--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The color of his pallor, however, was a…" description: "\"The color of his pallor, however, was a curiously basic white - unmixed, that is, with the greens and yellows of guilt or abject contrition. It was ver..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc7/j-d-salinger-2-3505_animal_the-color-of-his-pallor-however-was-a-cu_2404298.jpg" --- # The color of his pallor, however, was a curiously basic… ![“The color of his pallor, however, was a curiously basic white - unmixed, that is, with the greens and yellows of guilt or abject contrition. It was very like the standard bloodlessness in the face of a small boy who loves animals to distraction, all animals, and who has just seen his favourite…” quote by J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc7/j-d-salinger-2-3505_animal_the-color-of-his-pallor-however-was-a-cu_2404298.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc7/j-d-salinger-2-3505_animal_the-color-of-his-pallor-however-was-a-cu_2404298.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc7/j-d-salinger-2-3505_animal_the-color-of-his-pallor-however-was-a-cu_2404298.jpg) > “The color of his pallor, however, was a curiously basic white - unmixed, that is, with the greens and yellows of guilt or abject contrition. It was very like the standard bloodlessness in the face of a small boy who loves animals to distraction, all animals, and who has just seen his favourite, bunny-loving sister's expression as she opened the box containing his birthday present to her - a freshly caught young cobra, with a red ribbon tied in an awkward bow around its neck.” [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage describes a stark, almost clinical whiteness that reflects deep guilt and contrition, likening it to a child's innocent love for animals juxtaposed with a shocking, violent gift. **In simple terms:** A pure white hue shows deep guilt and shocking contrast. Key Takeaway Notice how color can symbolize inner turmoil. Themes guilt contrast innocence violence symbolism Mood disturbing reflective poignant Type literary descriptive symbolic When to use this quote - parental expectations - childhood innocence - unexpected cruelty - emotional shock Key Concepts psychology visual metaphor moral conflict Questions to Reflect On - How does color influence your perception of guilt? - What does the cobra represent? A Different Perspective The vivid imagery may overwhelm readers, obscuring subtlety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animal love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal-love/) [Awkward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awkward/) [Bloodlessness Face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bloodlessness-face-6031600/) [Bows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bows/) [Boxes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boxes/) [Boys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boys/) [Bunnies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bunnies/) [Caught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caught/) [Cobra Red](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cobra-red-6031599/) [Cobras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cobras/) [Color](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/color/) [Color Pallor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/color-pallor-6031601/) [Contrition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contrition/) [Distraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distraction/) [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Favourite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/favourite/) [Guilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilt/) [Necks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/necks/) [Pallor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pallor-139589/) [Pallor Curiously](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pallor-curiously-6031598/) [Red](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/red/) [Red ribbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/red-ribbon/) [Ribbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ribbons/) [Standards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/standards/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) ## Related quotes > [Parade your pallor in iniquity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-townshend/parade-your-pallor-in-iniquity/) [Pete Townshend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-townshend/) > [“Then Chameroy spoke. 'You always put the blame on opium, but as I see it the case of Freneuse is much more complicated. Him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/then-chameroy-spoke-you-always-put-the-blame-on-opium-but-as-i-see-it/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) > [“In the course of my life I have had pre-pubescent ballerinas; emaciated duchesses, dolorous and forever tired, melomaniac and morphine-sodden; bankers' wives with eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/in-the-course-of-my-life-i-have-had-pre-pubescent-ballerinas/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) > [The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall; Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds, And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfred-owen/the-pallor-of-girls-brows-shall-be-their-pall-their-flowers-the/) [Wilfred Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfred-owen/) > [“I don’t give a fuck what you’re trying to do or what you want. I’d send your ass away if you were a white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/i-don-t-give-a-fuck-what-you-re-trying-to-do-or-what-you-want-i-d/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [My mom used to keep all her Christmas cards in a basket bedecked with red ribbon, and I loved to look at them all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/my-mom-used-to-keep-all-her-christmas-cards-in-a-basket-bedecked-with/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [“It can't drag on this way much longer," she said to herself. "One evening he'll whistle under my window, I'll go down by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette/it-can-t-drag-on-this-way-much-longer-she-said-to-herself-one-evening/) [Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette/) > [“She could almost feel the wave of energy coming off of him as he moved with the wheel and thought if Jake wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giselle-ellis/she-could-almost-feel-the-wave-of-energy-coming-off-of-him-as-he/) [Giselle Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giselle-ellis/) > [“The company tied white and yellow and red ribbons to the prostitutes to indicate which ones were available to which men. After each sexual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/the-company-tied-white-and-yellow-and-red-ribbons-to-the-prostitutes/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [“You can never stay angry too long in the bush though. At least, that's what I think. It's not that it's soothing or restful,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marsden/you-can-never-stay-angry-too-long-in-the-bush-though-at-least-that-s/) [John Marsden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marsden/) > [I know that my work in this case is magnified by the fact that the streets of heaven are too crowded with angels. