Our childlike innocence might wonder what happens when two cultures collide. It's not unlike the days when we'd stick a worm and a beetle together to see who would "win". Only this time the stakes are higher, and it doesn't end with us squishing everybody.
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4th paragraph from the bottom, last sentence - should the 'than' be 'then'? Your call. I'm just asking because I'm not sure.
ReplyDeleteThis raises an interesting point, doesn't it? I went back and looked at the sentence to see if I let another error slip.
ReplyDeleteThe sentence reads: They laughed harder at me than they even laughed at themselves.
The correct usage of "than" depends on how you read the sentence and what image you take from it. I'm using it in comparison. The author is under the impression that the tribe laughed at themselves AND they laughed at him. They just happened to laugh harder at him THAN at themselves.
If it were to read "then", we would assume that the tribe laughed hard at the author before laughing at themselves. It would be a sequence of events. See how "than" is generally used in comparisons and "then" is used in noting time or a sequence?
Interesting and even a little fun, huh? A humor story to raise a serious issue.
Thank you for the discussion topic =0) This site needs more.
Joe