--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Earth is an animal that shakes off…" description: "\"“The Earth is an animal that shakes off its fleas when they dig too deep, bite too hard.”\" — Dave Eggers" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47d/dave-eggers-638_bite_the-earth-is-an-animal-that-shakes-off-i_2313338.png" --- # The Earth is an animal that shakes off its fleas when they… ![“The Earth is an animal that shakes off its fleas when they dig too deep, bite too hard.” quote by Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47d/dave-eggers-638_bite_the-earth-is-an-animal-that-shakes-off-i_2313338.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47d/dave-eggers-638_bite_the-earth-is-an-animal-that-shakes-off-i_2313338.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47d/dave-eggers-638_bite_the-earth-is-an-animal-that-shakes-off-i_2313338.png) > ““The Earth is an animal that shakes off its fleas when they dig too deep, bite too hard.”” [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When problems become too painful, they force change, shedding old burdens. **In simple terms:** Pain forces shedding of burdens. Key Takeaway Accept discomfort to grow. Themes change pain adaptation Mood reflective determined Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - personal crises - career pivots - health challenges Key Concepts biology metaphor Questions to Reflect On - What “fleas” are you resisting? - How can you manage pain constructively? A Different Perspective Too much pain can be destructive rather than transformative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bite/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Earth Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth-animal-2232611/) [Fleas Dig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fleas-dig-4524683/) [Mortality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mortality/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Shakes Fleas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shakes-fleas-5502793/) [Too deep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-deep/) ## Related quotes > [“The Earth is an animal that shakes off its fleas when they dig too deep, bite too hard. It shifts and our cities fall;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/the-earth-is-an-animal-that-shakes-off-its-fleas-when-they-dig-too/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [I have done, I hope to say I've done things to help make a difference while I'm on this earth. Are animal issues most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-blair/i-have-done-i-hope-to-say-i-ve-done-things-to-help-make-a-difference/) [Linda Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-blair/) > [“God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them        reflecting our nature    So they can be responsible for the fish in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-spoke-let-us-make-human-beings-in-our-image-make-them-reflecting/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All things are flowing, even those that seem immovable. The adamant is always passing into smoke. The plants imbibe the materialswhich they want from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/all-things-are-flowing-even-those-that-seem-immovable-the-adamant-is/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Having lost people when they were young, you feel intimately acquainted with mortality, I guess. Though I procrastinate worse than anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/having-lost-people-when-they-were-young-you-feel-intimately/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [He read a lot. He used a lot of big words. I think maybe part of what got him into trouble was that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/he-read-a-lot-he-used-a-lot-of-big-words-i-think-maybe-part-of-what/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [Some wounds are too deep to heal, or too deep to heal quickly. 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All that remains of it is a shadow, not in the mind even, in the flesh.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/but-who-can-remember-pain-once-its-over-all-that-remains-of-it-is-a/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [How do you pick a thread of an old life, how do you go on when I your heart you begin to understand there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kings/how-do-you-pick-a-thread-of-an-old-life-how-do-you-go-on-when-i-your/) [Chris Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kings/) > [I have found new love, like i've never known before. I find myself waiting for you, in desperation and in hope. You have told…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-found-new-love-like-i-ve-never-known-before-i-find-myself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The soul should not be surprised at feeling itself unable to offer up to God such petitions as it had formally made with freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-guyon/the-soul-should-not-be-surprised-at-feeling-itself-unable-to-offer-up/) [Madame Guyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-guyon/) > [She cuts herself, but not too deep. It's not enough to kill her, just enough to make her bleed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie/she-cuts-herself-but-not-too-deep-it-s-not-enough-to-kill-her-just/) [Leslie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie/) > [“She felt something for me too, deep down I knew it, but she was just scared of getting hurt again. I could wait thought;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsty-moseley/she-felt-something-for-me-too-deep-down-i-knew-it-but-she-was-just/) [Kirsty Moseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsty-moseley/) ## More by Dave Eggers > [“4. THE CRUMBLING WALL (Hamburger, prepared medium well, with bacon and barbecue sauce. Courtesy of that place on Solano, where, it should be mentioned,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/4-the-crumbling-wall-hamburger-prepared-medium-well-with-bacon-and/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [“LOW-FLYING, QUICK-MOVING CLOUDS: I haven't long to live. TREETOPS, ROUNDED AND ROUGH: That's probably true. LOW-FLYING, QUICK-MOVING CLOUDS: I won't even make it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/low-flying-quick-moving-clouds-i-haven-t-long-to-live-treetops/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [But the grind has begun. The windows don’t open, and even the availability of near-constant jokes about Jews and Mormons fails to stem the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/but-the-grind-has-begun-the-windows-don-t-open-and-even-the/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [“One button for the rest of your life online.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/one-button-for-the-rest-of-your-life-online/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [We feel that to reveal embarrassing or private things, we have given someone something, that, like a primitive person fearing that a photographer will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/we-feel-that-to-reveal-embarrassing-or-private-things-we-have-given/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [I think I'm far too hopeful and trusting. That's something I got from my mum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/i-think-i-m-far-too-hopeful-and-trusting-that-s-something-i-got-from/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [“Overnight, all comment boards became civil, all posters held accountable. The trolls, who had more or less overtaken the internet, were driven back into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/overnight-all-comment-boards-became-civil-all-posters-held/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [“Have we wasted precious space dust on you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/have-we-wasted-precious-space-dust-on-you/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [“What can one do with one's hands when the camera is interested in other things?