--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I love [Nikolai] Gogol's great eye for…" description: "\"I love [Nikolai] Gogol's great eye for idiot behavior. Gogol said that life is so tragic, so stupendously sad that we'd better laugh a lot and enjoy ou..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffe/mel-brooks-2308_behavior_i-love-nikolai-gogol-s-great-eye-for-idi_905127.png" --- # I love \[Nikolai\] Gogol's great eye for idiot behavior… ![“I love [Nikolai] Gogol's great eye for idiot behavior. Gogol said that life is so tragic, so stupendously sad that we'd better laugh a lot and enjoy ourselves. You either get a sense of humor going or you go under.” quote by Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffe/mel-brooks-2308_behavior_i-love-nikolai-gogol-s-great-eye-for-idi_905127.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffe/mel-brooks-2308_behavior_i-love-nikolai-gogol-s-great-eye-for-idi_905127.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffe/mel-brooks-2308_behavior_i-love-nikolai-gogol-s-great-eye-for-idi_905127.png) > “I love \[Nikolai\] Gogol's great eye for idiot behavior. Gogol said that life is so tragic, so stupendously sad that we'd better laugh a lot and enjoy ourselves. You either get a sense of humor going or you go under.” [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Gogol’s view is that life’s absurdity should be met with humor, otherwise it overwhelms us. **In simple terms:** Life is absurd; laugh to survive. Key Takeaway Embrace humor to cope with tragedy. Themes humor absurdity resilience Mood wry reflective Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - daily stress - personal loss - social criticism Key Concepts existentialism catharsis Questions to Reflect On - Do you use humor to avoid pain? - When does laughter become denial? A Different Perspective Humor may mask deeper issues and prevent serious reflection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) [Behavior Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior-gogol-1277916/) [Enjoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enjoy/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gogol/) [Gogol Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gogol-great-1277917/) [Gogol Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gogol-said-1277918/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Idiot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idiot/) [Laughing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughing/) [Life is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-is/) [Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nikolai-gogol-227190/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Sense of humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-of-humor/) [Tragic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragic/) ## Related quotes > [“And then another book, never read, long forgotten, catches his eye. The jacket is missing, the title on the spine practically faded. It’s a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-then-another-book-never-read-long-forgotten-catches-his-eye-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Assured by his grades and his apparent indifference to girls, his parents don't suspect Gogol of being, in his own fumbling way, an American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/assured-by-his-grades-and-his-apparent-indifference-to-girls-his/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [I like reading... French, Russian classics - Gogol, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Flaubert. I also like Hemingway, Virginia Woolf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-bocelli/i-like-reading-french-russian-classics-gogol-tolstoy-dostoyevsky/) [Andrea Bocelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-bocelli/) > [“Dostoevski's The Double is his best work though an obvious and shameless imitation of Gogol's "Nose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/dostoevski-s-the-double-is-his-best-work-though-an-obvious-and/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [I doubt whether the Revolution has, in essentials, changed Russia at all. Reading Gogol, or Dostoevsky for that matter, one realizes how completely the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/i-doubt-whether-the-revolution-has-in-essentials-changed-russia-at/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [“Gogol flips through the book. A single picture at the front, on smoother paper than the rest of the pages, shows a pencil drawing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/gogol-flips-through-the-book-a-single-picture-at-the-front-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Also, though not over-elderly, he was not over-young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gogol/also-though-not-over-elderly-he-was-not-over-young/) [Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-gogol/) > [Open this notebook every day and write down half a page at the very least. If you have nothing to write down, then at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniil-kharms/open-this-notebook-every-day-and-write-down-half-a-page-at-the-very/) [Daniil Kharms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniil-kharms/) > [“Even Pushkin, who could understand everything, did not grasp the real significance of Dead Souls. He thought that the author was grieving for Russia,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-shestov/even-pushkin-who-could-understand-everything-did-not-grasp-the-real/) [Lev Shestov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-shestov/) > [Try to remember it always," he said once Gogol had reached him, leading him slowly back across the breakwater, to where his mother and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/try-to-remember-it-always-he-said-once-gogol-had-reached-him-leading/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [“A novel! Why do you say this won't liberate anyone? Where does any man go to be free, whether he is poor or rich…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/a-novel-why-do-you-say-this-won-t-liberate-anyone-where-does-any-man/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [We all come out from Gogol's 'Overcoat'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-all-come-out-from-gogol-s-overcoat/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't want to hurt you, Mistress Weatherwax," said Mrs Gogol. "That's good," said Granny. "I don't