---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Humor is emotional chaos remembered in…"
description: "\"Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility.\" — James Thurber"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f4/james-thurber-1534_chaos_humor-is-emotional-chaos-remembered-in-t_1840407.png"
---

#  Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility.

![“Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility.” quote by James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f4/james-thurber-1534_chaos_humor-is-emotional-chaos-remembered-in-t_1840407.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f4/james-thurber-1534_chaos_humor-is-emotional-chaos-remembered-in-t_1840407.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f4/james-thurber-1534_chaos_humor-is-emotional-chaos-remembered-in-t_1840407.png)

> “Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility.”

[James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Humor transforms chaotic emotions into calm reflections, making absurdity approachable.

**In simple terms:** Chaos becomes calm through humor.

Key Takeaway

Find humor in turmoil.

Themes

humor emotion reflection

Mood

lighthearted reflective

Type

observational satirical

When to use this quote

- stress relief
- creative writing
- public speaking
- conflict resolution

Key Concepts

psychology cognitive reframing

Questions to Reflect On

- How does humor change your perception of stress?
- When might humor be inappropriate?

A Different Perspective

Humor can mask underlying issues if overused.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Chaos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chaos/) [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Emotional Chaos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotional-chaos-2344567/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Humor Emotional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor-emotional-2344566/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Remembered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembered/) [Remembered Tranquility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembered-tranquility-2344565/) [Tranquility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tranquility/)

## Related quotes

> [I think a sense of humor is the emotional equivalent of a sense of realism. One should not take everything seriously, and everybody takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-maccoby/i-think-a-sense-of-humor-is-the-emotional-equivalent-of-a-sense-of/)

[Michael Maccoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-maccoby/)

> [I believe in poetry as a way of surviving the emotional chaos, spiritual confusions, and traumatic events that come with being alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-orr/i-believe-in-poetry-as-a-way-of-surviving-the-emotional-chaos/)

[Gregory Orr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-orr/)

> [Believe what you believe and it will be, believe what others believe and they will consume you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-victor-paskavich/believe-what-you-believe-and-it-will-be-believe-what-others-believe/)

[Stanley Victor Paskavich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-victor-paskavich/)

> [The best weapons against the infamies of life are courage, wilfulness and patience. Courage strenthens, wilfulness is fun and patience provides tranquility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/the-best-weapons-against-the-infamies-of-life-are-courage-wilfulness/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [“The sense of being perfectly well-dressed gives a feeling of tranquility that religion is powerless to bestow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-sense-of-being-perfectly-well-dressed-gives-a-feeling-of/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/crouch-down-and-lick-the-hands-which-feed-you-may-your-chains-sit/)

[Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/)

> [Gardening is a labour full of tranquility and satisfaction; natural and instructive, and as such contributes to the most serious contemplation, experience, health and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-evelyn/gardening-is-a-labour-full-of-tranquility-and-satisfaction-natural/)

[John Evelyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-evelyn/)

> [“To pass from the extremes of danger to safety-from the tumult of war to the tranquility of peace, though sweet in contemplation, requires a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/to-pass-from-the-extremes-of-danger-to-safety-from-the-tumult-of-war/)

[Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/)

> [The fact that one can lose one's sense of self in an ocean of tranquility does not mean that one's consciousness is immaterial or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-fact-that-one-can-lose-one-s-sense-of-self-in-an-ocean-of/)

[Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/)

> [“It was not the power to be tranquil which had failed me, but the reason for tranquility was no more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/it-was-not-the-power-to-be-tranquil-which-had-failed-me-but-the/)

[Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [It is neither wealth nor splendor; but tranquility and occupation which give you happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/it-is-neither-wealth-nor-splendor-but-tranquility-and-occupation/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [“Establish a "zone of tranquility" where your drunken wife can't find you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-kalvachev/establish-a-zone-of-tranquility-where-your-drunken-wife-can-t-find-you/)

[Viktor Kalvachev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-kalvachev/)

> [“A conscience free from guilt leads to tranquility of the mind, and only a tranquil mind can see things as they truly are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bohdi-sanders/a-conscience-free-from-guilt-leads-to-tranquility-of-the-mind-and/)

[Bohdi Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bohdi-sanders/)

> [He who believes in God is not careful for the morrow, but labors joyfully and with a great heart. "For He giveth His beloved,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/he-who-believes-in-god-is-not-careful-for-the-morrow-but-labors/)

[Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/)

> [Don't live by my words, don't die by them, chew them slowly digest them, and smile if they give nourishment to your soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-victor-paskavich/don-t-live-by-my-words-don-t-die-by-them-chew-them-slowly-digest-them/)

[Stanley Victor Paskavich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-victor-paskavich/)

## More by James Thurber

> [ Salvador \[Dali\] was brought up in Spain, a country colored by the legends of Hannibal, El Greco, and Cervantes. I was brought up in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/salvador-dali-was-brought-up-in-spain-a-country-colored-by-the/)

[James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/)

> [“Her own mother lived the latter years of her life in the horrible suspicion that electricity was dripping invisibly all over the house.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/her-own-mother-lived-the-latter-years-of-her-life-in-the-horrible/)

[James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/)

> [“Against the may, the could be, and the should, folly 'tis to balance doubt or hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/against-the-may-the-could-be-and-the-should-folly-tis-to-balance/)

[James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/)

> [Love is the strange bewilderment that overtakes one person on account of another person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/love-is-the-strange-bewilderment-that-overtakes-one-person-on-account/)

