--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: hot-tempered, but the sight of some…" description: "\"“hot-tempered, but the sight of some nondescript and miry creature sitting cross-legged amongst a lot of loose straw, and swinging itself to and fro li..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40d/joseph-conrad-336_creature_hot-tempered-but-the-sight-of-some-nonde_2274909.jpg" --- # hot-tempered, but the sight of some nondescript and miry… ![“hot-tempered, but the sight of some nondescript and miry creature sitting cross-legged amongst a lot of loose straw, and swinging itself to and fro like a bear in a cage, made him pause. Then this tramp stood up silently before him, one mass of mud and filth from head to foot. Smith, alone amongst…” quote by Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40d/joseph-conrad-336_creature_hot-tempered-but-the-sight-of-some-nonde_2274909.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40d/joseph-conrad-336_creature_hot-tempered-but-the-sight-of-some-nonde_2274909.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40d/joseph-conrad-336_creature_hot-tempered-but-the-sight-of-some-nonde_2274909.jpg) > ““hot-tempered, but the sight of some nondescript and miry creature sitting cross-legged amongst a lot of loose straw, and swinging itself to and fro like a bear in a cage, made him pause. Then this tramp stood up silently before him, one mass of mud and filth from head to foot. Smith, alone amongst his stacks with this apparition, in the stormy twilight ringing with the infuriated barking of the dog, felt the dread of an inexplicable strangeness. But when that being, parting with”” [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator is unsettled by a filthy, strange figure, feeling dread and alienation, hinting at deeper existential unease. **In simple terms:** Encounter with a grotesque being triggers fear and alienation. Key Takeaway Recognize how strange encounters can reveal inner anxieties. Themes fear alienation existential dread appearance Mood uneasy introspective tense Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - walking through unfamiliar places - meeting marginalized people - reflecting on personal biases - exploring inner fears Key Concepts Psychological realism symbolic grotesqueness human isolation Questions to Reflect On - What does the strange figure symbolize for the narrator? - How do we react to physical repulsion in social contexts? A Different Perspective The passage may overemphasize horror, neglecting empathy for the other. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creature/) [Creature Sitting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creature-sitting-3379557/) [Dog Felt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog-felt-4374009/) [Felt Dread](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt-dread-1247018/) [Tramp Stood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tramp-stood-5287520/) ## Related quotes > [“is there any wonder why the world is where it’s at now? just notice the creature sitting near you in a movie house or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/is-there-any-wonder-why-the-world-is-where-it-s-at-now-just-notice/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [In high school I was the dog, always, and I never have felt comfortable or right in my body, and part of my whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/poppy-z-brite/in-high-school-i-was-the-dog-always-and-i-never-have-felt-comfortable/) [Poppy Z. Brite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/poppy-z-brite/) > [“Piper should’ve been losing her mind. Instead, all she felt was dread.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/piper-should-ve-been-losing-her-mind-instead-all-she-felt-was-dread/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [I was half gone when you first showed, when you were here I finally felt whole. But then you left all I felt was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carly-yoakam/i-was-half-gone-when-you-first-showed-when-you-were-here-i-finally/) [Carly Yoakam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carly-yoakam/) > [I felt a dread, an unexplained anxiety around me. I couldnt put my finger on anything specific...only that sense of something evil or terrible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/innah-delos-angeles/i-felt-a-dread-an-unexplained-anxiety-around-me-i-couldnt-put-my/) [Innah Delos Angeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/innah-delos-angeles/) > [“Nicholas felt a dread of their wanting to take him away from surroundings in which, protected from all the entanglements of life, he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/nicholas-felt-a-dread-of-their-wanting-to-take-him-away-from/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“For a moment, after years of scamping, she felt the dread power of wifehood; they were locked in each other’s grasp till the end—the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/for-a-moment-after-years-of-scamping-she-felt-the-dread-power-of/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) > [How could you deal with a creature as devious as woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-moore/how-could-you-deal-with-a-creature-as-devious-as-woman/) [Christopher Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) > [“If you're in middle of the hell you have to be a creature sometimes...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-saravana-kumar/if-you-re-in-middle-of-the-hell-you-have-to-be-a-creature-sometimes/) [M Saravana Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-saravana-kumar/) > [“What a strange creature man is! He does not believe in God, but he does believe that if the bridge of is nose itches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gogol/what-a-strange-creature-man-is-he-does-not-believe-in-god-but-he-does/) [Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-gogol/) > [“Remember who you are. This creature wants to take it from you. Do not let him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/remember-who-you-are-this-creature-wants-to-take-it-from-you-do-not/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [“What came to mind was a dinosaur. A tiny velociraptor, no bigger than her thumb. Relatively small, bur surprisingly ferocious. When the hasty drawing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marissa-meyer/what-came-to-mind-was-a-dinosaur-a-tiny-velociraptor-no-bigger-than/) [Marissa Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marissa-meyer/) > [Repugnant is a creature who would squander the ability To lift an eye to heaven, conscious of his fleeting time here](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/repugnant-is-a-creature-who-would-squander-the-ability-to-lift-an-eye/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [“If they can worship a weird creature, which is even not existed; why I must not worship a beautiful one who is already here.