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Humor is laughing at what you haven't got when you ought to have it.
Langston Hughes
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Humor involves finding laughter in situations where we feel a lack or loss.

This quote by Langston Hughes suggests that humor arises from our ability to see the lighter side of our deficiencies and unfulfilled desires. Instead of dwelling on what we lack, it encourages us to laugh at our circumstances, highlighting a resilience that helps us cope with life's challenges and imperfections.

Themes

HumorLaughterPerspectiveResilienceLife

In practice

Example use cases

Using this quote during a comedy club open mic night to emphasize the importance of finding humor in life's challenges.

More from Langston Hughes

I have discovered in life that there are ways of getting almost anywhere you want to go, if you really want to go.
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My writing has been largely concerned with the depicting of Negro life in America.
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I tire so of hearing people say, Let things take their course. Tomorrow is another day. I do not need my freedom when I'm dead. I cannot live on tomorrow's bread.
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An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he might choose.
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The calm, Cool face of the river, Asked me for a kiss
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The only way to get a thing done is to start to do it, then keep on doing it, and finally you'll finish it.
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