Is the human condition something of a joke? This is what Augie ponders at the end of his story. He finds it laughable that people weighed down by the burdens of existence (like him) will still rise up with hope. He's never been able to give his dreams discernable shape, let alone live them, and yet he keeps on living and laughing, moving from adventure to adventure, place to place, people to people. Maybe the joke is on him. Maybe the joke is on the natural forces that would have him despair. Either way, he isn't giving up, and he isn't going to stop laughing at life's ironies. He'll still speak of America as a place of opportunity and greatness, even if he isn't in the country, and even if he's far removed from satisfying his desires, hopes, and dreams.