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/if-they-can-worship-a-weird-creature-which-is-even-not-existed-why-i/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [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/) ## More by Joseph Conrad > [“Hunters for gold or pursuers of fame, they all had gone out on that stream, bearing the sword, and often the torch, messengers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/hunters-for-gold-or-pursuers-of-fame-they-all-had-gone-out-on-that/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [The good author is he who contemplates without marked joy or excessive sorrow the adventures of his soul amongst criticisms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-good-author-is-he-who-contemplates-without-marked-joy-or/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“Let the earth and the sea each have its own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/let-the-earth-and-the-sea-each-have-its-own/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [He hated all this, and somehow he couldn't get away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/he-hated-all-this-and-somehow-he-couldn-t-get-away/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“A fool, what with sheer fright and fine sentiments, is always safe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/a-fool-what-with-sheer-fright-and-fine-sentiments-is-always-safe/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“The mind of man is capable of anything-because everything is in it, all the past as well as all the future. What was there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-mind-of-man-is-capable-of-anything-because-everything-is-in-it/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [Few men realize that their life, the very essence of their character, their capabilities and their audacities, are only the expression of their belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/few-men-realize-that-their-life-the-very-essence-of-their-character/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“Perhaps on some quiet night the tremor of far-off drums, sinking, swelling, a tremor vast, faint; a sound weird, appealing, suggestive and wild -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/perhaps-on-some-quiet-night-the-tremor-of-far-off-drums-sinking/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“All that mysterious life of the wilderness that stirs in the forest, in the jungles, in the hearts of wild men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/all-that-mysterious-life-of-the-wilderness-that-stirs-in-the-forest/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“The fascination of the abomination—you know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-fascination-of-the-abomination-you-know/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [It's only those who do nothing that make no mistakes, I suppose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/it-s-only-those-who-do-nothing-that-make-no-mistakes-i-suppose/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“Thieving was not a sheer absurdity. It was a form of human industry, perverse indeed, but still an industry exercised in an industrious world;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/thieving-was-not-a-sheer-absurdity-it-was-a-form-of-human-industry/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [I found myself back in the sepulchral city resenting the sight of people hurrying through the streets to filch a little money from each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/i-found-myself-back-in-the-sepulchral-city-resenting-the-sight-of/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [Society was calling to its accomplished child to come, to be taken care of, to be instructed, to be judged, to be condemned; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/society-was-calling-to-its-accomplished-child-to-come-to-be-taken/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [I was constantly watching myself, my secret self, as dependent on my actions as my own personality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/i-was-constantly-watching-myself-my-secret-self-as-dependent-on-my/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) [Explore all 645 Joseph Conrad quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) ## More Creature 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/) > [“If they can worship a weird creature, which is even not existed; why I must not worship a beautiful one who is already here.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/if-they-can-worship-a-weird-creature-which-is-even-not-existed-why-i/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Repugnant is a creature who would squander the ability To lift an eye to heaven, conscious of his fleeting time here](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/repugnant-is-a-creature-who-would-squander-the-ability-to-lift-an-eye/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [“What came to mind was a dinosaur. A tiny velociraptor, no bigger than her thumb. Relatively small, bur surprisingly ferocious. When the hasty drawing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marissa-meyer/what-came-to-mind-was-a-dinosaur-a-tiny-velociraptor-no-bigger-than/) [Marissa Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marissa-meyer/) > [“Remember who you are. This creature wants to take it from you. Do not let him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/remember-who-you-are-this-creature-wants-to-take-it-from-you-do-not/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [“What a strange creature man is! He does not believe in God, but he does believe that if the bridge of is nose itches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gogol/what-a-strange-creature-man-is-he-does-not-believe-in-god-but-he-does/) [Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-gogol/) > [“If you're in middle of the hell you have to be a creature sometimes...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-saravana-kumar/if-you-re-in-middle-of-the-hell-you-have-to-be-a-creature-sometimes/) [M Saravana Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-saravana-kumar/) > [How could you deal with a creature as devious as woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-moore/how-could-you-deal-with-a-creature-as-devious-as-woman/) [Christopher Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) > [“The smaller the creature, the bolder its spirit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/the-smaller-the-creature-the-bolder-its-spirit/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [My mother was known as the 'bird lady' of the neighborhood. Anything injured, or any unusual creature somebody found, they would always come to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/my-mother-was-known-as-the-bird-lady-of-the-neighborhood-anything/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [What makes us different? We're the creature that can decide not to do something that we are capable of doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/what-makes-us-different-we-re-the-creature-that-can-decide-not-to-do/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [She was the only creature in the world who would really care if something happened to me, even if it was only because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-clement-moore/she-was-the-only-creature-in-the-world-who-would-really-care-if/) [Rosemary Clement-Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-clement-moore/) > [“That creature which we idolize God justly removes from us, or embitters to us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-henry/that-creature-which-we-idolize-god-justly-removes-from-us-or/) [Matthew Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-henry/) > [In a word, man in London is not quite so good a creature as he is out of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galt/in-a-word-man-in-london-is-not-quite-so-good-a-creature-as-he-is-out/) [John Galt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galt/) > [Motherhood is tough. If you just want a wonderful little creature to love, you can get a puppy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-walters/motherhood-is-tough-if-you-just-want-a-wonderful-little-creature-to/) [Barbara Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-walters/) [Browse all 424 Creature quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creature/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“hot-tempered, but the sight of some nondescript and miry creature sitting cross-legged amongst a lot of loose straw, and swinging itself to and fro like a bear in a cage, made him pause. Then this tramp stood up silently before him, one mass of mud and filth from head to foot. Smith, alone amongst his stacks with this apparition, in the stormy twilight ringing with the infuriated barking of the dog, felt the dread of an inexplicable strangeness. 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