Don Draper’s 10 Best Quotes In Mad Men

Often heralded as one among tv’s most brilliantly constructed dramas, Mad Men garnered well-deserved crucial acclaim with its sharp writing and hanging characters. At its coronary heart was Don Draper, dropped at life by Jon Hamm in an iconic efficiency, after virtually being performed by one other actor. Don’s dialogue turned a cornerstone of the present’s narrative, continuously providing profound insights into the human situation and his personal private flaws, exhibiting how tightly written it was, with Mad Men having its ending deliberate from the beginning.

Many of Don’s most memorable strains, seemingly easy and even cynical at first look, reveal layers of deeper which means upon nearer inspection. These items of genius dialogue written by collection creator Matthew Weiner and his writers are greater than mere govt quips and phrases to dwell by in Mad Men. They foreshadow character arcs, expose societal hypocrisies, and subtly unveil the person behind the rigorously constructed facade.

10

“Nostalgia – It’s Delicate, But Potent.”

Mad Men Season 1, Episode 13, “The Wheel”

Some of Don Draper’s most memorable dialogue is in Mad Men season 1, and the Kodak Carousel pitch in episode 13, “The Wheel” is not any exception. It’s a writing masterstroke:

“Nostalgia – it’s delicate, but potent […] It’s a twinge in your heart far more powerful than memory alone. This device isn’t a spaceship, it’s a time machine.”

Mad Men season 1 establishes Don’s outstanding present of gab, particularly when working below strain with the loyalty and religion of a consumer hanging within the steadiness. Draper’s work within the Sterling Cooper boardroom additionally ties in superbly to the influences and experiences round him, that are a continuing inspiration for him as a inventive.

Another layer of brilliance is introducing this theme of nostalgia inside the context of a interval drama – it actually catches the viewer off-guard, particularly with the added consciousness that Don’s marriage just isn’t as rosy because the nostalgic New Year’s photograph he makes use of to tug on the heartstrings. Both the purchasers and the viewers suppose they’re getting a slice of life from Don right here, however similar to the slippery feeling of nostalgia, it’s a mirage. Nostalgia bleeds via key moments all through Mad Men, so this early institution of this theme could be very properly completed.

9

“People Tell You Who They Are, But We Ignore It…”

Mad Men Season 4, Episode 8, “The Summer Man”

The greatest Don Draper quotes are those that hit the toughest within the context of his complete character arc. In Mad Men season 4, episode 8, “The Summer Man”, Don is feeling extra self-reflective than regular as he tries to nip his consuming within the bud, shaken to his senses by his pricey good friend Anna’s loss of life. The episode opens with Don journaling about his earnest try at self-improvement, humbling himself as his swimming classes solid doubt over the bodily health he has till now taken as a right.

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Don displays: “People tell you who they are, but we ignore it because we want them to be who we want them to be.” It is sensible that Don is participating in a second of introspection after his all-time low and main private loss, in addition to his makes an attempt to this point – however, like many Don Draper quotes, it’s a double-edged sword.

Don is true in regards to the willful perception within the facade that’s current in lots of relationships within the present’s setting, however it’s additionally a large projection of his personal identification disaster and feeling unseen by different individuals. The frequent twin meanings in Mad Men are what make it such sensible screenwriting.

8

“What You Call Love Was Invented By Guys Like Me…”

Mad Men Season 1, Episode 1, “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes”

Don’s cynical dialogue within the dinner scene with Rachel Menken packed one hell of a punch. This assembly is the clear spotlight of Mad Men‘s collection premiere as a result of Don has met his match in Rachel, who sees proper via his elaborately constructed facade. By making an attempt to exert superiority over Rachel by scoffing at her romantic nature, he solely hints at what’s revealed later – that Don hasn’t had a lot love in his life in any respect, and that’s why it’s unrelatable for him.

Don claims:

“The reason you haven’t felt it is because it doesn’t exist. What you call love was invented by guys like me, to sell nylons. You’re born alone and you die alone and this world just drops a bunch of rules on top of you to make you forget those facts – but I never forget.”

Just these few strains encapsulate why Mad Men is a distinct sort of interval drama – one which each engages in and subverts the Nineteen Sixties established order. Don Draper has to play the principles of the sport to get to the place he’s, however his upbringing and his secret identification instill in him a profound sense of loneliness and alienation that disconnects him from others. This carries proper via the finale, so to ascertain it so succinctly is significantly spectacular.

