--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You right,” Hawk said. “Couldn’t happen…" description: "\"“You right,” Hawk said. “Couldn’t happen. Be like J. Edgar Hoover running around in a dress.” “Exactly,” I said. “Impossible.”\" — Robert B. Parker" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aec/robert-b-parker-2608_impossible_you-right-hawk-said-couldn-t-happen-be-l_1422226.png" --- # You right,” Hawk said. “Couldn’t happen. Be like J. Edgar… ![“You right,” Hawk said. “Couldn’t happen. Be like J. Edgar Hoover running around in a dress.” “Exactly,” I said. “Impossible.” quote by Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aec/robert-b-parker-2608_impossible_you-right-hawk-said-couldn-t-happen-be-l_1422226.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aec/robert-b-parker-2608_impossible_you-right-hawk-said-couldn-t-happen-be-l_1422226.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aec/robert-b-parker-2608_impossible_you-right-hawk-said-couldn-t-happen-be-l_1422226.png) > ““You right,” Hawk said. “Couldn’t happen. Be like J. Edgar Hoover running around in a dress.” “Exactly,” I said. “Impossible.”” [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A conversation highlights the absurdity of comparing oneself to an unlikely figure, emphasizing the impossibility of certain expectations. **In simple terms:** Comparing to an unlikely figure shows absurd expectations. Key Takeaway Question unrealistic comparisons. Themes absurdity identity expectations comparison Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal identity - social expectations - role modeling Key Concepts impossibility social pressure Questions to Reflect On - Are there better ways to frame personal expectations? - How do we avoid absurd comparisons? A Different Perspective The analogy may oversimplify complex personal traits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Noir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noir/) ## Related quotes > [“I regret to say that we of the FBI are powerless to act in cases of oral-genital intimacy, unless it has in some way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/i-regret-to-say-that-we-of-the-fbi-are-powerless-to-act-in-cases-of/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [ We're interested in complex characters and he's a complex character, \[J. Edgar\] Hoover. I like these types of dramas. I've made a few of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-grazer/we-re-interested-in-complex-characters-and-he-s-a-complex-character-j/) [Brian Grazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-grazer/) > [I grew up with J. Edgar Hoover. He was the G-man, a hero to everybody, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation was the big,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/i-grew-up-with-j-edgar-hoover-he-was-the-g-man-a-hero-to-everybody/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [“FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover “mistrusted and disliked all three Kennedy brothers. President Johnson and Hoover had mutual fear and hatred for the Kennedys,”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-brussell/fbi-director-j-edgar-hoover-mistrusted-and-disliked-all-three-kennedy/) [Mae Brussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-brussell/) > [ It's an incredible education \[for the movie J. Edgar Hoover\] . It was like I did a college course on J. Edgar Hoover but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-lance-black/it-s-an-incredible-education-for-the-movie-j-edgar-hoover-it-was-like/) [Dustin Lance Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dustin-lance-black/) > [I just kind of had my own impressions growing up with Hoover as a heroic figure in the 40s - actually the 30s, 40s,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/i-just-kind-of-had-my-own-impressions-growing-up-with-hoover-as-a/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [I have great respect for the FBI, and I know that there have been some rumors lately that the FBI was disenchanted because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/i-have-great-respect-for-the-fbi-and-i-know-that-there-have-been-some/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [“Sometime in the fifties I remember seeing On the Waterfront in the movies with Mary and thinking that I’m at least as bad as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-brandt/sometime-in-the-fifties-i-remember-seeing-on-the-waterfront-in-the-2/) [Charles Brandt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-brandt/) > [If Congress is going to investigate baseball players about whether or not they told the truth, how can we justify giving the most powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-congress-is-going-to-investigate-baseball-players-about-whether-or/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [By 1967, J. Edgar Hoover had concluded that the Black Panther Party had replaced the Communist Party as the gravest threat to national security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-cockburn/by-1967-j-edgar-hoover-had-concluded-that-the-black-panther-party-had/) [Alexander Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-cockburn/) > [Complex man that he was, J. Edgar Hoover left nothing to chance. The director shrewdly recognized that building what became known as the world's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-kessler/complex-man-that-he-was-j-edgar-hoover-left-nothing-to-chance-the/) [Ronald Kessler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-kessler/) > [There was one moment when J. Edgar Hoover and us had the same distorted lens about who we were - "a real threat," you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/there-was-one-moment-when-j-edgar-hoover-and-us-had-the-same/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ \[ J. Edgar\]Hoover, I'm sure, felt that he was right in everything he did and even the things that we don't like about his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/j-edgar-hoover-i-m-sure-felt-that-he-was-right-in-everything-he-did/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [You know, back in the 1950s and '60s, when J. Edgar Hoover was making the FBI the respected organization it used to be, oftentimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howie-carr/you-know-back-in-the-1950s-and-60s-when-j-edgar-hoover-was-making-the/) [Howie Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howie-carr/) > [All my humor is based upon destruction and despair. If the whole world were tranquil, without disease and violence, I’d be standing on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenny-bruce/all-my-humor-is-based-upon-destruction-and-despair-if-the-whole-world/) [Lenny Bruce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lenny-bruce/) ## More by Robert B. Parker > [“I always loved it when I had a story to tell her, because her attention was complete and felt like sunlight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/i-always-loved-it-when-i-had-a-story-to-tell-her-because-her/) [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) > [Writer's block? I've never heard of a plumber complain about plumber's block.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/writer-s-block-i-ve-never-heard-of-a-plumber-complain-about-plumber-s/) [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) > [I had achieved the most important things in my life when I married Joan and had the sons. Given the choice between Joan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/i-had-achieved-the-most-important-things-in-my-life-when-i-married/) [Robert B. 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"Both of them are true, it's just that we've had different experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/both-our-opinions-are-rooted-in-our-experience-i-said-both-of-them/) [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) > [“I think you’ve never quite altogether forgiven yourself for that woman in Los Angeles all that time ago.” “Candy Sloan,” I said. Susan nodded.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/i-think-you-ve-never-quite-altogether-forgiven-yourself-for-that/) [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) > [If you want to write, write it. That's the first rule. And send it in, and send it in to someone who can publish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/if-you-want-to-write-write-it-that-s-the-first-rule-and-send-it-in/) [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) > [“Susan had decided to sit by the pool at the hotel with a copy of a book by Alice Miller called The Drama of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/susan-had-decided-to-sit-by-the-pool-at-the-hotel-with-a-copy-of-a/) [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) > [“called Evan Malone at the number Epstein had given me and got his wife, and made an appointment to come up to his place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/called-evan-malone-at-the-number-epstein-had-given-me-and-got-his/) [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) > [I have reached the point where I know that as long as I sit down to write, the ideas will come. What they will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/i-have-reached-the-point-where-i-know-that-as-long-as-i-sit-down-to/) [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) > [“Can you analyze our relationship in the light of Silvermanian pragmatism?” I said. “I love you because I find it compelling to be loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/can-you-analyze-our-relationship-in-the-light-of-silvermanian/) [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) > [“Pearl eyed a man and woman walking by in funny hats. Her whole body stiffened with the desire to bark at them. Mine too.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/pearl-eyed-a-man-and-woman-walking-by-in-funny-hats-her-whole-body/) [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) > [“I’m sleeping with a Harvard grad,” I said. “The Emory of the North,” Becker said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/i-m-sleeping-with-a-harvard-grad-i-said-the-emory-of-the-north-becker/) [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) [Explore all 151 Robert B. Parker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) ## More Impossible quotes > [Making movies seemed so impossible as far as getting my ideas funded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boots-riley/making-movies-seemed-so-impossible-as-far-as-getting-my-ideas-funded/) [Boots Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boots-riley/) > [All Germany was in turmoil. Revolutionaries seized power in the cities of Munich, Hanover and Cologne. One regional German government after another was toppled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cross-giblin/all-germany-was-in-turmoil-revolutionaries-seized-power-in-the-cities/) James Cross Giblin > [Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. 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