---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: at that instant i knew there was no…"
description: "\"“at that instant i knew there was no horror the world could offer - no war, no genocide, no famine, no childhood cancer - to which Sidney Kroll would n..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d9/robert-harris-2039_war_at-that-instant-i-knew-there-was-no-horr_1736293.png"
---

#  at that instant i knew there was no horror the world could…

![“at that instant i knew there was no horror the world could offer - no war, no genocide, no famine, no childhood cancer - to which Sidney Kroll would not see the funny side” quote by Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d9/robert-harris-2039_war_at-that-instant-i-knew-there-was-no-horr_1736293.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d9/robert-harris-2039_war_at-that-instant-i-knew-there-was-no-horr_1736293.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d9/robert-harris-2039_war_at-that-instant-i-knew-there-was-no-horr_1736293.png)

> ““at that instant i knew there was no horror the world could offer - no war, no genocide, no famine, no childhood cancer - to which Sidney Kroll would not see the funny side””

[Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/)

## About This Quote

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

Even in extreme horror, some people find humor as a coping mechanism.

**In simple terms:** People use humor to survive terrible events.

Key Takeaway

Recognize humor as a resilience tool.

Themes

war genocide famine cancer humor

Mood

reflective empathetic

Type

psychological literary

When to use this quote

- trauma therapy
- war reporting
- personal resilience

Key Concepts

psychological coping dark comedy

Questions to Reflect On

- When is humor appropriate in crisis?
- How does laughter affect trauma processing?

A Different Perspective

Humor may trivialize suffering if misused.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/)

## Related quotes

> [“…the war about the genocide was truly a postmodern war: a battle between those who believed that because the realities we inhabit are constructs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gourevitch/the-war-about-the-genocide-was-truly-a-postmodern-war-a-battle/)

[Philip Gourevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-gourevitch/)

> [Unless people can see broad vistas of unused resources in front of them, the belief in limited resources tends to follow as a matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-zubrin/unless-people-can-see-broad-vistas-of-unused-resources-in-front-of/)

[Robert Zubrin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-zubrin/)

> [The greatest horror in the world is not finding a monster but finding out you are the monster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-greatest-horror-in-the-world-is-not-finding-a-monster-but-finding/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Consistency is the horror of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/consistency-is-the-horror-of-the-world/)

[Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/)

> [What a horror it would have been if the world was real, because if the world was real, it would be immortal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/what-a-horror-it-would-have-been-if-the-world-was-real-because-if-the/)

[Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

> [“It is the very horror of the world that obliges us to learn to hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/it-is-the-very-horror-of-the-world-that-obliges-us-to-learn-to-hope/)

[John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/)

> [I am determined to go through the horror of this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-epstein/i-am-determined-to-go-through-the-horror-of-this-world/)

[Brian Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-epstein/)

> [“What a horror it would have been if the world was real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/what-a-horror-it-would-have-been-if-the-world-was-real/)

[Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

> [Families fighting childhood cancer should not have to worry about where they're going to get the next dose of the drug they need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-klobuchar/families-fighting-childhood-cancer-should-not-have-to-worry-about/)

[Amy Klobuchar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-klobuchar/)

> [“The notion that evil is non-rational is a more significant claim for Eagleton than at first appears, because he is (in this book \[…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-grayling/the-notion-that-evil-is-non-rational-is-a-more-significant-claim-for/)

[A.C. Grayling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-grayling/)

> [If you're going to accomplish all those great things out in space, all that progress, then you have an obligation to do some considerable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-isaacman/if-you-re-going-to-accomplish-all-those-great-things-out-in-space-all/)

[Jared Isaacman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-isaacman/)

> [Up to 10% of childhood cancers are caused by radiological examination during pregnancy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-doll/up-to-10-of-childhood-cancers-are-caused-by-radiological-examination/)

Richard Doll

> [Do freshman philosophy classes nowadays debate updated versions of the age-old questions? Like, how could a merciful God allow AIDS, childhood cancers, tsunamis and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/do-freshman-philosophy-classes-nowadays-debate-updated-versions-of/)

[Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/)

> [The March of Dimes turned a disease not nearly as prevalent as childhood cancer into a national crusade. Polio was not that widespread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oshinsky/the-march-of-dimes-turned-a-disease-not-nearly-as-prevalent-as/)

[David Oshinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oshinsky/)

> [It stuns me how effective children can be in their messaging, and I believe that every child should enjoy that basic right to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-guarnaschelli/it-stuns-me-how-effective-children-can-be-in-their-messaging-and-i/)

[Alex Guarnaschelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-guarnaschelli/)

## More by Robert Harris

> [“Men mistook measurement for understanding. And they always had to put themselves at the center of everything. That was their greatest conceit. The earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/men-mistook-measurement-for-understanding-and-they-always-had-to-put/)

[Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/)

> [If one first gives himself to the Lord, all other giving is easy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/if-one-first-gives-himself-to-the-lord-all-other-giving-is-easy/)

[Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/)

> [“He felt more human with his boots on. A man can face the world with something on his feet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/he-felt-more-human-with-his-boots-on-a-man-can-face-the-world-with/)

[Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/)

> [Cicero most reminds me of Harold Wilson. Both men knew how to keep the show on the road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/cicero-most-reminds-me-of-harold-wilson-both-men-knew-how-to-keep-the/)

[Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/)

