78. JESSIE B. RITTENHOUSE: My Wage
September 7th, 2012
Jessie Belle Rittenhouse (1869-1948) was a literary critic and poet. In 1930, she was awarded the first Robert Frost (a Zen Pencils favourite) Medal for lifetime achievement in poetry. It’s nice to feature another female author, I haven’t done nearly enough. Let me know if you have any other great quotes by inspiring women.
Thanks to Phil for submitting this wonderful poem. There’s not much I can add, the poem speaks for itself – I just hope I did it justice. Would love to hear if you interpreted it differently or if you agree/disagree with the message.
- On a side note, here’s another interview I did, this time with Indian youth website The Viewspaper.
ABOUT THIS SITE:
Zen Pencils adapts inspirational quotes into cartoons. It's illustrated by Gavin Aung Than and there's a new toon every Tuesday. More info
MOST POPULAR COMICS
- 50. NEIL GAIMAN: Make good art
- 100. CARL SAGAN: Pale blue dot
- 98. ALAN WATTS: What if money was no object?
- 90: IRA GLASS: Advice for beginners
- 52. PHIL PLAIT: Welcome to science
- 104. MALALA YOUSAFZAI: I have the right
- 94. The Two Wolves
- 92. CHRIS GUILLEBEAU: 11 ways to be average
- 108. SOPHIE SCHOLL: The fire within
- 42. NEIL deGRASSE TYSON: The most astounding fact
- 60. ROBERT FROST: The road not taken
- 116. CAITLIN MORAN: We’re all dying
- 97. CHARLES BUKOWSKI: Air and light and time and space
- 17. FRANK HERBERT: Litany against fear
- 89. STEPHEN FRY: Ultimate self-help book
Best of the rest
- 106. CHRIS HADFIELD: An astronaut's advice
- 12. CARL SAGAN: Make the most of this life
- 33. EDGAR MITCHELL: A global consciousness
- 36. BRUCE LEE: There are no limits
- 56. HENRY ROLLINS: Who's the crazier man?
- 65. MARIANNE WILLIAMSON: Our deepest fear
- 73. MARK TWAIN: An educational journey
- 8. THEODORE ROOSEVELT: The man in the arena
- 83. HOWARD THURMAN: Ask yourself
- 91. BILL HICKS: It's just a ride
HOSTED BY:
powerful. One of your best i think.
This is really inspiring. Great job.
Did it justice?!? Holy smokes dude you knocked this one outta the park!! I actually had chills reading it!! Thank you for illustrating this favorite poem of mine!
-Phil
Thanks for submitting it!
I was almost/was him (how does it turn out for him?). A great girl, a Paramedic, a former Infantry officer turned doctor, and an Intern at the emergency ward saved my life. I am marrying the the Great Girl in May !!
I agree with you there Phil! This one is in my opinion of of your best so far.
This one is your best so far* Darn
Could someone help me to explain this poem (and the cartoon?) I can get what the poem is saying, but I’m quite unsure of the underlying meaning of it. My command of the English language is still weak, so any help would be much appreciated!
@Ted, at it’s simplest meaning, the poem suggests that what you get from Life is what you make of it.
What you ask from Life, it will gladly pay, as long as you put in the effort and work for it.
Thanks JJ, hope that helps Ted.
I’m not crying… it’s just….. ninjas cutting onions around me.
Gosh, how come you overcome yourself everytime!!
Fuck this shit . . . Reminds of me of my deadbeat dad.
Lovely. Very good job, Sir Gavin.
Since when do employers give you the wage you ask for?
You have the ability to work for a different employer.
..named yourself
Since you show them you’re worth every penny of it.
I think I’m gonna print this one out and put it in the Walmart break room, just for the laughs y’know.
Beautiful
Never heard this quote before but It’s one of my favorites now. I’ve always strongly believed you get out of life what you put into it. Love the artwork, really sends home the message. ( I wish more people understood the message!)
Not always the case. Sometimes you put in some really long shifts without much pay and a few weeks later your paycheck bounces. You go to the office so ask what happened only to find the doors chained shut. Dust yourself off, go find more work. I’ve made pretty heavy use of the Japanese phrase “shikata ga nai” or “it can’t be helped”. Ponder too much on that which you can’t change and you’ll go insane.
Another opinion on the chained shut doors – it is precisely your choice to go find more work that is what you put in life at that moment, a defining one. You will only go insane if you do not rise to your occasion, your opportunity, not by contemplating what went wrong, the signs that should have warned you about a misleading employer, maybe some way that you affected the sudden change. This contemplation and internal strengthening is precisely what will make you saner, and a better teacher if you learn from it.
I’ve been with you for a while, and loved everything you do. This is the first piece that I ever felt didn’t quite get the meaning of the text. I haven’t read the context of this script, but I think that the idea of “Life will give you back EXACTLY as much as you put into it” means that this lazy drunkard who cares little about his wife, his life, his career, or his health would NOT get a reward like “Oh yay, you have a happy thing now even when you sucked at being a general human altogether.” I’m not attacking you, and this may be stemming from my abhorrence of sluggards, but the text is true, life really DOES give back wages in accordance to the work you put into it. This feels like the exact opposite of my PERSONAL interpretation of it. Doesn’t change how I feel about you, your talent, or make me want to visit the site any less. Keep up the good work, I’m not a super awesome famous web artist, you’re that person.
