Dog_Death

Dog Death Debra Strand Introduction to Literature: ENG 125 August 28, 2013 The theme of “Dog’s Death” is based on the life and death of a family dog. The author, John Updike starts from the beginning explaining how the dog might have gotten the fatal injury. John Updike takes you through the emotions of the love and loss of a family dog. The author uses tone and diction to make you emotionally attached to what the family is going through. After reading it I started crying this is wonderful poem. Maxine my Shitzu died recently suddenly so I know how it feels. The loss of a cherished dog can hurt deeply. Dogs are comforting. Just by being there, you could literally talk to the dog. Sure, the dog’s not going to answer you, but it responds. They will come up and put its paw on you, or its muzzle. Even if you’re in the depths of despair, when you get that lick, or he just comes up and bumps you. As in so many other cases, poetry can help a person express those feelings and grieve. This paper will discuss the dog’s death as a theme for this short story. The beginning talks of the fatal injury that might have brought this family pet to her demise. “She must have been kicked unseen or brushed by a car.” (Updike, Clugston, 2010) Symbolism also comes into play by speaking of the dog learning to void on the newspaper, and then again in the ending of the story when it speaks of the diarrhea the dog suffered and did not make it to the newspaper that time. The plot of the story would be very similar to the theme also. The plot discusses the manner in which the dog dies, or the circumstances of the dog’s death. The family unknowingly continues to play and go on as if nothing is wrong with her, until they see the sign that she is underneath the youngest child’s bed lying in a heap. In an attempt to show a sign of life, the dog attempts to bite the hand of the child that is caring for and holding the dog on the way to the vet’s office, but instead the dog dies. According to Chapter 7, “the theme in a story is associated with an idea that lies behind the story.” (Clugston, 2010) The beginning of this story seems to be telling you about the dog learning to use the newspaper to go to the bathroom, when the actual message is the dog’s death. The very last part of the story talks of the dog not making it to the newspaper when the dog was nearing her death. In my opinion, this story could have used a little more text and maybe some more background. It could have been much more personal if the dog had a name in the story, as the only thing that brings the dog to reality is the fact that we are given that she is a girl. All poems tell stories. People have been telling stories since the dawn of creation, and the great religious and poetic works reflect this. For instance, a parable is a story. Consequently, was obvious that each individual element in this poem employs a meaning and holds a purpose. Reference Clugston, R. W. (2010). Journey into Literature. Bridgepoint Education, Inc. San Diego, CA. Prize for a Chilean Poet. (1971). Time, 98(13), 61. Bugeja, M. J. (1994). Chapter Fourteen: The Narrative Poem. In, Art & Craft of Poetry, Author Michael Bugeja (pp. 216-234). SJK Publishing Industries, Inc.