--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It’s an awful thing to hear a strong…" description: "\"“It’s an awful thing to hear a strong, desperate, fat man scream incontinently in a cave at daybreak.”\" — O. Henry" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed0/o-henry-3281_fat-man_it-s-an-awful-thing-to-hear-a-strong-des_471693.jpg" --- # It’s an awful thing to hear a strong, desperate, fat man… ![“It’s an awful thing to hear a strong, desperate, fat man scream incontinently in a cave at daybreak.” quote by O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed0/o-henry-3281_fat-man_it-s-an-awful-thing-to-hear-a-strong-des_471693.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed0/o-henry-3281_fat-man_it-s-an-awful-thing-to-hear-a-strong-des_471693.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed0/o-henry-3281_fat-man_it-s-an-awful-thing-to-hear-a-strong-des_471693.jpg) > ““It’s an awful thing to hear a strong, desperate, fat man scream incontinently in a cave at daybreak.”” [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A vivid, unsettling image of a desperate man screaming in a cave, highlighting raw human anguish and isolation. **In simple terms:** A desperate man's scream in a cave shows deep anguish. Key Takeaway Recognize and address hidden suffering. Themes despair isolation humanity Mood somber intense Type literary dramatic When to use this quote - mental health counseling - creative writing - empathy training - crisis intervention Key Concepts psychology existential dread vivid imagery Questions to Reflect On - What emotions does this scene evoke? - How can we respond compassionately to hidden pain? A Different Perspective The quote dramatizes extreme distress, which may not reflect everyday experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desperate Fat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desperate-fat-4076269/) [Fat man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fat-man/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Incontinently Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incontinently-cave-4076267/) [Man Scream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-scream-3952492/) [Scream Incontinently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scream-incontinently-4076266/) [Strong Desperate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong-desperate-4076268/) ## Related quotes > [“I had to ask the burning question as we walked to the door. "How's it feel to throw a man off a building twenty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevad/i-had-to-ask-the-burning-question-as-we-walked-to-the-door-how-s-it/) [KevaD](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevad/) > [“Others collected round the coach, and gave vent to various surmises; some held that she had fallen asleep; some, that she had burnt herself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/others-collected-round-the-coach-and-gave-vent-to-various-surmises/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I guess you could say I'm the redemption of the fat man. A guy will be watching me on TV and see that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mickey-lolich/i-guess-you-could-say-i-m-the-redemption-of-the-fat-man-a-guy-will-be/) [Mickey Lolich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mickey-lolich/) > [We are being at once wisely aware of our own frivolity if we avoid hitting and whacking and prefer 'striking' and 'smiting'; talk and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/we-are-being-at-once-wisely-aware-of-our-own-frivolity-if-we-avoid/) [J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/) > [Me without you is like A pot head who's not high A plane that doesn't fly A suicidal that doesnt die A fat man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ash-sweeney/me-without-you-is-like-a-pot-head-who-s-not-high-a-plane-that-doesn-t/) [Ash Sweeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ash-sweeney/) > [She was running from a fat man selling salvation in his hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/she-was-running-from-a-fat-man-selling-salvation-in-his-hand/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [“We’re all going to die. Most of us will leave no mark of our existence behind what-so-ever. Not a stain or a smudge or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-tidy/we-re-all-going-to-die-most-of-us-will-leave-no-mark-of-our-existence/) [Oliver Tidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-tidy/) > [Enclosing every thin man, there's a fat man demanding elbow-room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/enclosing-every-thin-man-there-s-a-fat-man-demanding-elbow-room/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [“Another woman catches sight of Fischerle's hump on the ground and runs screaming into the street: 'Murder! Murder!' She takes the hump for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias-canetti/another-woman-catches-sight-of-fischerle-s-hump-on-the-ground-and/) [Elias Canetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elias-canetti/) > [Outside every fat man there is an even fatter man trying to close in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/outside-every-fat-man-there-is-an-even-fatter-man-trying-to-close-in/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [I'm fat, but I'm thin inside. Has it ever struck you that there's a thin man inside every fat man, just as they say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/i-m-fat-but-i-m-thin-inside-has-it-ever-struck-you-that-there-s-a/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Watching the early Keystone flicks today, their weaknesses are as apparent as their strengths. Plots are vaporous and repeatedly recycled. Acting can veer into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-merritt/watching-the-early-keystone-flicks-today-their-weaknesses-are-as/) [Greg Merritt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-merritt/) > [I'm as happy and a fat man in a sandbox full of cheese burgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xxemopuppet/i-m-as-happy-and-a-fat-man-in-a-sandbox-full-of-cheese-burgers/) [Xxemopuppet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xxemopuppet/) > [“Maybe the God we see, the God who calls the daily shots, is merely a subGod. Maybe there’s a God above this subGod who’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/maybe-the-god-we-see-the-god-who-calls-the-daily-shots-is-merely-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“Desmond ushered the man inside. He was stooped and ugly, with an unkempt beard and unwashed clothes, yet Father greeted him pleasantly and asked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/desmond-ushered-the-man-inside-he-was-stooped-and-ugly-with-an/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) ## More by O. Henry > [He seemed to be made of sunshine and blood-red tissue and clear weather.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/he-seemed-to-be-made-of-sunshine-and-blood-red-tissue-and-clear/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [My advice to you, if you should ever be in a hold up, is to line up with the cowards and save your bravery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/my-advice-to-you-if-you-should-ever-be-in-a-hold-up-is-to-line-up/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [“It did not exactly beggar description, but it certainly had that word on the lookout for the mendicancy squad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/it-did-not-exactly-beggar-description-but-it-certainly-had-that-word/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [Fortune is a prize to be won. Adventure is the road to it. Chance is what may lurk in the shadows at the roadside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/fortune-is-a-prize-to-be-won-adventure-is-the-road-to-it-chance-is/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [She plucked from my lapel the invisible strand of lint (the universal act of woman to proclaim ownership).