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hanks/i-know-that-my-work-in-this-case-is-magnified-by-the-fact-that-the/) [Tom Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hanks/) > [“The Hunter: “Your future refuses to behave.” Coo-yôn yanked off the jacket he’d sourced for me. Up was down. Then he stepped back. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole/the-hunter-your-future-refuses-to-behave-coo-y-n-yanked-off-the/) [Kresley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole/) > [“ Please wait here. "Annoying yet romantic," she said aloud. She sat down on the folding chair and peered inside the paper bag. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-kate/please-wait-here-annoying-yet-romantic-she-said-aloud-she-sat-down-on/) [Lauren Kate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-kate/) > [Poverty was an ornament on a learned man like a red ribbon on a white horse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anzia-yezierska/poverty-was-an-ornament-on-a-learned-man-like-a-red-ribbon-on-a-white/) [Anzia Yezierska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anzia-yezierska/) > [My cuts have spread from my wrists to my thighs. One day I'll be covered in red ribbons of blood, but the only cut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie/my-cuts-have-spread-from-my-wrists-to-my-thighs-one-day-i-ll-be/) [Leslie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie/) ## More by J. D. Salinger > [... even the most sublimely accomplished non-stop talker can't consistently please.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/even-the-most-sublimely-accomplished-non-stop-talker-can-t/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [But where does by far the bulk, the whole ambulance load, of pain really come from? Where must it come from? Isn't the true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/but-where-does-by-far-the-bulk-the-whole-ambulance-load-of-pain/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [“Nobody'd be different. The only thing that would be different would be you. Not that you'd be so much older or anything. It wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/nobody-d-be-different-the-only-thing-that-would-be-different-would-be/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [Sex is something I really don't understand too hot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/sex-is-something-i-really-don-t-understand-too-hot/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [“Meant-to-be-picked-up books. Permanently-left-behind books. Uncertain-what-to-do-with books. But books, books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/meant-to-be-picked-up-books-permanently-left-behind-books-uncertain/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [But if we come back, if German men come back, if British men come back, and Japs, and French, and all the other men,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/but-if-we-come-back-if-german-men-come-back-if-british-men-come-back/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [Then again you may pick up just enough education to hate people who say, 'It's a secret between he and I.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/then-again-you-may-pick-up-just-enough-education-to-hate-people-who/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [The worst thing that being an artist could do to you would be that it would make you slightly unhappy constantly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/the-worst-thing-that-being-an-artist-could-do-to-you-would-be-that-it/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [I'm sick of not having the courage to be an absolute nobody. I'm sick of myself and everybody else that wants to make some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/i-m-sick-of-not-having-the-courage-to-be-an-absolute-nobody-i-m-sick/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [“You keep records of their troubles. You’ll learn from them. If you want to Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/you-keep-records-of-their-troubles-you-ll-learn-from-them-if-you-want/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [I'm aware that many of my friends will be saddened and shocked, or shock-saddened, over some of the chapters in 'The Catcher In the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/i-m-aware-that-many-of-my-friends-will-be-saddened-and-shocked-or/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [Most stuff that is genuine is better left unsaid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/most-stuff-that-is-genuine-is-better-left-unsaid/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [“Sex is something I really don't understand too hot. You never know where the hell you are. I keep making up these sex rules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/sex-is-something-i-really-don-t-understand-too-hot-you-never-know/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [An artist's only concern is to shoot for some kind of perfection, and on his own terms, not anyone else's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/an-artist-s-only-concern-is-to-shoot-for-some-kind-of-perfection-and/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [Its really hard to be roommates with people if your suitcases are much better than theirs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/its-really-hard-to-be-roommates-with-people-if-your-suitcases-are/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) [Explore all 121 J. D. Salinger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The color of his pallor, however, was a curiously basic white - unmixed, that is, with the greens and yellows of guilt or abject contrition. It was very like the standard bloodlessness in the face of a small boy who loves animals to distraction, all animals, and who has just seen his favourite, bunny-loving sister's expression as she opened the box containing his birthday present to her - a freshly caught young cobra, with a red ribbon tied in an awkward bow around its neck.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "J. D. 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