--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My brothers went to work at 12 and put…" description: "\"My brothers went to work at 12 and put themselves through school and brought the family out of ruin into food and clothing.\" — Mel Brooks" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/mel-brooks-2308_brother_my-brothers-went-to-work-at-12-and-put-t_1912624.png" --- # My brothers went to work at 12 and put themselves through… ![“My brothers went to work at 12 and put themselves through school and brought the family out of ruin into food and clothing.” quote by Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/mel-brooks-2308_brother_my-brothers-went-to-work-at-12-and-put-t_1912624.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/mel-brooks-2308_brother_my-brothers-went-to-work-at-12-and-put-t_1912624.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/mel-brooks-2308_brother_my-brothers-went-to-work-at-12-and-put-t_1912624.png) > “My brothers went to work at 12 and put themselves through school and brought the family out of ruin into food and clothing.” [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hard work and early responsibility can lift a family out of poverty. **In simple terms:** Hard work can rescue a family from ruin. Key Takeaway Value early effort and perseverance. Themes family hard work resilience Mood inspirational pragmatic Type motivational realistic When to use this quote - poverty - education - career advancement Key Concepts socioeconomic mobility self-reliance Questions to Reflect On - What role does community play in upward mobility? - How can early work affect long-term outcomes? A Different Perspective Success may also require systemic support, not just effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brother/) [Brotherhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brotherhood/) [Brothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brothers/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Ruins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruins/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) ## Related quotes > [“Of the four worst K-12 school shootings in history, three have occurred in Europe. Germany was host to two of these—one in 2002 at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-r-lott-jr/of-the-four-worst-k-12-school-shootings-in-history-three-have/) [John R. 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We had to move to a smaller house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-cooper/gambling-has-brought-our-family-together-we-had-to-move-to-a-smaller/) [Tommy Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-cooper/) > [One of the most beautiful experiences our family shared was feeling the love and bond that came to life when my mother was battling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yael-cohen/one-of-the-most-beautiful-experiences-our-family-shared-was-feeling/) [Yael Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yael-cohen/) > [I've been brought up in a family that just loves football.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-coady/i-ve-been-brought-up-in-a-family-that-just-loves-football/) [Conor Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-coady/) > [“You don’t own Ryan. You brought him into this family, and you asked us to love him. And we do. And you can’t control…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-jenkins-reid/you-don-t-own-ryan-you-brought-him-into-this-family-and-you-asked-us/) [Taylor Jenkins Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-jenkins-reid/) ## More by Mel Brooks > [Woody Allen is a genius. His films are wonderful. He's poetic, but he's also a critic. He artfully steps back from a social setting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/woody-allen-is-a-genius-his-films-are-wonderful-he-s-poetic-but-he-s/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [ Comedy is lively, comedy is joy, and that's what keeps us \[people\] going, we've got to look forward to little, little happiness's. Little, little… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/comedy-is-lively-comedy-is-joy-and-that-s-what-keeps-us-people-going/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [All right, I am often brash, rude and brutally direct. 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I'm surrounded by assholes!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/i-knew-it-i-m-surrounded-by-assholes/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [I was in the army, and to me it was like a newsreel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/i-was-in-the-army-and-to-me-it-was-like-a-newsreel/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [But I have bad taste with a deep fount of intellectuality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/but-i-have-bad-taste-with-a-deep-fount-of-intellectuality/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > ['Mad About You' was very fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/mad-about-you-was-very-fun/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [Immortality is a by-product of good work. Masterpieces are not for artists, they're for critics. Critics can't even make music by rubbing their back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/immortality-is-a-by-product-of-good-work-masterpieces-are-not-for/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [If Ivan the Terrible had been kissed and loved between zero and three, he probably would have become Ivan Not So Terrible. If you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/if-ivan-the-terrible-had-been-kissed-and-loved-between-zero-and-three/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) [Explore all 173 Mel Brooks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) ## More Brother quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. 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Like, Nat King Cole, Sugar Ray Robinson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clinton/i-worked-in-a-barbershop-i-used-to-make-the-waves-in-the-brother-s/) [George Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clinton/) [Browse all 7,453 Brother quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brother/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My brothers went to work at 12 and put themselves through school and brought the family out of ruin into food and clothing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mel Brooks" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/my-brothers-went-to-work-at-12-and-put-themselves-through-school-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brother" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/my-brothers-went-to-work-at-12-and-put-themselves-through-school-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/mel-brooks-2308_brother_my-brothers-went-to-work-at-12-and-put-t_1912624.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/mel-brooks-2308_brother_my-brothers-went-to-work-at-12-and-put-t_1912624.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/mel-brooks-2308_brother_my-brothers-went-to-work-at-12-and-put-t_1912624.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My brothers went to work at 12 and put themselves through school and brought the family out of ruin into…” — Mel Brooks", "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": "Mel Brooks", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My brothers went to work at...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/my-brothers-went-to-work-at-12-and-put-themselves-through-school-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/my-brothers-went-to-work-at-12-and-put-themselves-through-school-and/#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 } } ] } ```