Nothing is so impenetrable as laughter in a language you don't understand.
Interpretation
Laughter can be difficult to interpret when you are unfamiliar with the language being spoken.
This quote by William Golding suggests that humor is often tied to language and culture, making it challenging to appreciate or understand laughter when one is not fluent in that language. The nuances of jokes, puns, and comedic timing can be lost in translation, highlighting the deep connection between laughter and the cultural context in which it is expressed.
In practice
Sharing this quote during a multicultural gathering to emphasize the challenges of humor across languages.
Consider a man riding a bicycle. Whoever he is, we can say three things about him. We know he got on the bicycle and started to move. We know that at some point he will stop and get off. Most important of all, we know that if at any point between the beginning and the end of his journey he stops moving and does not get off the bicycle he will fall off it. That is a metaphor for the journey through life of any living thing, and I think of any society of living things.
The skull regarded Ralph like one who knows all the answers and won't tell.
Maybe, he said hesitantly, maybe there is a beast. The assembly cried out savagely and Ralph stood up in amazement. You, Simon? You believe in this? I don't know, said Simon. His heartbeats were choking him. [...] Ralph shouted. Hear him! He's got the conch! What I mean is . . . maybe it's only us. Nuts! That was from Piggy, shocked out of decorum.
The mask was a thing on it's own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-conciousness.
Man produces evil as a bee produces honey.
Utopias are presented for our inspection as a critique of the human state.
Before you kill somebody, make absolutely sure he isn't well connected. So it goes.
There's no more faith in thee than in a stewed prune.
It's now very common to hear people say 'I'm rather offended by that'.
When there is an old maid in the house, a watchdog is unnecessary.
All higher humor begins with ceasing to take oneself seriously.
The political and commercial morals of the United States are not merely food for laughter, they are an entire banquet.
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