But… there is no discretion between the comic\quote and your opinion, if I read both correctly. The last bit is of the life he could have had.
Blaine, the main character put into life what he got out. His reward was not the last panel, his loss was that panel.
He could have had that which was represented in last panel, but he wasted the wage he could have spent, and so left his life with nothing.
Hey Blaine, that last panel is what he realised he COULD have got out of life if he hadn’t been a lazy drunkard. So yeah as Calibur and Dark Hours said, I think we agree on the poem’s message.
It took me a little while, but I got it. I thought he had died and that was some sort of rewarding afterlife. Looking in the perspective that he was just drunk, passed out on the ground, looking back at what his life could be, that makes a lot more sense.
Not a criticism. It’s inspirational but it’s also false hope for a lot of people. Millions breaking their back in third world working in farms, mines, garbage dumps, factories, and 99.9% of them have no chance breaking out of that environment no matter how much they put in.
The piece is brilliantly done, but just wanted to point out that the story behind the poor and the losers go a lot deeper than being a lazy drunkard.
I agree with your comment. The message of the poem strikes me as very personal one; although this might be good for some people in some situations you should be careful not to generalize this as being universally true.
I’d love to see an interpretation where ‘success’ in life is not so much an external factor but rather a certain mindset.
The piece of course is very beautiful, as usual!
I agree. If this poem has any value than it should be taken to refer to inner life.
I live half the year on a farm in China where the farm workers make about 5 USD a day. Their running water is dependent on rainfall and gravity. They eat what they grow, pick in the woods, and can buy in the local economy. The 73 year old farmer there is the happiest man I have ever met. How many thousands have I met with so much more wealth, are without any deep sense of joy?
I grew up around the homeless, drunks, and crazies. I can assure you they did not ask for their lot. Those of us born with stable emotions, intelligence to work with what we have, and good families to teach us how to deal with life (or maybe at least two out of three) are lucky.
After high school I lived homeless for the better part of 7 years. While it was a choice for me, I met many people who were trying hard to have a normal life. And, in the coal towns of West Virginia, and the reservations scattered about the states I saw many people living a “normal life” that most upper middle class people with interests in things like zen could hardly imagine (not strictly limited as such, but enough). Worse than those poisoned environments are those that can be found abroad. I took a picture of a man sitting on top of a burning pile of garbage in one of the poorest areas of China. He was digging up lunch. Can you imagine the smell? I will never forget his eyes, there was no anger or sadness. Sure, his life sucks, but probably having never gone further than he could walk from that dump, I don’t think he has enough perspective to really understand the condition he was in. But, then again, even in places like that they have TV.
I have enjoyed these comics. But this one made me feel a little sick.
Good point Kris
Bravo! Oh my goodness. I look stupid standing and clapping in front of my laptop.
Did you throw a bouquet of flowers at the screen?
You blew me away with this interpretation. almost choked up. thanks, Gav.
Did you ever read a quote, exactly at the time you needed to read something like that? Thank you Gavin. You did it justice, and you touched my heart.
This one is truly worthy of Zen Pencils, Gavin… massive props. I too got chills reading it.
Good piece.
You nailed this one on the head Gav. First time reading this poem and I couldnt’ wait to see how the illustration end while reading it. Thanks Gav!
Serendipitously timed! Based on a recent meditation, I have been doing a lot of work recently to shifting my thinking from a place of “poverty” to a place of “abundance”. There are so many wonderful ways we can chose to live out our daily lives. And often great shifts can take place (regardless of our circumstances), simply by changing perspective and seeing what a great attitude and good vibes can gain us. Fabulous adaption Gav!
Very inspiring as always man!
Great job as always
I’ll be forwarding this onto someone who really needs it atm. Thanks for sharing your talent 
One of my favorite quotes is from Lois McMaster Bujold:
“All great human deeds both consume and transform their doers. Consider an athlete, or a scientist, or an artist, or an independent business creator. In the service of their goals they lay down time and energy and many other choices and pleasures; in return, they become most truly themselves. A false destiny may be spotted by the fact that it consumes without transforming, without giving back the enlarged self.”
This continues with pointing out that motherhood qualifies as one of the “great human deeds”, but I think that the general concept is the key.
This is something I remember and I have often thought: what causes may people to fail their own potential in life is that they are terrified of transformation. One can sense, instinctively, that going out on a limb, taking a chance, striving to do something that really matters, will change yourself. And people stay fearful of that. They don’t want to understand more about themselves, because they’re afraid of what they might find. Because we are all insecure about ourselves at some level.
So we choose to stay the same, choose to keep doing the same thing we’ve been doing even if that thing is bad for us. Because it feels safer, feels more reassuring, than in taking that risk and being transformed into something you cannot imagine because you’re not there yet.
Beautiful quote MB – I’ve never considered this.
I know I’ve been transformed by spending all my time drawing … into someone with a bad posture! Sorry, bad joke.
