--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think that it can be assumed that no…" description: "\"“I think that it can be assumed that no adults are ever really 'shocked' - that being shocked is always a pose.”\" — Thornton Wilder" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/839/thornton-wilder-1495_shocked_i-think-that-it-can-be-assumed-that-no-a_2745992.jpg" --- # I think that it can be assumed that no adults are ever… ![“I think that it can be assumed that no adults are ever really 'shocked' - that being shocked is always a pose.” quote by Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/839/thornton-wilder-1495_shocked_i-think-that-it-can-be-assumed-that-no-a_2745992.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/839/thornton-wilder-1495_shocked_i-think-that-it-can-be-assumed-that-no-a_2745992.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/839/thornton-wilder-1495_shocked_i-think-that-it-can-be-assumed-that-no-a_2745992.jpg) > ““I think that it can be assumed that no adults are ever really 'shocked' - that being shocked is always a pose.”” [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Adults rarely experience genuine shock; they often perform it as a social act. **In simple terms:** Adults fake shock as a pose. Key Takeaway Recognize authentic emotions versus performance. Themes authenticity social performance psychology Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - workplace meetings - social gatherings - media interviews Key Concepts self‑presentation emotional labor Questions to Reflect On - When have you pretended to be shocked? - Why do we value appearing shocked? A Different Perspective Shock can be a defense mechanism, masking true feelings. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adults Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adults-really-1098735/) [Assumed Adults](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumed-adults-3062753/) [Shocked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shocked/) [Shocked Pose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shocked-pose-3062752/) [Shocked Shocked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shocked-shocked-3062754/) ## Related quotes > [“Wow, you mean Tiffany’s an evil wench? I’m shocked. Shocked, I tell you!” I patted my heart in faux surprise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrington/wow-you-mean-tiffany-s-an-evil-wench-i-m-shocked-shocked-i-tell-you-i/) [Kim Harrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrington/) > [Those who are easily shocked should be shocked more often.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/those-who-are-easily-shocked-should-be-shocked-more-often/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [The cruel ambush of 9/11 supposedly 'changed everything,' slapping us back to reality. Yet we are constantly shocked, shocked by the foreseeable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/the-cruel-ambush-of-9-11-supposedly-changed-everything-slapping-us/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) > [“It was just too easy to say that adults did not like stories that were simple, and perhaps that was wrong. Perhaps that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/it-was-just-too-easy-to-say-that-adults-did-not-like-stories-that/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [We think we understand the rules when we become adults but what we really experience is a narrowing of the imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lynch/we-think-we-understand-the-rules-when-we-become-adults-but-what-we/) [David Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lynch/) > [Although we human adults are really good at understanding other minds, we weren't always that way. It takes children a long time to break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-saxe/although-we-human-adults-are-really-good-at-understanding-other-minds/) [Rebecca Saxe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-saxe/) > [I think the next thing I publish will be for children, but I don't really want to be held to that because I also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/i-think-the-next-thing-i-publish-will-be-for-children-but-i-don-t/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [The rules your parents teach you to live by are very different than the rules the world actually runs by. Most of the conventional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-max/the-rules-your-parents-teach-you-to-live-by-are-very-different-than/) [Tucker Max](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-max/) > [Affection between adults - if they are really adult in mind and not merely grown up children - and creatures so relatively selfish and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/affection-between-adults-if-they-are-really-adult-in-mind-and-not/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [I don't like to photograph children as children. I like to see them as adults, as who they really are. I'm always looking for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ellen-mark/i-don-t-like-to-photograph-children-as-children-i-like-to-see-them-as/) [Mary Ellen Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ellen-mark/) > [When people don't express themselves, they die one piece at a time. You'd be shocked at how many adults are really dead inside—walking through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/when-people-don-t-express-themselves-they-die-one-piece-at-a-time-you/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [I enjoy writing for both kids and adults, though I think I'm better at children's stories because I was a teacher for so long,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/i-enjoy-writing-for-both-kids-and-adults-though-i-think-i-m-better-at/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [I