--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He read it for the same reason an animal…" description: "\"He read it for the same reason an animal tears at a wounded foot: to hurt the pain.\" — Nathanael West" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/nathanael-west-11471_animal_he-read-it-for-the-same-reason-an-animal_150180.png" --- # He read it for the same reason an animal tears at a… ![“He read it for the same reason an animal tears at a wounded foot: to hurt the pain.” quote by Nathanael West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/nathanael-west-11471_animal_he-read-it-for-the-same-reason-an-animal_150180.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/nathanael-west-11471_animal_he-read-it-for-the-same-reason-an-animal_150180.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/nathanael-west-11471_animal_he-read-it-for-the-same-reason-an-animal_150180.png) > “He read it for the same reason an animal tears at a wounded foot: to hurt the pain.” [Nathanael West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathanael-west/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He seeks to inflict emotional pain as a way to validate his own suffering. **In simple terms:** He hurts others to feel his own pain. Key Takeaway Recognize when you project pain onto others. Themes pain projection validation Mood sad reflective Type literary psychological When to use this quote - relationship conflict - self‑esteem issues - therapy sessions Key Concepts psychology emotional coping Questions to Reflect On - Why do I hurt others when I’m hurting? - How can I channel pain constructively? A Different Perspective May not address underlying trauma. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Tears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tears/) [Wounded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wounded/) ## Related quotes > [I WISH IM STILL A KID.. 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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": "He read it for the same reason an animal tears at a wounded foot: to hurt the pain.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nathanael West" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathanael-west/he-read-it-for-the-same-reason-an-animal-tears-at-a-wounded-foot-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathanael-west/he-read-it-for-the-same-reason-an-animal-tears-at-a-wounded-foot-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/nathanael-west-11471_animal_he-read-it-for-the-same-reason-an-animal_150180.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/nathanael-west-11471_animal_he-read-it-for-the-same-reason-an-animal_150180.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/nathanael-west-11471_animal_he-read-it-for-the-same-reason-an-animal_150180.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He read it for the same reason an animal tears at a wounded foot: to hurt the pain.” — Nathanael West", "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": "Nathanael West", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathanael-west/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "He read it for the same...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathanael-west/he-read-it-for-the-same-reason-an-animal-tears-at-a-wounded-foot-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathanael-west/he-read-it-for-the-same-reason-an-animal-tears-at-a-wounded-foot-to/#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 } } ] } ```