What comes to mind when one thinks of the word ‘puppy’? It is probable describe a puppy as a lovable, adorable, and cuddly companion. However, one might also identify the animal as a menace and a liability or even as a delicious source of food. Why does this single word hold so many meanings? One’s past experiences and biases influences these conflicting views and attitudes. For instance, an individual’s fond view of puppies may exist because they were raised with puppies and consequently grew affectionate toward the animals. On the contrary, if another individual has not bonded with puppies as pets, then they will share the latter point of view. In the short story “Puppy” by George Saunders, the multiple characters view single events and objects with contrasting perceptions. Therefore, instead of painting a precise picture of the characters and the plot, the story expresses several views regarding the morals of the characters, the motivations of their actions, and the meaning of the events that take place. In “Puppy”, George Saunders explores the theory that perception is not an elementary, universal definition of an object or idea, but a complex interpretation that is influenced by one’s unique and varying past experiences and opinions. The complexity of perception is evident in one the story’s narrator’s, Marie’s, vantage point. Marie, who is a product of an abusive family, is influenced by her past, as she perceives the relationship between Callie and her son, Bo. Saunders writes, describing Marie’s childhood experiences, “At least she’d [Marie] never locked on of them [her children] in a closet while entertaining a literal gravedigger in the parlor” (174). Marie’s mother did not embody the traditional traits of a maternal fig... ... middle of paper ... ...er desire to help Jimmy, which deviates from Marie’s motivations. Marie and Callie both value motherhood and the sale of the puppy. Yet, their beliefs towards these concepts vary greatly. These two women are symbolic to the differing perceptions of all human beings because no two individuals have identical experiences or values. George Saunders emphasizes, in the short story “Puppy”, that perception is not a unanimously decided meaning of a concept because every individual’s past inspires an exclusive outlook on life. These unique views are evident in the many distinctive preferences that individuals express. What makes one person excited may enrage someone else. How we see the world, other people, and ourselves is reliant on on perception. Works Cited Mays, Kelly J. ""Puppy"" The Norton Introduction to Literature. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2013. N. pag. Print.
Henry was an extremely lonely nine-year-old boy whose greatest wish was to get a dog. His parents were busy with their work most of the time and it seemed that Henry did not have any friends, perhaps because they moved so often. A dog would have provided Henry with unconditional love - something in short supply around his house - and would have been the perfect companion. The problem was, his parents did not want dog, which would have been another obligation and something else to take care of. As emotionally detached as his parents were, something else to take care of was just not desirable.
The book starts with Blumberg’s personal experiences with his dogs and moves onto several examples from other famous p...
He saw that dog grow into what he raised him to and yet he got rid of him because he had to. How more human a person is to throw his or her own dog away. It must of hurt him so much since he saw his puppy grow into the dog he raised. I once owned a puppy as well, I adopted a puppy, a Chihuahua from the animal shelter. When I brought him home my mother, whom I live with was very upset because she does not like dogs. Moreover she does not like dogs inside of the house. She is not allergic to them nor anyone in my family she just simply did not want the dog inside nor out side of the house. I was very upset because she asked me to get rid of it. I my self did not have the heart to do so and neither did I plan on getting rid of a little innocent dog who had no place else to go. One day as I come home from school I noticed that Pete, my dog was not outside in the driveway waiting for me. Which was strange, so I came inside the house and notice that he did not bark as I came inside and to my surprise my mother got rid of him. She gave it to a friend who has a passion for animals as well. The example I gave reminds me of Turgenev and Marx. Turgenev representing myself, and Marx representing my mother in my
Malone, Michael. "Tough Puppies." The Nation 242.9 (8 Mar. 1986): 276-278. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter and Deborah A. Schmitt. Vol. 111. Detroit: Gale Group, 1999. Literature Resource Center. Web. 10 May 2014.
...om her mother and transported to a pet store where she was locked in a cage until she was purchased by my friend Hailey. I want you to think about her excitement to have a home and Hailey’s excitement to have a new pet to love. Now I want you to think about Hailey receiving the devastating news that her puppy had to be euthanized and Daisy’s fear as she was taken from her owner’s hands and put to death.
Booth, Alison and Kelly J. Mays, eds. The Norton Introduction to Literature. 10th ed. New York: Norton, 2010. Print.
