This is a study of the memoir of Tage Carlsson, a man from the margin who lived between1908-2002 in the small town of Sillerud, Värmland. The purpose of this study is to show howmodernization affected him during the 20th century; what he valued, which ideals he tried touphold and the way he narrated his life. His narrative and character are studied through the lensof the Life Writing field. Previous research on the Swedish phenomenon “skötsamhet” (wellbehaved-ness) and “folkbildning” (education of the people) lays the foundation of this study aspart of the modernization process. The content of the memoir is analyzed thematically and isdiscussed in three parts: the well-behaved person, the educated person, and the modern person.Tage fits well into all the above, and this study encourages research on the margin as it showsthat it mirrors the ideas of the center, and vice versa.