If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons.
James ThurberRead
The laughter of man is more terrible than his tears, and takes more forms hollow, heartless, mirthless, maniacal.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that human laughter can often mask deeper pain and can be insincere or even troubling.
James Thurber's quote emphasizes the complexity of human emotions, highlighting that laughter can sometimes be more unsettling than crying. It points to the idea that the outward expressions of joy may hide inner turmoil or lack authentic connection, suggesting that laughter can come in various forms that might not reflect true happiness.
Themes
LaughterTearsEmotionHumanityPain
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the complexities of human emotions in a psychology class.
More from James Thurber
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Things have dropped from me. I have outlived certain desires; I have lost friends, some by death... others through sheer inability to cross the street.
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The appreciative smile, the chuckle, the soundless mirth, so important to the success of comedy, cannot be understood unless one sits among the audience and feels the warmth created by the quality of laughter that the audience takes home with it.
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Unless artists can remember what it was to be a little boy, they are only half complete as artist and as man.
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These are the days of bootleg love.
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