--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For we are like tree trunks in the snow…" description: "\"For we are like tree trunks in the snow. In appearance they lie smoothly and a little push should be enough to set them rolling. No, it can't be done, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ff/franz-kafka-214_appearance_for-we-are-like-tree-trunks-in-the-snow_1230308.jpg" --- # For we are like tree trunks in the snow. In appearance… ![“For we are like tree trunks in the snow. In appearance they lie smoothly and a little push should be enough to set them rolling. No, it can't be done, for they are firmly wedded to the ground. But see, even that is only appearance.” quote by Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ff/franz-kafka-214_appearance_for-we-are-like-tree-trunks-in-the-snow_1230308.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ff/franz-kafka-214_appearance_for-we-are-like-tree-trunks-in-the-snow_1230308.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ff/franz-kafka-214_appearance_for-we-are-like-tree-trunks-in-the-snow_1230308.jpg) > “For we are like tree trunks in the snow. In appearance they lie smoothly and a little push should be enough to set them rolling. No, it can't be done, for they are firmly wedded to the ground. But see, even that is only appearance.” [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People appear rigid and immovable, yet deeper forces can shift them unexpectedly. **In simple terms:** Appearances can be deceptive. Key Takeaway Question hidden dynamics. Themes perception change identity Mood thoughtful introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - workplace culture - family relationships - political movements - personal transformation Key Concepts existentialism psychology social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions about others might be false? - How do you recognize subtle shifts? A Different Perspective Surface stability may mask underlying tension. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Motivational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivational/) [Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snow/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Tree trunks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree-trunks/) ## Related quotes > [Corruption is like a ball of snow, once it's set a rolling it must increase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/corruption-is-like-a-ball-of-snow-once-it-s-set-a-rolling-it-must/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [I have always been very interested in landscape... 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In 25 years we have found only two betularia on the tree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-clarke/all-we-have-observed-is-where-moths-do-not-spend-the-day-in-25-years/) Cyril Clarke > [I'd like a relationship that was like two tree trunks side by side, strong but independent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agyness-deyn/i-d-like-a-relationship-that-was-like-two-tree-trunks-side-by-side/) [Agyness Deyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agyness-deyn/) > [Dante believed God punished suicides by trapping the person's spirit in a tree trunk. On Judgment Day, they were the only sinners who didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/dante-believed-god-punished-suicides-by-trapping-the-person-s-spirit/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [A tree trunk the size of a man grows from a blade as thin as a hair. A tower nine stories high is built…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/a-tree-trunk-the-size-of-a-man-grows-from-a-blade-as-thin-as-a-hair-a/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [So let us raise a cheer ... for the insatiable spirit of Man eager for all new things! What a tale could have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-arthur-lewis/so-let-us-raise-a-cheer-for-the-insatiable-spirit-of-man-eager-for/) Cecil Arthur Lewis > [I've enjoyed every age I've been, and each has had its own individual merit. Every laugh line, every scar, is a badge I wear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-benatar/i-ve-enjoyed-every-age-i-ve-been-and-each-has-had-its-own-individual/) [Pat Benatar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-benatar/) > [Very slowly, she peeked around the tree trunk. Saw a slim, petite figure, flanked by two very large, very dangerous-looking soldier of fortune types…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-gerard/very-slowly-she-peeked-around-the-tree-trunk-saw-a-slim-petite-figure/) [Cindy Gerard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-gerard/) > [The tears that kept Buttercup company the remainder of the day were not at all like those that had blinded her into the tree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/the-tears-that-kept-buttercup-company-the-remainder-of-the-day-were/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) > [Repeat the truth so that the dull can grasp it! Repeat the truth with the speed of a woodpecker's beak making holes in tree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/repeat-the-truth-so-that-the-dull-can-grasp-it-repeat-the-truth-with/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [A kid thinks her mother is just that -- hers. A mother is also a woman, an independent being, who doesn't want to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-courtney-sullivan/a-kid-thinks-her-mother-is-just-that-hers-a-mother-is-also-a-woman-an/) [J. Courtney Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-courtney-sullivan/) > [However long it stays in the river the tree-trunk will never turn into a crocodile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ousmane-sembene/however-long-it-stays-in-the-river-the-tree-trunk-will-never-turn/) [Ousmane Sembene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ousmane-sembene/) ## More by Franz Kafka > [ “The tremendous world I have inside my head. But how \[to\] free myself and free it without being torn to pieces. 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As heavy, as light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/faith-like-a-guillotine-as-heavy-as-light/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [You need not even listen, just wait...the world will offer itself freely to you, unmasking itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/you-need-not-even-listen-just-wait-the-world-will-offer-itself-freely/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“I will cross hundreds of seas and oceans without sinking to reach you, see your eyes and sink completely into their depths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-will-cross-hundreds-of-seas-and-oceans-without-sinking-to-reach-you/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [I have no memory for things I have learned, nor things I have read, nor things experienced or heard, neither for people nor events;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-have-no-memory-for-things-i-have-learned-nor-things-i-have-read-nor/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“This sounds crazy, but it is so. 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