[James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/)

> [“ There was an old coddle so molly, He talked in a glot that was poly, His gaws were so gew That his laps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/there-was-an-old-coddle-so-molly-he-talked-in-a-glot-that-was-poly/)

[James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/)

> [“you might as well fall on your face as lean over too far backwards”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/you-might-as-well-fall-on-your-face-as-lean-over-too-far-backwards/)

[james thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/)

> [I myself have known some profoundly thoughtful dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/i-myself-have-known-some-profoundly-thoughtful-dogs/)

[James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/)

> [He knows all about art, but he doesn't know what he likes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/he-knows-all-about-art-but-he-doesn-t-know-what-he-likes/)

[James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/)

> [All men should strive to learn before they die, what they are running from, and to, and why.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/all-men-should-strive-to-learn-before-they-die-what-they-are-running/)

[James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/)

> [Quick, name some towns in New Jersey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/quick-name-some-towns-in-new-jersey/)

[James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/)

> [Looks can be deceiving; it's eating that's believing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/looks-can-be-deceiving-it-s-eating-that-s-believing/)

[James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/)

> [“I don’t understand,” said the scientist, “why you lemmings all rush down to the sea and drown yourselves.” “How curious,” said the lemming. “The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/i-don-t-understand-said-the-scientist-why-you-lemmings-all-rush-down/)

[James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/)

> [Humor does not include sarcasm, invalid irony, sardonicism, innuendo, or any other form of cruelty. When these things are raised to a high point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/humor-does-not-include-sarcasm-invalid-irony-sardonicism-innuendo-or/)

[James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/)

> [Where most of us end up there is no knowing, but the hellbent get where they are going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/where-most-of-us-end-up-there-is-no-knowing-but-the-hellbent-get/)

[James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/)

> [Comedy has to be done en clair. You can't blunt the edge of wit or the point of satire with obscurity. Try to imagine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/comedy-has-to-be-done-en-clair-you-can-t-blunt-the-edge-of-wit-or-the/)

[James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/)

[Explore all 229 James Thurber quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/)

## More Chaos quotes

> [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/)

[James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/)

> [If I meet a wise person, I think, 'Yes, tell me more about parenting, about marriage, about how to stay in love. Tell me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/min-jin-lee/if-i-meet-a-wise-person-i-think-yes-tell-me-more-about-parenting/)

[Min Jin Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/min-jin-lee/)

> [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/)

[Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/)

> [I love Derrick Brown for the surprise of one word waking up next to another. One moment tender, funny or romantic, the next, visceral,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/i-love-derrick-brown-for-the-surprise-of-one-word-waking-up-next-to/)

[Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/)

> [Chaos often breeds life, when order breeds habit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/chaos-often-breeds-life-when-order-breeds-habit/)

[Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/)

> [Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/throughout-human-history-as-our-species-has-faced-the-frightening/)

[Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/)

> [There seems to be a kind of order in the universe…in the movement of the stars and the turning of the Earth and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/there-seems-to-be-a-kind-of-order-in-the-universe-in-the-movement-of/)

[Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/)

> [In the ring, there's not a lot of room for mistakes. You're in a place that is chaos, that is on fire. That ring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/in-the-ring-there-s-not-a-lot-of-room-for-mistakes-you-re-in-a-place/)

[Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/)

> [“It was her chaos that made her beautiful. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atticus-poetry/it-was-her-chaos-that-made-her-beautiful/)

[Atticus Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atticus-poetry/)

> [What we should have done is kept the same team that played in the '95 World Series. Those trades (Eddie Murray & Carlos Baerga)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-belle/what-we-should-have-done-is-kept-the-same-team-that-played-in-the-95/)

[Albert Belle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-belle/)

> [American civil rights leader, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? Lynching is a murder. For the past four hundred years our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/american-civil-rights-leader-where-do-we-go-from-here-chaos-or/)

[Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/)

> [“There was beauty in chaos, she'd just never known it before.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-linsmeier/there-was-beauty-in-chaos-she-d-just-never-known-it-before/)

[Amanda Linsmeier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-linsmeier/)

> [Who’s to say that it takes something like a drug to mess with your perception of reality? How did Hitler deceive a nation? How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/who-s-to-say-that-it-takes-something-like-a-drug-to-mess-with-your/)

[Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/)

> [And yet, I do believe there is ultimately meaning in the chaos, and also in the doldrums. What I resist is not the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/and-yet-i-do-believe-there-is-ultimately-meaning-in-the-chaos-and/)

[Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/)

> [I came to think of myself, not as a dance and chaos of molecules, but as a brief and minute portion of that majestic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/i-came-to-think-of-myself-not-as-a-dance-and-chaos-of-molecules-but/)

[Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/)

[Browse all 2,640 Chaos quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chaos/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "James Thurber"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/humor-is-emotional-chaos-remembered-in-tranquility/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Chaos"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/humor-is-emotional-chaos-remembered-in-tranquility/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f4/james-thurber-1534_chaos_humor-is-emotional-chaos-remembered-in-t_1840407.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f4/james-thurber-1534_chaos_humor-is-emotional-chaos-remembered-in-t_1840407.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f4/james-thurber-1534_chaos_humor-is-emotional-chaos-remembered-in-t_1840407.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility.” — James Thurber",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "James Thurber",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Humor is emotional chaos remembered in...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/humor-is-emotional-chaos-remembered-in-tranquility/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/humor-is-emotional-chaos-remembered-in-tranquility/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```