“You’re only as young as the last time you changed your mind.”
-Timothy Leary-
This has come at a very appropriate time in my life. I thank you for inspiring me…
Brilliant! Currently studying part-time and working full time. Been asking myself if all this toil is worth it! Why don’t I just sell my car and live on a beach and bask in lifes glory.
Right now I would be swop my labour for a quiet Buddhist monastery with a flushing toilet!
perfect example of an unchanging principle “you reap what you sow”
Your work consistently chokes me up. That’s saying something for a “webcomic” (j/k)
I actually had goosebumps reading this one…
By the way, I’ve been looking for a while for your drawings of famous scientists as kids… I seem to remember you did one of Carl Sagan and also some others… a link would be much appreciated! Thanks.
You’ve got me confused with someone else, I haven’t drawn anything like that
Not Sagan, but you did indeed draw at least one famous scientist as a kid: Robert Goddard.
Fantastic! Love it!
Yes Gav! You did justice to it, It can’t get better than this.
Why does he looks like Pablo Escobar when he died?
I feel like the aforementioned, proverbial, unrewarded genius, but I have never asked for anything more than I have earned. Even then, I have sustained abuse unearned, not complaining.
All I want is a bit of comfort as I live, but I wonder if only a paramedic will grieve my death.
Pivot and show the world what you can do.
I think you misunderstand me. I said I want nothing but a bit of comfort. You recommend I pivot, as if wanting so little is a bad thing.
I traveled the world as a soldier, and saw many different ways to live and systems of value. I’m impressed with both Stoicism and Buddhism, especially their rejection of ambition and reigning in of passion.
All the while, I suffered silently under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. It didn’t break me, but it came close. It made me value who I am inside my own head.
If this gay veteran wishes to live in solitude, pursuing his mind’s further development with no clear purpose other than knowledge for it’s own sake, so be it.
The reason I felt compelled to respond in counterpoint is the impression this comic gives me, that if only the man wasn’t an alcoholic, he could keep his wife, pay his rent, and live in happiness. What if the comic replaced alcoholism with PTSD, or depression, or bipolar disorder? Does the story change?
I was homeless once, but one of the majority who were quickly taken care of (i.e. women and children). The minority of homeless people are the men depicted here, who are sick and need help.
I empathize with them, because maybe if I were just a little less intelligent and introspective and didn’t have the VA to help, I could be one of them. To say they could have it all, if only they turn away from drinking, is akin to telling a drowning man to just swim to shore. It doesn’t help.
Gav, could i get your email, or anywhere i can send you something that inspired me.
Great, great, great!!!!!
Only a few people can see the relashionship beetween liberty and responsability.
If you want something, you must work for that.
If you work for something, you must be rewarded.
Brilliant job as always.
Keep going, my friend
I’ve just read all 78 in a sitting. These are wonderful. I want to read more Fenyman, I want to learn more about Goddard, I have already read everything that Frost and Silverstein ever wrote but now I want to read it all again. A couple of these have brought me to the edge of tears. I wish you the greatest success in this adventure.
That’s great to hear Gabriel!
I first time I read something from this site was at a time when I was feeling down. Gav, your “Invictus” comic has been such a motivational tool ever since I read it on 9gag several months ago. It had such power that I’ve made myself psychologically stronger, and each comic you’ve churned out as driven me more and more. Thank you.
Also, I’ve noticed the video adaptations of your web comic. May I have an attempt at making one?
Sure, be my guest
This was beautiful. It captures the poem very very well. Great job!
“Let me know if you have any other great quotes by inspiring women.” ‘Hiroshima’ or ‘Point B’ by Sarah Kay?
Your comic empowered even more the feeling conveyed by the poem. And this is what it`s all about, isn`t it?
Unless I’m grossly misinterpreting this comic, I don’t quite agree with the message. Hard work will often be rewarded, but there are other factors out of our control. If everybody worked hard and aimed high, would be all be uber wealthy and successful? No, there’d still be some menial workers paid little to bust their backs their entire lives. Are you suggesting that every lower class worker didn’t try hard enough?
Plenty of things can change your life without your say. If you break your back, you can lose your job and wind up on the streets. If you get laid off and can’t find a job, you’re boned. Your very birth can help or hinder your place in the world. Hell, if I get cancer and just die, did I not work hard enough?
If you’re looking for inspirational female poets, please look at Mary Oliver’s The Journey or Wild Geese. I read these during the darkest moments of my life and they carry me through.
I love your comics, but I really can’t stand stuff like this. It’s a nice sentiment, but the world really doesn’t work that way, and I feel that this kind of fluff feeds into the demonisation of the poor that is so popular nowadays.
Wonderful comic
Has the ring of truth.
I was so happy when I read this. It is one of my favorite poems, and I think you did a wonderful job with it.
I just got to know your site today and I wanna tell you how great your work is. This poem is one of my favorite. I love what you do. Never stop. This is really perfect fusion of two arts, the art of painting and that of writing. You’re such a good artist. Here is another poem from a woman that I find quite deep. Actually, it’s not really the poem as it is but it’s worth working on it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oj6LQik_qPE
It’s too late to ask again?