--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We mock the things we are to be." description: "\"We mock the things we are to be.\" — Mel Brooks" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/312/mel-brooks-2308_mock_we-mock-the-things-we-are-to-be-2006175_2006175.png" --- # We mock the things we are to be. ![“We mock the things we are to be.” quote by Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/312/mel-brooks-2308_mock_we-mock-the-things-we-are-to-be-2006175_2006175.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/312/mel-brooks-2308_mock_we-mock-the-things-we-are-to-be-2006175_2006175.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/312/mel-brooks-2308_mock_we-mock-the-things-we-are-to-be-2006175_2006175.png) > “We mock the things we are to be.” [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. We imitate the traits we aspire to, using mockery as a path toward self‑improvement. **In simple terms:** Mocking reflects desired qualities. Key Takeaway Use humor to shape identity. Themes self‑improvement humor aspiration Mood witty insightful Type comedic philosophical When to use this quote - personal development - creative writing - social critique - teaching methods Key Concepts psychology behavioral theory Questions to Reflect On - What traits do you mock to develop? - How can humor aid personal growth? A Different Perspective Mockery can reinforce negative stereotypes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mock/) [Mock Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mock-things-2655194/) [Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things/) ## Related quotes > [It's certainly easy to mock some things ... Oddly enough though I've never found it easy to mock anything of value. Only things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/it-s-certainly-easy-to-mock-some-things-oddly-enough-though-i-ve/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [In our day, you can mock religion in public and even get funds for doing it. But you can't show respect for religion in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-colson/in-our-day-you-can-mock-religion-in-public-and-even-get-funds-for/) [Charles Colson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-colson/) > [“If the law does not do justice, the people will mock the law.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheri-s-tepper/if-the-law-does-not-do-justice-the-people-will-mock-the-law/) [Sheri S. Tepper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheri-s-tepper/) > [The black arrowed swoop of the moment swung high into the unceilinged future, ten, fifty, sixty years, may be: then, past seeing, up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-rucker-eddison/the-black-arrowed-swoop-of-the-moment-swung-high-into-the-unceilinged/) [Eric Rucker Eddison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-rucker-eddison/) > [“Doubt not the self O lion-heart, for those who call you crazy will one day worship you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/doubt-not-the-self-o-lion-heart-for-those-who-call-you-crazy-will-one/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“He who makes fun of a short and fat man’s weight is much less cruel than he who makes fun of his height.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/he-who-makes-fun-of-a-short-and-fat-man-s-weight-is-much-less-cruel/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [Africans sensed in their hearts that Jesus did not mock their respect for the sacred or their clamor for an invincible Savior, so they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamin-sanneh/africans-sensed-in-their-hearts-that-jesus-did-not-mock-their-respect/) [Lamin Sanneh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamin-sanneh/) > [Death is the only monastery; the tomb is the only cell, and the grave that adjoins the convent is the bitterest mock of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/death-is-the-only-monastery-the-tomb-is-the-only-cell-and-the-grave/) [Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/) > [During a mock battle attended by President Warren Harding in 1921, Marine Corps General Smedley D. Butler exhumed the arm \[of Stonewall Jackson; he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-horwitz/during-a-mock-battle-attended-by-president-warren-harding-in-1921/) [Tony Horwitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-horwitz/) > [O, when I am safe in my sylvan home, I mock at the pride of Greece and Rome; And when I am stretch'd beneath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/o-when-i-am-safe-in-my-sylvan-home-i-mock-at-the-pride-of-greece-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Janet Mock's honest and sometimes searing journey is a rare and important look into la vida liminal, one that she manages to negotiate remarkably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raquel-cepeda/janet-mock-s-honest-and-sometimes-searing-journey-is-a-rare-and/) [Raquel Cepeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raquel-cepeda/) > [All parents should be aware that when they mock or curse gay people, they may be mocking or cursing their own child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/all-parents-should-be-aware-that-when-they-mock-or-curse-gay-people/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [When in doubt, mock the powerful, not the powerless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/when-in-doubt-mock-the-powerful-not-the-powerless/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [“It can be so difficult to train up the peasants,” she said, pretending to commiserate, her voice heavy with irony. “They find it so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-crews/it-can-be-so-difficult-to-train-up-the-peasants-she-said-pretending/) [Caitlin Crews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-crews/) > [My hero among heroes is my grandmother, she's the epitome of strength and I try to mock that strength all the time. She's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeriel-miranda/my-hero-among-heroes-is-my-grandmother-she-s-the-epitome-of-strength/) [Aeriel Miranda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeriel-miranda/) ## 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. Someday I'm going to die and I don't have time to toe-dance around the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/all-right-i-am-often-brash-rude-and-brutally-direct-someday-i-m-going/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [I don't think in terms of results at all. I think: what next insanity can I shock the world with?