# Aspiration explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ambrose Bierce.

## What happens

The chapter opens with the assertion that no man can truthfully deny a desire for the presidency, quoting William C. Whitney. It then presents a satirical poem about a rabbit that admires a donkey's long ears, suggesting that every creature secretly wishes to be like something greater, mocking the nature of aspiration and self-deception.

## Themes in this chapter

### Political Satire

The chapter opens with a quote about the presidency and uses a fable-like poem to satirize the universal desire for power and status, mocking the pretensions of ambition.

### Deception and Self-Deception

The rabbit's admiration for the donkey's ears symbolizes self-deception, as it projects its own desires onto a perceived superior, reflecting how individuals delude themselves about their own aspirations.

## Key lines

> No man can truthfully say that he would not like to be President.

Everyone secretly desires the highest office, even if they deny it.

_Sets up the theme of universal ambition and hypocrisy._

> Lo! the wild rabbit, happy in the pride Of qualities to meaner beasts denied, Surveys the ass with reverence and fear, Adoring his superior length of ear, And says: 'No living creature, lean or fat, But wishes in his heart to be like That!'

A rabbit, proud of its own traits, looks up to a donkey with awe, envying its long ears, and concludes that every creature secretly wants to be something else.

_Satirical poem illustrating the folly of aspiration and the tendency to covet others' attributes._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters/aspiration
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters