Suicide was against the law. Johnny had wondered why. It meant that if you missed, or the gas ran out, or the rope broke, you could get locked up in prison to show you that life was really very jolly and thoroughly worth living.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The quote satirically portrays suicide as a crime, suggesting that failure would lead to imprisonment, thereby mocking the idea that life is inherently joyous.
- In plain terms
- It jokes that suicide is illegal and would land you in jail if it failed.
- What can you take from it?
- Beware of sarcasm that trivializes serious issues.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How does satire affect perception of serious topics?
- When is it appropriate to use dark humor?
Another view
The humor may be offensive to those affected by mental health struggles.
More from Terry Pratchett
Everything makes sense a bit at a time. But when you try to think of it all at once, it comes out wrong.
Permalink to quote #83 Brave men make good soldiers, but cowards make better strategists.
Permalink to quote #85 The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.
Permalink to quote #82
Related quotes
You realize that suicide's a criminal offense - In less enlightened times they'd have hung you for it.
Peter CookPeter Cook quote #3 Abstainer, n. A weak person who yields to the temptation of denying himself a pleasure. A total abstainer is one who abstains from everything but abstention, a…
Ambrose BierceAmbrose Bierce quote #4 At least one way of measuring the freedom of any society is the amount of comedy that is permitted, and clearly a healthy society permits more satirical commen…
Eric IdleEric Idle quote #5