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About this quote

What does it mean?
The author implies that extreme sadness was so common in his upbringing that no one felt compelled to end it.
In plain terms
Everyone was so sad that suicide seemed unnecessary.
What can you take from it?
Sometimes misery is so widespread it becomes a norm.

Where it applies

  • discussing upbringing
  • comparing cultures
  • mental health talks

Putting it to work

  • recognizing shared pain
  • finding humor in hardship

Questions to consider

  • What defined your hometown?
  • How do you cope with unhappiness?

Another view

It masks the real suffering with a joke.

More from Woody Allen

  1. My love life is terrible. The last time I was inside a woman was when I visited the Statue of Liberty.

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  2. Taste my tuna casserole - tell me if I put in too much hot fudge.

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  3. Agathon: But all that talk about death being the same as sleep. Socrates: Yes, the difference is that when you're dead and somebody yells, 'Everybody up, it's …

    Permalink to quote #75

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