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/what-can-one-do-with-one-s-hands-when-the-camera-is-interested-in/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [“The money that could have saved the Shuttle, and the money we send to random countries, that we use to remake unchangeable countries ten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/the-money-that-could-have-saved-the-shuttle-and-the-money-we-send-to/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [Write your goddamned book now. The world awaits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/write-your-goddamned-book-now-the-world-awaits/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [The only infallible truth of our lives is that everything we love in life will be taken from us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/the-only-infallible-truth-of-our-lives-is-that-everything-we-love-in/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [“First of all: I am tired. I am true of heart! And Also: You are tired. You are true of heart!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/first-of-all-i-am-tired-i-am-true-of-heart-and-also-you-are-tired-you/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [And what we were trying to offer every day was one-on-one attention. The goal was to have a one-to-one ratio with every one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/and-what-we-were-trying-to-offer-every-day-was-one-on-one-attention/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [Suffering is only suffering if it’s done in silence, in solitude. Pain experienced in public, in view of loving millions, was no longer pain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/suffering-is-only-suffering-if-it-s-done-in-silence-in-solitude-pain/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) [Explore all 428 Dave Eggers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) ## More Bite quotes > [In every country dogges bite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/in-every-country-dogges-bite/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [I don't bite you know ... unless it's called for,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/i-don-t-bite-you-know-unless-it-s-called-for/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) > [“You don’t see someone flying and you begin to bite yourself for not being able to do that. You do what you can.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/you-don-t-see-someone-flying-and-you-begin-to-bite-yourself-for-not/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [I didn't respond to people thrusting microphones at me and asking me questions that were unanswerable in a sound bite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-didn-t-respond-to-people-thrusting-microphones-at-me-and-asking-me/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [“The best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-nakoneczny-high-school-track-coach/the-best-way-to-eat-an-elephant-is-one-bite-at-a-time/) [Wayne Nakoneczny high school track coach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-nakoneczny-high-school-track-coach/) > [“A werewolf bite turned me gay?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tielle-st-clare/a-werewolf-bite-turned-me-gay/) [Tielle St. Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tielle-st-clare/) > [“All the better to bite you, my dear!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mari-mancusi/all-the-better-to-bite-you-my-dear/) [Mari Mancusi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mari-mancusi/) > [If the first bite is with the eye and the second with the nose, some people will never take that third, actual bite if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yotam-ottolenghi/if-the-first-bite-is-with-the-eye-and-the-second-with-the-nose-some/) [Yotam Ottolenghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yotam-ottolenghi/) > [“What animal would do this?"he said harshly. "No, little one, animals might scratch you, or bite you, or even rip you apart in hunger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-animal-would-do-this-he-said-harshly-no-little-one-animals-might/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've been known not to bite my tongue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-gibbs/i-ve-been-known-not-to-bite-my-tongue/) [Freddie Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-gibbs/) > [“Bite your tongue. Don't let anyone bite it off.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamerlan-kuzgov/bite-your-tongue-don-t-let-anyone-bite-it-off/) [Tamerlan Kuzgov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamerlan-kuzgov/) > [“Hold me like you hold the hand of a little kid who needs you in loneliness, bite my fingers like you bite a giggling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/hold-me-like-you-hold-the-hand-of-a-little-kid-who-needs-you-in/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [“He pulled away from me and held his hands in the air like he was weighing something. “Keep Sophie safe or let Sophie die.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micalea-smeltzer/he-pulled-away-from-me-and-held-his-hands-in-the-air-like-he-was/) [Micalea Smeltzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/micalea-smeltzer/) > [“Once the hand that feeds you fails, you are free to bite away!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/once-the-hand-that-feeds-you-fails-you-are-free-to-bite-away/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [If you live among dogs, keep a stick. After all, this is what a hound has teeth for-to bite when he feels like it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/if-you-live-among-dogs-keep-a-stick-after-all-this-is-what-a-hound/) [Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/) [Browse all 516 Bite quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bite/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The Earth is an animal that shakes off its fleas when they dig too deep, bite too hard.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dave Eggers" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/the-earth-is-an-animal-that-shakes-off-its-fleas-when-they-dig-too-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bite" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/the-earth-is-an-animal-that-shakes-off-its-fleas-when-they-dig-too-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47d/dave-eggers-638_bite_the-earth-is-an-animal-that-shakes-off-i_2313338.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47d/dave-eggers-638_bite_the-earth-is-an-animal-that-shakes-off-i_2313338.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47d/dave-eggers-638_bite_the-earth-is-an-animal-that-shakes-off-i_2313338.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The Earth is an animal that shakes off its fleas when they dig too deep, bite too hard.” — Dave Eggers", "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": "Dave Eggers", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The Earth is an animal that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/the-earth-is-an-animal-that-shakes-off-its-fleas-when-they-dig-too-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/the-earth-is-an-animal-that-shakes-off-its-fleas-when-they-dig-too-2/#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 } } ] } ```