7

“The Universe Is Indifferent.”

Mad Men Season 1, Episode 8, “The Hobo Code”

“The Hobo Code” is likely one of the greatest episodes of Mad Men season 1, pulling again the curtain on poor Dick Whitman’s childhood experiences. Simultaneously, Don is spending time with Midge and her beatnik buddies smoking pot and listening to the end-of-record crackle. Don presents two sides of himself on this first season – the sentimental inventive and the nihilist. If he introduced the latter to Rachel Menken within the pilot, he emphasizes it additional right here. Don leaves his viewers deflated with this speech:

“Well, I hate to break it to you, but there is no big lie. There is no system. The universe is indifferent.”

This chilly assertion is just additional enhanced by Don with the ability to stroll out of the foggy condo with impunity whereas police are within the constructing, just because he’s complying with that very same system, an accepted gentleman. This quote is nice as a result of it sums up the decidedly cynical view towards beatniks and hippies in Mad Men – it’s a robust capsule to swallow for Don that he’s perceived as privileged as a result of, unbeknownst to most, he grew up something however.

6

“If I Collected More Than A Dollar, She’d Buy Me A Hershey Bar…”

Mad Men Season 6, Episode 13, “In Care Of”

Don’s main meltdown in a pivotal assembly with Hershey’s is a hanging second in Mad Men. The timing of that is essential – beforehand, Don has met a brand new low with a few terrifying Mad Men episodes, culminating in Sally strolling in on his affair with (or “comforting”) Sylvia Rosen. This familial disaster involves a head simply when Don is about to maneuver to LA for a contemporary begin with Megan, however first has to do his Hershey’s pitch. It is an unprecedented catastrophe.

After telling a faux story of what he would have appreciated his childhood to be like, Don takes it upon himself to inform the executives the laborious reality:

“I was an orphan. I grew up in Pennsylvania in a whorehouse […] If I collected more than a dollar she bought me a Hershey Bar. And I would eat it alone in my room with great ceremony, feeling like a normal kid. It said sweet on the package – it was the only sweet thing in my life.”

Don’s quote is so hanging due to its distinction to the all-American ultimate he beforehand painted for his hungry viewers. This second of authenticity is a self-detonation for Don – he had already received them over, however seemingly reached his breaking level residing a lie. The incredulity of his colleagues and the purchasers, considering it’s a stunt, echoes Don’s earlier feedback about desirous to imagine in a facade and never the ugly reality.

5

“Listen To Me – Get Out Of Here And Move Forward.”

Mad Men Season 2, Episode 5, “The New Girl”

Don’s candid recommendation to his protégé in a Peggy-centric episode is memorable for its signature duality. The aptly-titled episode “The New Girl” sees Peggy given recommendation from Bobbie Barrett about how you can be knowledgeable lady in a person’s world. Peggy isn’t the fresh-faced secretary anymore, however individuals nonetheless robotically assume she slept with Don to grow to be a copywriter – the episode emphasizes the opposite, that Peggy and Don have an unstated platonic bond that reverberates all through the collection.

The episode options flashbacks to Peggy mendacity within the hospital after giving start, with Don visiting and saying:

“Get out of here and move forward. This never happened. It will shock you how much it never happened.”

Moving ahead just isn’t solely about Peggy’s renewal, seizing her second, and specializing in her profession, however can also be a projection of Don’s relentless locomotion. Don beforehand rejected his brother in Mad Men season 1, saying his life solely goes “in one direction – forward”. Ironically, the trail of destruction he carves is knowledgeable by the previous he has not made peace with. However, Draper’s recommendation to Peggy right here is admirable and heartfelt – he doesn’t choose Peggy for what has occurred, however is aware of her potential and needs her to succeed. It is a lightweight amongst Don’s extra disappointing moments in Mad Men.

4

“It’s Easy To Give Up Something When You’re Satisfied.”

Mad Men Season 6, Episode 7, “Man With A Plan”

Don Draper is understood for his inspirational quotes about common life experiences and, in fact, copy – however this quote, like all the most effective Mad Men quotes, speaks volumes about his vulnerability behind the inventive powerhouse. When his affair with Sylvia reaches a breaking level and he can’t fathom being rejected by her, he quips: “It’s easy to give up something when you’re satisfied.”