> [The financial world is at the cutting edge of high technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/the-financial-world-is-at-the-cutting-edge-of-high-technology/)

[Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/)

> [“To choose one's victims, to prepare one's plans minutely, to slake an implacable vengeance, and then to go to bed ... there is nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/to-choose-one-s-victims-to-prepare-one-s-plans-minutely-to-slake-an/)

[Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/)

> [“Nature has granted man no better gift than the shortness of life. The senses grow dull, the limbs are numb, sight, bearing, gait, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/nature-has-granted-man-no-better-gift-than-the-shortness-of-life-the/)

[Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/)

> [“A crock of shit,” Rick had called it. But actually this was worse. Shit, to quote Gore Vidal, has its own integrity. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/a-crock-of-shit-rick-had-called-it-but-actually-this-was-worse-shit/)

[Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/)

> [“... unfortunately, freedom alone is not enough, by far. If there is a shortage of bread, a shortage of butter and fats, a shortage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/unfortunately-freedom-alone-is-not-enough-by-far-if-there-is-a/)

[Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/)

> [It is perseverance, and not genius that takes a man to the top. Rome is full of unrecognized geniuses. Only perseverance enables you to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/it-is-perseverance-and-not-genius-that-takes-a-man-to-the-top-rome-is/)

[Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/)

> [“No one can really claim to know politics properly until he has stayed up all night writing a speech for delivery the following day.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/no-one-can-really-claim-to-know-politics-properly-until-he-has-stayed/)

[Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/)

> [People perish. Books are immortal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/people-perish-books-are-immortal/)

[Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/)

> [Does a name stick because it suits a man or does the man, unconsciously, evolve into his name?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/does-a-name-stick-because-it-suits-a-man-or-does-the-man/)

[Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/)

> [“He glanced around the reading room and closed his eyes, trying to keep hold of the past for a minute longer, a fattening and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/he-glanced-around-the-reading-room-and-closed-his-eyes-trying-to-keep/)

[Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/)

> [The natural impulse of men is to follow and whoever has the strongest sense of purpose will always dominate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/the-natural-impulse-of-men-is-to-follow-and-whoever-has-the-strongest/)

[Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/)

[Explore all 184 Robert Harris quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/)

## More War quotes

> [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [For us who are now in power, we need to be challenged to serve the people and ignore our own egos and personal interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangari-maathai/for-us-who-are-now-in-power-we-need-to-be-challenged-to-serve-the/)

[Wangari Maathai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangari-maathai/)

> [“People came to our house from far and wide. Party and military bigwigs, some guy known as the “combat commander,” the village headman, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaji-ishikawa/people-came-to-our-house-from-far-and-wide-party-and-military-bigwigs/)

[Masaji Ishikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaji-ishikawa/)

> [Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a batter. Love is a war. Love is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-does-not-begin-and-end-the-way-we-seem-to-think-it-does-love-is/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/)

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

> [“The world," said Pavone, "will swing to the left. The whole world except America. The world will swing, not because people read Karl Marx,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/the-world-said-pavone-will-swing-to-the-left-the-whole-world-except/)

[Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/)

> [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/)

[Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/)

> [Five days or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last longer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/five-days-or-five-months-but-it-certainly-isn-t-going-to-last-longer/)

[Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/)

> [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/)

[Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/)

> [I don't want to go into space because of war. I think we would if it was triggered. If China said they want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-don-t-want-to-go-into-space-because-of-war-i-think-we-would-if-it/)

[Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/)

> [If I had to guess and put a name on it, I'd say that at some point, the drug war was as much a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-simon/if-i-had-to-guess-and-put-a-name-on-it-i-d-say-that-at-some-point-the/)

[David Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-simon/)

> [“Fear and desire for pleasure. Aggressiveness comes out of fear, predominantly, and sexuality predominantly out of the other. But they mix in the middle.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-french/fear-and-desire-for-pleasure-aggressiveness-comes-out-of-fear/)

[Marilyn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-french/)

> [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/)

[Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/)

> [I did not know that the planning for biological and chemical warfare was so widespread in England, and even in France before France fell.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-did-not-know-that-the-planning-for-biological-and-chemical-warfare/)

[Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/)

> [“Peace requires a discipline more iron than war. - Easter, 1939 ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-j-turner/peace-requires-a-discipline-more-iron-than-war-easter-1939/)

W.J. Turner

[Browse all 38,922 War quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“at that instant i knew there was no horror the world could offer - no war, no genocide, no famine, no childhood cancer - to which Sidney Kroll would not see the funny side”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Robert Harris"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/at-that-instant-i-knew-there-was-no-horror-the-world-could-offer-no/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "War"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/at-that-instant-i-knew-there-was-no-horror-the-world-could-offer-no/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d9/robert-harris-2039_war_at-that-instant-i-knew-there-was-no-horr_1736293.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d9/robert-harris-2039_war_at-that-instant-i-knew-there-was-no-horr_1736293.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d9/robert-harris-2039_war_at-that-instant-i-knew-there-was-no-horr_1736293.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“at that instant i knew there was no horror the world could offer - no war, no genocide, no famine, no…” — Robert Harris",
                "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": "Robert Harris",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“at that instant i knew there...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/at-that-instant-i-knew-there-was-no-horror-the-world-could-offer-no/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/at-that-instant-i-knew-there-was-no-horror-the-world-could-offer-no/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
