Life — September 16, 1920 — page 12: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "How They Get That Way" This is a fable about ambition and self-improvement. A tadpole, born in "obscure mud," dreams of becoming a great frog. Despite ridicule from other tadpoles, he persists through determination and "will-power," eventually transforming into a distinguished frog. The bottom illustration depicts a domestic scene where a mother watches a nurse tend children, suggesting the story's moral applies to human society too—that proper care and development (like a tadpole's transformation) produces respectable adults. The satire gently mocks self-made success narratives while endorsing the era's belief in personal determination and proper upbringing. It's a motivational parable for Life magazine's readers, celebrating the idea that humble origins needn't limit one's future if you possess sufficient will and ambition.