Sylvia then retorts, “It’s straightforward to surrender one thing while you’re ashamed,” the damage and disgust clear on her face, with a implausible efficiency by Linda Cardellini. This quote is sensible, firstly as a result of it speaks to Don’s familiarity with the subject. Draper is within the enterprise of speaking a necessity for consumption, which depends on the shopper by no means being happy. Further, he has his personal dependancy points with alcoholism and extra-marital affairs.

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Don’s insistence on believing that Sylvia is solely fickle is telling. He had beforehand imposed a sexual energy play on Sylvia to domesticate a dynamic the place she wanted him, as emphasised by his love of the “nothing else will do” line – as an alternative, he made her really feel humiliated and revolted, realizing it was his fantasy enjoying out and never hers.

3

“I Don’t Want To Wake Up Pregnant.”

Mad Men Season 1, Episode 1, “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes”

This line from Don Draper to Pete Campbell in Mad Men‘s collection premiere would possibly seem to be a throwaway line, however it’s truly very intelligent. Pete is clearly sucking as much as Don on this scene, and Don tells him to take it down a notch with this satisfyingly quippy one-liner that places him in his place. However, on a rewatch, it’s even higher when you think about that on this identical episode, Pete began a quick affair with Peggy, who turned pregnant with Pete’s baby. It is only one instance of how densely packed Mad Men’s premiere is with foreshadowing.

2

“People Want To Be Told What To Do…”

Mad Men Season 1, Episode 6, “Babylon”

Another commonly-touted inspirational copywriting quote of Don’s is “People want to be told what to do so badly that they’ll listen to anyone”. However, whereas an promoting company is a crucial a part of the present, parroting Don’s seemingly sage recommendation is unintentionally ironic, since so a lot of his truths established in Mad Men season 1 disintegrate. In this instance, Don is making an attempt to focus on that the general public will purchase something to appease them.

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This is particularly potent given the turbulent socio-historical setting of Mad Men, whose solid of characters really feel a scarcity of management all through the collection. However, Don learns all through his arc that transactional relationships will not be sustainable. This is additional highlighted along with his notorious “THAT’S WHAT THE MONEY’S FOR” row with Peggy in Mad Men season 4. It demonstrates how even Don’s most seemingly simple statements carry complexity, hinting on the classes he has but to study and the eventual crumbling of his rigorously constructed worldview.

1

“We’re Flawed Because We Want So Much More.”

Mad Men Season 4, Episode 8, “The Summer Man”

In a pivotal Mad Men season 4 episode, Don utters a line that underscores a core human reality – we frequently need what stays simply out of attain. This sentiment speaks to our inherent dissatisfaction. No matter what we purchase, we’re not often content material. Don’s sample of wanting one thing intensely solely to discard it as soon as obtained highlights this wrestle. His journey finally factors towards the need of residing within the current and appreciating what he has, moderately than perpetually in search of extra.

As with many quotes in Mad Men, Don’s wording right here mirrors different dialogue all through the collection. In Mad Men season 6, he accuses Sylvia of this actual habits. While it might be partly true and there was no morally superior celebration in that affair, it’s also a projection, highlighting that at its core, Mad Men is about Don. Indeed, one purpose why Jon Hamm discovered the ultimate Mad Men season troublesome was as a result of it got here full circle to Don’s sense of isolation and dissatisfaction regardless of having, in Peggy’s phrases, “Everything, and so much of it”.

Mad Men

10/10

Release Date

2007 – 2015-00-00

Showrunner

Matthew Weiner

Directors

Michael Uppendahl, Jennifer Getzinger, Scott Hornbacher, Matthew Weiner, Lesli Linka Glatter, Tim Hunter, John Slattery, Alan Taylor, Andrew Bernstein, Jon Hamm, Barbet Schroeder, Daisy von Scherler Mayer, Ed Bianchi, Jared Harris, Matt Shakman, Lynn Shelton

Writers

Jonathan Igla, Robin Veith, Carly Wray, Kater Gordon, Bridget Bedard, Cathryn Humphris, Chris Provenzano, Brett Johnson, Rick Cleveland, Tracy McMillan, Andrew Colville, David Iserson

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  Elisabeth Moss

  Peggy Olson