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/i-don-t-think-in-terms-of-results-at-all-i-think-what-next-insanity/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [My mother is very short - four-eleven. She could walk under tables and never hit her head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/my-mother-is-very-short-four-eleven-she-could-walk-under-tables-and/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [The audience. They see the name Mel Brooks, they want something really funny. They don't want to be moved; they don't want to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/the-audience-they-see-the-name-mel-brooks-they-want-something-really/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [I realised that all one really had to do was just observe. Observe and slightly exaggerate, and you had comedy. Instead of creating a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/i-realised-that-all-one-really-had-to-do-was-just-observe-observe-and/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [Life literally abounds in comedy if you just look around you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/life-literally-abounds-in-comedy-if-you-just-look-around-you/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [Look, I really don't want to wax philosophic, but I will say that if you're alive, you got to flap your arms and legs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/look-i-really-don-t-want-to-wax-philosophic-but-i-will-say-that-if/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [I knew it... 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 Mock quotes > [My hero among heroes is my grandmother, she's the epitome of strength and I try to mock that strength all the time. 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Butler exhumed the arm \[of Stonewall Jackson; he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-horwitz/during-a-mock-battle-attended-by-president-warren-harding-in-1921/) [Tony Horwitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-horwitz/) > [Death is the only monastery; the tomb is the only cell, and the grave that adjoins the convent is the bitterest mock of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/death-is-the-only-monastery-the-tomb-is-the-only-cell-and-the-grave/) [Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/) > [Africans sensed in their hearts that Jesus did not mock their respect for the sacred or their clamor for an invincible Savior, so they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamin-sanneh/africans-sensed-in-their-hearts-that-jesus-did-not-mock-their-respect/) [Lamin Sanneh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamin-sanneh/) > [“He who makes fun of a short and fat man’s weight is much less cruel than he who makes fun of his height.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/he-who-makes-fun-of-a-short-and-fat-man-s-weight-is-much-less-cruel/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Doubt not the self O lion-heart, for those who call you crazy will one day worship you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/doubt-not-the-self-o-lion-heart-for-those-who-call-you-crazy-will-one/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [The black arrowed swoop of the moment swung high into the unceilinged future, ten, fifty, sixty years, may be: then, past seeing, up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-rucker-eddison/the-black-arrowed-swoop-of-the-moment-swung-high-into-the-unceilinged/) [Eric Rucker Eddison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-rucker-eddison/) > [“If the law does not do justice, the people will mock the law.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheri-s-tepper/if-the-law-does-not-do-justice-the-people-will-mock-the-law/) [Sheri S. Tepper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheri-s-tepper/) > [In our day, you can mock religion in public and even get funds for doing it. But you can't show respect for religion in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-colson/in-our-day-you-can-mock-religion-in-public-and-even-get-funds-for/) [Charles Colson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-colson/) > [The gospel has but a forced alliance with war. Its doctrine of human brotherhood would ring strangely between the opposed ranks. The bellowing speech…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/the-gospel-has-but-a-forced-alliance-with-war-its-doctrine-of-human/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) [Browse all 233 Mock quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mock/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We mock the things we are to be.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mel Brooks" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/we-mock-the-things-we-are-to-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Mock" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/we-mock-the-things-we-are-to-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/312/mel-brooks-2308_mock_we-mock-the-things-we-are-to-be-2006175_2006175.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/312/mel-brooks-2308_mock_we-mock-the-things-we-are-to-be-2006175_2006175.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/312/mel-brooks-2308_mock_we-mock-the-things-we-are-to-be-2006175_2006175.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We mock the things we are to be.” — 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": "We mock the things we are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/we-mock-the-things-we-are-to-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/we-mock-the-things-we-are-to-be/#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 } } ] } ```