remember as a kid liking long, funny words. And often being into things like that can be perceived as square. But actually, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konnie-huq/i-remember-as-a-kid-liking-long-funny-words-and-often-being-into/) [Konnie Huq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konnie-huq/) > [Im never shocked when people let me down nowadays. I just hate the fact that I put myself in a position to be let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-never-shocked-when-people-let-me-down-nowadays-i-just-hate-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Nan was shocked. "What a jerk! Mina, you must feel awful. He didn't try to take advantage of you, did he? I'm so mad-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chanda-hahn/nan-was-shocked-what-a-jerk-mina-you-must-feel-awful-he-didn-t-try-to/) [Chanda Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chanda-hahn/) ## More by Thornton Wilder > [“He respected the slight nervous shadow that crossed her face when he came too near her. But there arose out of this denial itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/he-respected-the-slight-nervous-shadow-that-crossed-her-face-when-he/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [When you're safe at home you wish you were having an adventure; when you're having an adventure you wish you were safe at home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/when-you-re-safe-at-home-you-wish-you-were-having-an-adventure-when/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“Simon Stimson: "...That's what it was to be alive. To move about in a cloud of ignorance; to go up and down trampling on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/simon-stimson-that-s-what-it-was-to-be-alive-to-move-about-in-a-cloud/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“Love as education is one of the great powers of the world, but it hangs in a delicate suspension; it achieves its harmony as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/love-as-education-is-one-of-the-great-powers-of-the-world-but-it/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [Many great writers have been extraordinarily awkward in daily exchange, but the greatest give the impression that their style was nursed by the closest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/many-great-writers-have-been-extraordinarily-awkward-in-daily/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [A man looks pretty small at a wedding, George. All those good women standing shoulder to shoulder, making sure that the knot's tied in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/a-man-looks-pretty-small-at-a-wedding-george-all-those-good-women/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [The knowledge that she would never be loved in return acted upon her ideas as a tide acts upon cliffs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/the-knowledge-that-she-would-never-be-loved-in-return-acted-upon-her/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“But while they continued staring into one another’s face waiting for the miracle of science the pain grew worse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/but-while-they-continued-staring-into-one-another-s-face-waiting-for/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [I am convinced that, except in a few extraordinary cases, one form or another of an unhappy childhood is essential to the formation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/i-am-convinced-that-except-in-a-few-extraordinary-cases-one-form-or/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [Many who have spent a lifetime in it can tell us less of love than the child that lost a dog yesterday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/many-who-have-spent-a-lifetime-in-it-can-tell-us-less-of-love-than/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“Cesar is not a philosophical man. His life has been one long flight from reflection. At least he is clever enough not to expose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/cesar-is-not-a-philosophical-man-his-life-has-been-one-long-flight/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [Every person who has ever lived has lived an unbroken succession of unique occasions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/every-person-who-has-ever-lived-has-lived-an-unbroken-succession-of/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“Without your wounds where would your power be? It is your melancholy that makes your low voice tremble into the hearts of men and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/without-your-wounds-where-would-your-power-be-it-is-your-melancholy/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [Ninety-nine per cent of the people in the world are fools and the rest of us are in great danger of contagion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/ninety-nine-per-cent-of-the-people-in-the-world-are-fools-and-the/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [There's nothing like mixing with woman to bring out all the foolishness in a man of sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/there-s-nothing-like-mixing-with-woman-to-bring-out-all-the/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) [Explore all 232 Thornton Wilder quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) ## More Shocked quotes > [“Nan was shocked. "What a jerk! Mina, you must feel awful. He didn't try to take advantage of you, did he? I'm so mad-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chanda-hahn/nan-was-shocked-what-a-jerk-mina-you-must-feel-awful-he-didn-t-try-to/) [Chanda Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chanda-hahn/) > [Im never shocked when people let me down nowadays. I just hate the fact that I put myself in a position to be