-because-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Compromise is when you do what I tell you and I do what I want. ~Tiny Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/compromise-is-when-you-do-what-i-tell-you-and-i-do-what-i-want-tiny/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I'm wondering how many times he can possibly use the word alliance in one sentence when Tiny Cooper cuts Mr. Fortson off by saying,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-m-wondering-how-many-times-he-can-possibly-use-the-word-alliance-in/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I point out that Tiny Cooper had about 11,542 girlfriends freshman year, and then Tiny punches me in the arm in a way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-point-out-that-tiny-cooper-had-about-11-542-girlfriends-freshman/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Tiny Cooper is splayed out across the thin carpet, using his backpack as a pillow. He’s wearing skinny jeans, which look very much like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/tiny-cooper-is-splayed-out-across-the-thin-carpet-using-his-backpack/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Tiny Cooper is not the world's gayest person, and he is not the world's largest person, but I believe he may be the world's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/tiny-cooper-is-not-the-world-s-gayest-person-and-he-is-not-the-world/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“It's like being best friends with a fairy-tale giant; Tiny Cooper can't help but hurt you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green-and-david-levithan/it-s-like-being-best-friends-with-a-fairy-tale-giant-tiny-cooper-can/) [John Green and David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green-and-david-levithan/) > [Privacy and loneliness were the traditional luxuries accorded to a skipper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/privacy-and-loneliness-were-the-traditional-luxuries-accorded-to-a/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [Even I lost a series of Test matches as skipper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-lara/even-i-lost-a-series-of-test-matches-as-skipper/) [Brian Lara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-lara/) > [When I put out to sea, I do not offer advice to the skipper about the management of the ship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsa-barker/when-i-put-out-to-sea-i-do-not-offer-advice-to-the-skipper-about-the/) [Elsa Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elsa-barker/) > [Donnie Brasco : There's the boss. And, under him, there's the skipper. You know how this works?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/donnie-brasco-there-s-the-boss-and-under-him-there-s-the-skipper-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Rock star do not jump!" The launch was cutting sharply, its skipper calling out a phrase that bore no relationship to the English language…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lerangis/rock-star-do-not-jump-the-launch-was-cutting-sharply-its-skipper/) [Peter Lerangis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lerangis/) > [“The homicide skipper that year was a Captain Gregorius, a type of copper that is getting rarer but by no means extinct, the kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/the-homicide-skipper-that-year-was-a-captain-gregorius-a-type-of/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) ## More by John Green > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I just want to stay away from people and read books and think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-just-want-to-stay-away-from-people-and-read-books-and-think/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/she-smiled-with-all-the-delight-of-a-kid-on-christmas-morning-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [A Margo for each of us--and each more mirror than window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/a-margo-for-each-of-us-and-each-more-mirror-than-window/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“No one ever says good-bye unless they want to see you again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/no-one-ever-says-good-bye-unless-they-want-to-see-you-again/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Traffic's not too bad on Sheridan, and I'm cornering the car like it's the Indy 500, and we're listening to my favorite NMH song,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/traffic-s-not-too-bad-on-sheridan-and-i-m-cornering-the-car-like-it-s/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Praise God for good nurses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/praise-god-for-good-nurses/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [So I was ugly. I was never fat, really, and I never wore headgear or had zits or anything. But I was ugly. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/so-i-was-ugly-i-was-never-fat-really-and-i-never-wore-headgear-or-had/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Nothing has ever looked like that ever in all of human history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/nothing-has-ever-looked-like-that-ever-in-all-of-human-history/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“said to him quietly, as if I couldn’t hear or something. Dad was about to respond but I interrupted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/said-to-him-quietly-as-if-i-couldn-t-hear-or-something-dad-was-about/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I believe humans have souls, and I believe in the conservation of souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-believe-humans-have-souls-and-i-believe-in-the-conservation-of-souls/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“He was hot. A nonhotboy stares at you relentlessly and it is, at best, awkward and, at worst, a form of assault. But a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/he-was-hot-a-nonhotboy-stares-at-you-relentlessly-and-it-is-at-best/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I think if you keep the box closed long enough you do kill the cat, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-if-you-keep-the-box-closed-long-enough-you-do-kill-the-cat/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. (...) You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/imagining-the-future-is-a-kind-of-nostalgia-you-spend-your-whole-life/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) [Explore all 3,614 John Green quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More May quotes > [There is something more important than any ultimate weapon. That is the ultimate position-the position of total control over Earth that lies somewhere out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/there-is-something-more-important-than-any-ultimate-weapon-that-is/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [You've touched people and known it. You've touched people and never may know it. Either way, you have something to give. It is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/you-ve-touched-people-and-known-it-you-ve-touched-people-and-never/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [So many things beat upon us in a lifetime that simply enduring may seem almost beyond us… But the test a loving God has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/so-many-things-beat-upon-us-in-a-lifetime-that-simply-enduring-may/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [the appetite for thinking must be regulated, as all sensible people know, for it may stifle one's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-appetite-for-thinking-must-be-regulated-as-all-sensible-people/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Then come to realize that you're making mountains out of molehills. Realize how petty you've become. Sure, it may feel like you can't get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-asher/then-come-to-realize-that-you-re-making-mountains-out-of-molehills/) [Jay Asher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-asher/) > [She smiled, if he could see that, and waited for him to ask the real question. But he was silent. He wanted her to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-shinn/she-smiled-if-he-could-see-that-and-waited-for-him-to-ask-the-real/) [Sharon Shinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-shinn/) > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am convinced that we will never build a democratic state based on rule of law if we do not at the same time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/i-am-convinced-that-we-will-never-build-a-democratic-state-based-on/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. Prize the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/set-not-your-hearts-on-the-flowers-of-this-world-they-shall-fade-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The market may never coalesce around one basic design, or even around two or three dominant devices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/the-market-may-never-coalesce-around-one-basic-design-or-even-around/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [Hard times may test me, they cannot destroy me,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-b-joshua/hard-times-may-test-me-they-cannot-destroy-me/) [T. B. Joshua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-b-joshua/) Browse all 33,019 May quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "He may be a malevolent sorcerer, but Tiny Cooper is his own goddamned man, and if he wants to be a gigantic skipper, then that's his right as a huge American.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Green" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/he-may-be-a-malevolent-sorcerer-but-tiny-cooper-is-his-own-goddamned/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "May" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/he-may-be-a-malevolent-sorcerer-but-tiny-cooper-is-his-own-goddamned/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1db/john-green-12_may_he-may-be-a-malevolent-sorcerer-but-tiny_2588087.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1db/john-green-12_may_he-may-be-a-malevolent-sorcerer-but-tiny_2588087.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1db/john-green-12_may_he-may-be-a-malevolent-sorcerer-but-tiny_2588087.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He may be a malevolent sorcerer, but Tiny Cooper is his own goddamned man, and if he wants to be a gigantic…” — John Green", "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": "John Green", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "He may be a malevolent sorcerer,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/he-may-be-a-malevolent-sorcerer-but-tiny-cooper-is-his-own-goddamned/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/he-may-be-a-malevolent-sorcerer-but-tiny-cooper-is-his-own-goddamned/#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 } } ] } ```