Insecurity twists meanings and poisons trust. In a closely beleaguered city every sentry is a potential traitor.
Graham GreeneRead
There was always another side to a joke, the side of the victim.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A joke often has a hidden perspective that reflects the feelings of the person being joked about.
Graham Greene's quote highlights the dual nature of humor, suggesting that while jokes may be amusing to some, they can also inflict harm or highlight the vulnerability of the subject. This perspective encourages a deeper understanding of humor, prompting individuals to consider not just the laughter it brings, but the potential pain it may cause to others who are the target of the joke.
Themes
JokeVictimHumorPerspectiveUnderstanding
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a comedy writing workshop to encourage writers to think about the implications of their humor.
More from Graham Greene
All quotes →It seemed to Scobie that life was immeasurably long. Couldn’t the test of man have been carried out in fewer years? Couldn’t we have committed our first major sin at seven, have ruined ourselves for love or hate at ten, have clutched at redemption on a fifteen-year-old deathbed?
Graham GreeneRead
God is love. I don't say the heart doesn't feel a taste of it, but what a taste. The smallest glass of love mixed with a pint pot of ditch-water. We wouldn't recognize that love. It might even look like hate. It would be enough to scare us - God's love.
Graham GreeneRead
Of two hearts one is always warm and one is always cold: the cold heart is more precious than diamonds: the warm heart has no value and is thrown away.
Graham GreeneRead
Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those who do not write, compose or paint can manage to escape the madness, melancholia, the panic and fear which is inherent in a human situation.
Graham GreeneRead
Champagne, if you are seeking the truth, is better than a lie detector. It encourages a man to be expansive, even reckless, while lie detectors are only a challenge to tell lies successfully.
Graham GreeneRead
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