let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-never-shocked-when-people-let-me-down-nowadays-i-just-hate-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The clatter of a changing world is not pleasant, and those who have enjoyed the comforts and protection of the old order may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/the-clatter-of-a-changing-world-is-not-pleasant-and-those-who-have/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [“She shocked me. Truly rocked the ground beneath my feet. Made the air shimmer with her power and grace. The woman had slipped free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-maxwell/she-shocked-me-truly-rocked-the-ground-beneath-my-feet-made-the-air/) [Robin Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-maxwell/) > [Someone gave me a New Testament. I had never before read it systematically. Some parts made sense, some parts shocked me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-blue/someone-gave-me-a-new-testament-i-had-never-before-read-it/) [Lionel Blue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-blue/) > [I remember being shocked when I came out from under the focusing cloth after a minute or two being submerged within that, at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sexton/i-remember-being-shocked-when-i-came-out-from-under-the-focusing/) [John Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sexton/) > [I'm shocked and surprised by people that are shocked and surprised that certain things in life are made up or not as true as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mcclanahan/i-m-shocked-and-surprised-by-people-that-are-shocked-and-surprised/) [Scott McClanahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mcclanahan/) > [We held hands, kneed each others ass, hug goodbye everyday, laugh every moment we spend you would think we are an item but nope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-held-hands-kneed-each-others-ass-hug-goodbye-everyday-laugh-every/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Here's the thing, who cares what you have to look at, I'm a big advocate of not obscuring vistas, but even if you build…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-graffin/here-s-the-thing-who-cares-what-you-have-to-look-at-i-m-a-big/) [Greg Graffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-graffin/) > [I love pork. I love a good BLT. I know that sounds horrible but I do. I'm a total foodie. I love cooking and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-bergen/i-love-pork-i-love-a-good-blt-i-know-that-sounds-horrible-but-i-do-i/) [Bob Bergen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-bergen/) > [Because I am a mother, I am capable of being shocked: as I never was when I was not one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/because-i-am-a-mother-i-am-capable-of-being-shocked-as-i-never-was/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [People are easily shocked when their routine is disrupted and their ease of travel is restricted. We are dealing with a complete new face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashraf-ghani/people-are-easily-shocked-when-their-routine-is-disrupted-and-their/) [Ashraf Ghani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashraf-ghani/) > [A lot of people are shocked when they hear that I played a 14-year-old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shweta-tripathi/a-lot-of-people-are-shocked-when-they-hear-that-i-played-a-14-year-old/) [Shweta Tripathi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shweta-tripathi/) > [My dad taught me swears when I was a toddler, and I saw, at a really early age, that if I shocked people, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roseanne-barr/my-dad-taught-me-swears-when-i-was-a-toddler-and-i-saw-at-a-really/) [Roseanne Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roseanne-barr/) > [I've always believed that a good twist is one that, when it is presented to the audience, half of them say, 'I saw that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damon-lindelof/i-ve-always-believed-that-a-good-twist-is-one-that-when-it-is/) [Damon Lindelof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damon-lindelof/) [Browse all 698 Shocked quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shocked/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I think that it can be assumed that no adults are ever really 'shocked' - that being shocked is always a pose.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thornton Wilder" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/i-think-that-it-can-be-assumed-that-no-adults-are-ever-really-shocked/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Shocked" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/i-think-that-it-can-be-assumed-that-no-adults-are-ever-really-shocked/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/839/thornton-wilder-1495_shocked_i-think-that-it-can-be-assumed-that-no-a_2745992.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/839/thornton-wilder-1495_shocked_i-think-that-it-can-be-assumed-that-no-a_2745992.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/839/thornton-wilder-1495_shocked_i-think-that-it-can-be-assumed-that-no-a_2745992.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think that it can be assumed that no adults are ever really 'shocked' - that being shocked is always a pose.” — Thornton Wilder", "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": "Thornton Wilder", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I think that it can be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/i-think-that-it-can-be-assumed-that-no-adults-are-ever-really-shocked/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/i-think-that-it-can-be-assumed-that-no-adults-are-ever-really-shocked/#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 } } ] } ```