want you to hurt me either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/i-don-t-want-to-hurt-you-mistress-weatherwax-said-mrs-gogol-that-s/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Gogol was usually the leading social poet, while Dostoyevsky usually the leading psychological poet. The former is known as the representative of the contemporary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerian-maykov/gogol-was-usually-the-leading-social-poet-while-dostoyevsky-usually/) [Valerian Maykov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerian-maykov/) > [First book was handwritten, then the printing press, now we've got our Kindles. To be able to push a button and a dictionary comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lore-segal/first-book-was-handwritten-then-the-printing-press-now-we-ve-got-our/) [Lore Segal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lore-segal/) ## More by Mel Brooks > [Woody Allen is a genius. His films are wonderful. He's poetic, but he's also a critic. He artfully steps back from a social setting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/woody-allen-is-a-genius-his-films-are-wonderful-he-s-poetic-but-he-s/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [ Comedy is lively, comedy is joy, and that's what keeps us \[people\] going, we've got to look forward to little, little happiness's. Little, little… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/comedy-is-lively-comedy-is-joy-and-that-s-what-keeps-us-people-going/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [All right, I am often brash, rude and brutally direct. Someday I'm going to die and I don't have time to toe-dance around the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/all-right-i-am-often-brash-rude-and-brutally-direct-someday-i-m-going/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [I don't think in terms of results at all. 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Instead of creating a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/i-realised-that-all-one-really-had-to-do-was-just-observe-observe-and/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [Life literally abounds in comedy if you just look around you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/life-literally-abounds-in-comedy-if-you-just-look-around-you/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [Look, I really don't want to wax philosophic, but I will say that if you're alive, you got to flap your arms and legs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/look-i-really-don-t-want-to-wax-philosophic-but-i-will-say-that-if/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [I knew it... I'm surrounded by assholes!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/i-knew-it-i-m-surrounded-by-assholes/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [I was in the army, and to me it was like a newsreel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/i-was-in-the-army-and-to-me-it-was-like-a-newsreel/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [But I have bad taste with a deep fount of intellectuality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/but-i-have-bad-taste-with-a-deep-fount-of-intellectuality/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > ['Mad About You' was very fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/mad-about-you-was-very-fun/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [Immortality is a by-product of good work. Masterpieces are not for artists, they're for critics. Critics can't even make music by rubbing their back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/immortality-is-a-by-product-of-good-work-masterpieces-are-not-for/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [If Ivan the Terrible had been kissed and loved between zero and three, he probably would have become Ivan Not So Terrible. If you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/if-ivan-the-terrible-had-been-kissed-and-loved-between-zero-and-three/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) [Explore all 173 Mel Brooks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) ## More Behavior quotes > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [As you begin changing your thinking, start immediately to change your behaviour. Begin to act the part of the person you would like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-you-begin-changing-your-thinking-start-immediately-to-change-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I now know that deep within the human concept is something dark, selfish, and completely willing to do whatever is necessary to support the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-west/i-now-know-that-deep-within-the-human-concept-is-something-dark/) [Melissa West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-west/) > [“We are endowed with genes which code out our reaction to beavers and otters, maybe our reaction to each other as well. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-endowed-with-genes-which-code-out-our-reaction-to-beavers-and/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [The number of poor, and poorly prepared, students who succeed in college and beyond undercuts the simplistic notion that economic or educational disadvantage is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-merullo/the-number-of-poor-and-poorly-prepared-students-who-succeed-in/) [Roland Merullo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-merullo/) > [To behave creatively in art means behavior with skill; and skill comes from discipline, not derangement. The artist who knows the rules -and proportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burne-hogarth/to-behave-creatively-in-art-means-behavior-with-skill-and-skill-comes/) [Burne Hogarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burne-hogarth/) > [You don't put milk in chamomile tea - that's disgusting behavior! That's not right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-fraser/you-don-t-put-milk-in-chamomile-tea-that-s-disgusting-behavior-that-s/) [Laura Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-fraser/) > [The laws of thermodynamics, as empirically determined, express the approximate and probable behavior of systems of a great number of particles, or, more precisely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-gibbs/the-laws-of-thermodynamics-as-empirically-determined-express-the/) [J. 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