--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was brought up to be sympathetic toward…" description: "\"I was brought up to be sympathetic toward others.\" — Joyce Carol Oates" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/342/joyce-carol-oates-344_brought_i-was-brought-up-to-be-sympathetic-towar_2186007.png" --- # I was brought up to be sympathetic toward others. ![“I was brought up to be sympathetic toward others.” quote by Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/342/joyce-carol-oates-344_brought_i-was-brought-up-to-be-sympathetic-towar_2186007.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/342/joyce-carol-oates-344_brought_i-was-brought-up-to-be-sympathetic-towar_2186007.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/342/joyce-carol-oates-344_brought_i-was-brought-up-to-be-sympathetic-towar_2186007.png) > “I was brought up to be sympathetic toward others.” [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She was raised to feel sympathy for others. **In simple terms:** She learned empathy early in life. Key Takeaway Cultivate compassion through upbringing. Themes empathy upbringing social values Mood warm thoughtful Type inspirational reflective When to use this quote - volunteering - family dynamics - education - community service Key Concepts psychology ethics Questions to Reflect On - How does early empathy shape adult behavior? - What practices sustain compassionate habits? A Different Perspective Sympathy alone may not lead to action without guidance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brought/) [Brought Sympathetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brought-sympathetic-4742869/) [Others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/others/) [Sympathetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sympathetic/) [Sympathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sympathy/) [Toward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/toward/) [Up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/up/) ## Related quotes > [The DREAM Act was intended to benefit illegal immigrants who were brought here as children, the most sympathetic subset among our large illegal immigrant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-c-ting/the-dream-act-was-intended-to-benefit-illegal-immigrants-who-were/) [Jan C. Ting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-c-ting/) > [The abortion license has not brought freedom and security to women. Rather, it has ushered in a new era of irresponsibility toward women and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-casey/the-abortion-license-has-not-brought-freedom-and-security-to-women/) [Robert Casey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-casey/) > [We cannot live for ourselves alone. 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I don't really like sympathy; I don't like it for myself. Sometimes sympathy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlize-theron/i-don-t-try-to-kind-of-go-for-the-overly-sympathetic-i-don-t-really/) [Charlize Theron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlize-theron/) > [“Comfort came in and stood with an appearance of guilt and shame. Her head bent, her eyes soaked with tears, her hands and legs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/comfort-came-in-and-stood-with-an-appearance-of-guilt-and-shame-her/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Be your own editor/critic. 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I see how the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-had-a-hard-time-treating-my-field-as-if-it-s-horse-racing-putting/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I am sympathetic to developing countries’ concerns: because of our emissions it’s their crops that will disappear; because of our inaction, it’s their fields…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/i-am-sympathetic-to-developing-countries-concerns-because-of-our/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [The easiest way for readers to connect with characters and feel sympathy is to make the character entertaining, sympathetic and likeable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randa-abdel-fattah/the-easiest-way-for-readers-to-connect-with-characters-and-feel/) [Randa Abdel-Fattah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randa-abdel-fattah/) > [While husbands and lovers in the stories are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers: inconstant, unscrupulous, quarrelsome, querulous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-are-of-all-kinds-ranging/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) ## More by Joyce Carol Oates > [“A woman who has lost her husband is invalid, thus an invalid. 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If there's any activity happier, more exhilarating, more nourishing to the imagination, I can't think of what it might be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/running-if-there-s-any-activity-happier-more-exhilarating-more/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [You need so much energy and encouragement to write that if someone says something negative, some of that energy goes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/you-need-so-much-energy-and-encouragement-to-write-that-if-someone/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [I learned long ago that being Lewis Carroll was infinitely more exciting than being Alice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-learned-long-ago-that-being-lewis-carroll-was-infinitely-more/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Paradox: how do we know what we have failed to see because we have no language to express it, thus we cannot know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/paradox-how-do-we-know-what-we-have-failed-to-see-because-we-have-no/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [At all crucial moments in our lives we want to speak without knowing what to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/at-all-crucial-moments-in-our-lives-we-want-to-speak-without-knowing/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [A writer’s life is in his work, and that is the place to find him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/a-writer-s-life-is-in-his-work-and-that-is-the-place-to-find-him/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [The challenge is to resist circumstances. 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But expect the worst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/keep-a-light-hopeful-heart-but-expect-the-worst/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [And this is the forbidden truth, the unspeakable taboo - that evil is not always repellent but frequently attractive; that it has the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/and-this-is-the-forbidden-truth-the-unspeakable-taboo-that-evil-is/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [I don't think that writer's block exists really. I think that when you're trying to do something prematurely, it just won't come. 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