--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Outside, a dog sprawls among the empty…" description: "\"“Outside, a dog sprawls among the empty tables, its body rocking with the evening heat. Someone has given it a hamburger which first it guards, then, e..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/492/m-john-harrison-15805_animal_outside-a-dog-sprawls-among-the-empty-ta_2568620.jpg" --- # Outside, a dog sprawls among the empty tables, its body… ![“Outside, a dog sprawls among the empty tables, its body rocking with the evening heat. Someone has given it a hamburger which first it guards, then, eventually, eats. It's some kind of winter dog, a malamute perhaps, a dog of marvellous subtle greys and whites. Also of transparent intelligence…” quote by M. John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/492/m-john-harrison-15805_animal_outside-a-dog-sprawls-among-the-empty-ta_2568620.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/492/m-john-harrison-15805_animal_outside-a-dog-sprawls-among-the-empty-ta_2568620.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/492/m-john-harrison-15805_animal_outside-a-dog-sprawls-among-the-empty-ta_2568620.jpg) > ““Outside, a dog sprawls among the empty tables, its body rocking with the evening heat. Someone has given it a hamburger which first it guards, then, eventually, eats. It's some kind of winter dog, a malamute perhaps, a dog of marvellous subtle greys and whites. Also of transparent intelligence, and less transparent motive. The beauty of an animal like this appears to fix it in our expectations. But while its beauty says one thing, its heart may say another.”” [M. John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An animal’s outward beauty can mask hidden motives, challenging our assumptions. **In simple terms:** Looks can be deceiving. Key Takeaway Question appearances and seek deeper truth. Themes perception beauty motivation trust Mood contemplative poetic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - observing strangers - interpreting art - making judgments Key Concepts symbolism human‑animal relation psychology Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions do you make about others? - How can you look beyond surface? A Different Perspective Beauty may not reflect inner reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Anthropocentrism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthropocentrism/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog/) ## Related quotes > [“Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/happyhungrypets/outside-of-a-dog-a-book-is-a-man-s-best-friend/) Happyhungrypets > [Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/outside-of-a-dog-a-book-is-man-s-best-friend-inside-of-a-dog-it-s-too/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [“The growl of a lawn mower roars outside. A dog starts up across the street.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-belle/the-growl-of-a-lawn-mower-roars-outside-a-dog-starts-up-across-the/) [Kimberly Belle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-belle/) > [I don't have a hands-on fondness for animals. I did not grow up bonded to any particular nonhuman animal. I like them and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-pacelle/i-don-t-have-a-hands-on-fondness-for-animals-i-did-not-grow-up-bonded/) [Wayne Pacelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-pacelle/) > [Spence hasn't been in a ring with an animal like me. I have to be a dog, touch him and make him feel me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-porter/spence-hasn-t-been-in-a-ring-with-an-animal-like-me-i-have-to-be-a/) [Shawn Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-porter/) > [“The witch sprang animal-like from”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/the-witch-sprang-animal-like-from/) [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) > [“Is there any thinking animal like man?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/is-there-any-thinking-animal-like-man/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Never break a promise to an animal. They're like babies—they won't understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamora-pierce/never-break-a-promise-to-an-animal-they-re-like-babies-they-won-t/) [Tamora Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamora-pierce/) > [Elphaba looked like something between an animal and an Animal, like something more than life but not quite Life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/elphaba-looked-like-something-between-an-animal-and-an-animal-like/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [Being asked what animal you'd like to be is a trick question; you're already an animal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/being-asked-what-animal-you-d-like-to-be-is-a-trick-question-you-re/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“We live in a world in which it’s conventional to treat an animal like a hunk of wood and extreme to treat an animal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/we-live-in-a-world-in-which-it-s-conventional-to-treat-an-animal-like/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [I just don't think I've had the desire yet to write a vicious animal - like a dog-gone-bad or anything - where I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gruen/i-just-don-t-think-i-ve-had-the-desire-yet-to-write-a-vicious-animal/) [Sara Gruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gruen/) > [We're all animals, high school is animals, but some of us are more animal than others. Like in 'Animal Farm,' which I read, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-vizzini/we-re-all-animals-high-school-is-animals-but-some-of-us-are-more/) [Ned Vizzini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-vizzini/) > [...youth is only being in a way like it might be an animal. No, it