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/she-plucked-from-my-lapel-the-invisible-strand-of-lint-the-universal/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [There is no well defined boundary line between honesty and dishonesty. The frontiers of one blend with the outside limits of the other, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/there-is-no-well-defined-boundary-line-between-honesty-and-dishonesty/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [All great men have declared that they owe their sucess to the aid and encouragement of some brilliant woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/all-great-men-have-declared-that-they-owe-their-sucess-to-the-aid-and/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [Those whom we first love we seldom marry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/those-whom-we-first-love-we-seldom-marry/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [Young artists must pave their way to Art by drawing pictures for magazine stories that young authors write to pave their way to Literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/young-artists-must-pave-their-way-to-art-by-drawing-pictures-for/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [A good story is like a bitter pill, with the sugar coating inside of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/a-good-story-is-like-a-bitter-pill-with-the-sugar-coating-inside-of-it/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [I've got some of my best yarns from park benches, lamp posts and newspaper stands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/i-ve-got-some-of-my-best-yarns-from-park-benches-lamp-posts-and/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [There are stories in everything. I've got some of my best yarns from park benches, lampposts, and newspaper stands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/there-are-stories-in-everything-i-ve-got-some-of-my-best-yarns-from/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [I never have time to read now. I did all my reading before I was twenty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/i-never-have-time-to-read-now-i-did-all-my-reading-before-i-was-twenty/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [Bride knoweth bride at the glance of an eye. And between them swiftly passes comfort and meaning in a language that man and widows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/bride-knoweth-bride-at-the-glance-of-an-eye-and-between-them-swiftly/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [No friendship is an accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/no-friendship-is-an-accident/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) [Explore all 135 O. Henry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) ## More Fat man quotes > [“Others collected round the coach, and gave vent to various surmises; some held that she had fallen asleep; some, that she had burnt herself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/others-collected-round-the-coach-and-gave-vent-to-various-surmises/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Maybe the God we see, the God who calls the daily shots, is merely a subGod. Maybe there’s a God above this subGod who’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/maybe-the-god-we-see-the-god-who-calls-the-daily-shots-is-merely-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I'm as happy and a fat man in a sandbox full of cheese burgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xxemopuppet/i-m-as-happy-and-a-fat-man-in-a-sandbox-full-of-cheese-burgers/) [Xxemopuppet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xxemopuppet/) > [“Watching the early Keystone flicks today, their weaknesses are as apparent as their strengths. Plots are vaporous and repeatedly recycled. Acting can veer into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-merritt/watching-the-early-keystone-flicks-today-their-weaknesses-are-as/) [Greg Merritt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-merritt/) > [I'm fat, but I'm thin inside. Has it ever struck you that there's a thin man inside every fat man, just as they say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/i-m-fat-but-i-m-thin-inside-has-it-ever-struck-you-that-there-s-a/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Outside every fat man there is an even fatter man trying to close in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/outside-every-fat-man-there-is-an-even-fatter-man-trying-to-close-in/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [“Another woman catches sight of Fischerle's hump on the ground and runs screaming into the street: 'Murder! Murder!' She takes the hump for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias-canetti/another-woman-catches-sight-of-fischerle-s-hump-on-the-ground-and/) [Elias Canetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elias-canetti/) > [Enclosing every thin man, there's a fat man demanding elbow-room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/enclosing-every-thin-man-there-s-a-fat-man-demanding-elbow-room/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [“We’re all going to die. Most of us will leave no mark of our existence behind what-so-ever. Not a stain or a smudge or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-tidy/we-re-all-going-to-die-most-of-us-will-leave-no-mark-of-our-existence/) [Oliver Tidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-tidy/) > [She was running from a fat man selling salvation in his hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/she-was-running-from-a-fat-man-selling-salvation-in-his-hand/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [Me without you is like A pot head who's not high A plane that doesn't fly A suicidal that doesnt die A fat man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ash-sweeney/me-without-you-is-like-a-pot-head-who-s-not-high-a-plane-that-doesn-t/) [Ash Sweeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ash-sweeney/) > [We are being at once wisely aware of our own frivolity if we avoid hitting and whacking and prefer 'striking' and 'smiting'; talk and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/we-are-being-at-once-wisely-aware-of-our-own-frivolity-if-we-avoid/) [J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/) > [I guess you could say I'm the redemption of the fat man. A guy will be watching me on TV and see that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mickey-lolich/i-guess-you-could-say-i-m-the-redemption-of-the-fat-man-a-guy-will-be/) [Mickey Lolich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mickey-lolich/) > [“Desmond ushered the man inside. He was stooped and ugly, with an unkempt beard and unwashed clothes, yet Father greeted him pleasantly and asked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/desmond-ushered-the-man-inside-he-was-stooped-and-ugly-with-an/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [A small man can cast a large shadow, especially when a fat man is standing behind him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mj-mcguire/a-small-man-can-cast-a-large-shadow-especially-when-a-fat-man-is/) [MJ McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mj-mcguire/) [Browse all 96 Fat man quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fat-man/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It’s an awful thing to hear a strong, desperate, fat man scream incontinently in a cave at daybreak.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "O. 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