The books transported her into new worlds and introduced her to amazing people who lived exciting lives.
Roald DahlRead
The fine line between roaring with laughter and crying because it's a disaster is a very, very fine line. You see a chap slip on a banana skin in the street and you roar with laughter when he falls slap on his backside. If in doing so you suddenly see he's broken a leg, you very quickly stop laughing and it's not a joke anymore.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Humor can quickly turn to tragedy, highlighting the delicate boundary between laughter and despair.
This quote by Roald Dahl illustrates the thin line that separates humor from sadness. It reflects how an event that seems funny at first can become serious and heartbreaking in an instant, emphasizing the unpredictability of life and the duality of human emotions. The example of a person slipping on a banana peel is a classic comedic moment, but it reminds us that, depending on the consequences, laughter can quickly transform into concern or sorrow.
Themes
HumorEmotionLaughterTragedyLife
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared during a comedy night to remind the audience of the nuances of humor and empathy.
More from Roald Dahl
All quotes →Matilda said, "Never do anything by halves if you want to get away with it. Be outrageous. Go the whole hog. Make sure everything you do is so completely crazy it's unbelievable.
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I asked my mum, who's a very clever psychotherapist, and she says that kids love stories about death; they need it, they need to have stories that deal with death and explain it, as a place to put their fears.
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By the time I am nearing the end of a story, the first part will have been reread and altered and corrected at least one hundred and fifty times. I am suspicious of both facility and speed. Good writing is essentially rewriting. I am positive of this.
Roald DahlRead
You seemed so far away," Miss Honey whispered, awestruck. "Oh, I was. I was flying past the stars on silver wings," Matilda said. "It was wonderful.
Roald DahlRead
If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.
Roald DahlRead
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