is not just like being an animal so much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/youth-is-only-being-in-a-way-like-it-might-be-an-animal-no-it-is-not/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [“There is no life without the conditions of life that variably sustain life, and those conditions are pervasively social, establishing not the discrete ontology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/there-is-no-life-without-the-conditions-of-life-that-variably-sustain/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) ## More by M. John Harrison > [Identity is not negotiable. An identity you have achieved by agreement is always a prison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-john-harrison/identity-is-not-negotiable-an-identity-you-have-achieved-by-agreement/) [M. John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) > [Perception of a state is not the state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-john-harrison/perception-of-a-state-is-not-the-state/) [M. John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) > [I think it's undignified to read for the purposes of escape. After you grow up, you should start reading for other purposes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-john-harrison/i-think-it-s-undignified-to-read-for-the-purposes-of-escape-after-you/) [M. John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) > [Everyone loves a mysterious country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-john-harrison/everyone-loves-a-mysterious-country/) [M. John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) > [“As they moved from exhibit to exhibit like reluctant tourists in some artist's studio, Buffin sat on a stool with his limbs tense. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-john-harrison/as-they-moved-from-exhibit-to-exhibit-like-reluctant-tourists-in-some/) [M. John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) > [“He ran toward the light. When he passed the corpse of his dead friend, he began to weep again. He picked up his sword.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-john-harrison/he-ran-toward-the-light-when-he-passed-the-corpse-of-his-dead-friend/) [M. John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) > [“Some internal process held him rapt. He had begun, perhaps, to map the paths inside himself which led to the Past. This gave him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-john-harrison/some-internal-process-held-him-rapt-he-had-begun-perhaps-to-map-the/) [M. John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) > [Budapest is a prime site for dreams: the East’s exuberant vision of the West, the West’s uneasy hallucination of the East. It is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-john-harrison/budapest-is-a-prime-site-for-dreams-the-east-s-exuberant-vision-of/) [M. John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) > [Writing's like gambling. Unpredictable and sporadic successes make you more addicted, not less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-john-harrison/writing-s-like-gambling-unpredictable-and-sporadic-successes-make-you/) [M. John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) > [“You can't cure people of their character,' she read. After this he had crossed something out then gone on, 'You can't even change yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-john-harrison/you-can-t-cure-people-of-their-character-she-read-after-this-he-had/) [M. John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) > [“When the landed gentry cut up a seed cake for tea it makes no difference to the cake which of them holds the knife;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-john-harrison/when-the-landed-gentry-cut-up-a-seed-cake-for-tea-it-makes-no/) [M. John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) > [Egnaro is a secret known to everyone but yourself. It is a country or a city to which you have never been; it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-john-harrison/egnaro-is-a-secret-known-to-everyone-but-yourself-it-is-a-country-or/) [M. John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) > [A good ground rule for writing in any genre is, start with a form, then undermine its confidence in itself. Ask what it's afraid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-john-harrison/a-good-ground-rule-for-writing-in-any-genre-is-start-with-a-form-then/) [M. John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) > [“Write something about me then,' he said when I came back. He grinned. 'Go on! Now! I bet you can!' 'I don't do portraits,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-john-harrison/write-something-about-me-then-he-said-when-i-came-back-he-grinned-go/) [M. John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) > [“I think it’s undignified to read for the purposes of escape…. If you read for escape you will never try to change your life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-john-harrison/i-think-it-s-undignified-to-read-for-the-purposes-of-escape-if-you/) [M. John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) [Explore all 41 M. John Harrison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) ## 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 > [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": "“Outside, a dog sprawls among the empty tables, its body rocking with the evening heat. Someone has given it a hamburger which first it guards, then, eventually, eats. It's some kind of winter dog, a malamute perhaps, a dog of marvellous subtle greys and whites. Also of transparent intelligence, and less transparent motive. The beauty of an animal like this appears to fix it in our expectations. But while its beauty says one thing, its heart may say another.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "M. 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