Booth, Alison, and Kelly J. Mays. The Norton Introduction to Literature. New York: W.W. Norton, 2010. Print.
Her parents meet at a social gathering in town and where married shortly thereafter. Marie’s name was chosen by her grandmother and mother, “because they loved to read the list was quite long with much debate over each name.” If she was a boy her name would have been Francis, so she is very happy to have born a girl. Marie’s great uncle was a physician and delivered her in the local hospital. Her mother, was a housewife, as was the norm in those days and her father ran his own business. Her mother was very close with her parents, two brothers, and two sisters. When her grandmother was diagnosed with asthma the family had to move. In those days a warm and dry climate was recommended, Arizona was the chosen state. Because her grandma could never quite leave home, KY, the family made many trips between the states. These trips back and forth dominated Marie’s childhood with her uncles and aunts being her childhood playmates.
A Child Called “It” brings our attention to mental abuse that adults may inflict on a human being and in this particular case, a child. David’s mother respects the family’s dogs more than she respects her own son. The dogs are fed every day, yet she attempts to starve David. Although David has two other brothers, they learn to call him “the boy” and to pay no att...
In the story of “Half Husky” the protagonist Vanessa is shown to be more related to many school students, including my friend James,that we all have numerous responsibilities, but we are often distracted, fail to notice or carry out our responsibilities. As we kids grow older and older we tend to notice more responsibilities placed upon us whether we choose to take on these responsibility or they are circumstantial. This is explained by the relationship that Vanessa has with her pet dog Nanuk. In the story Vanessa begged her grandfather to accept the dog into the family, and in return she said that she would take the duty of taking care of the husky. This situation is reminiscent to the time where my friend James told a story of his own pet
...ses represent the physical absence of her mother. Implicitly, however, these objects symbolize the lost memories of her mother. The possessive nature of the “mother’s watch” shows that its loss was not welcome. In Morrison’s story when Twyla and Roberta connect many years after staying at the orphanage, Roberta suggests that Maggie, the “kitchen woman with legs like parentheses,” was black (Morrison, 245). Twyla then claims that Maggie was her “dancing mother,” meaning that she was “dead” and “dumb” in addition to being “nobody who would hear you if you cried in the night” (259). The grief Twyla experiences suggests that she felt as though no one cared, that no one had cared for her mother either.
...ven its unique personality, identity, and destiny. They are like us, but they live in books. To me, we can know read their stories and use what we read to connect them to what we already knew. Manny, the main character in “Crossing”, was being compared to a monkey whose tied up with chains, which resembled the lost of freedom for both of them. Manny compared the group of people who wants to catch him and sell them to hawks to emphasize that he can not fight back the hawks. it’s either run or caught, he doesn’t have a choice. He also compared the way the people from example three to street dogs, because they way they fought. Throughout our processing throughout the history, we had maintained a very close relationship with animals. Which is what Gary Paulsen, the author of “ Crossing,” had tried to do in the “ Crossing,” to compare the character he made to animals.
"Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten," Says Neil Gainman, author of the book Coraline. Fairy tales date back thousands of years. Fairy tales started out as oral traditions and later were written on paper and made into story books. Fairy tales open up and take children's imaginations to a place where they can learn how to deal with real problems while being enchanted.
In Miss Julie, by August Strindberg wrote about the naturalistic view of human behavior. He symbolizes the behavior through animal imagery. The animal image Strindberg uses helps him exemplify his naturalistic view. The first animal imagery Strindberg uses is the dog. Jean uses the dog imagery to describe to Kristen how Miss Julie made her ex-fiancé act before the break-up. “ Why, she was making him jump over her riding whip the way you teach a dog to jump.” A dog is mans best friend only because a dog is an extremely loyal animal. Having Jean compare what Miss Julies did to her ex-fiancé with what some one would do to a dog shows Miss Julies drive to be the dominant one or the master. Strindberg again uses the imagery of a dog when he has Miss Julie say, “dog who wears my collar” to Jean. Miss Julie feels that her social status is so much superior to that of Jean that their relationship could be compared to that of a master and his dog. The dog imagery in the play is also used to demonstrate the difference in social classes. In the play Miss Julie’s dog, Diana, is impregnated by the lodge-keepers pug. Kristen demonstrates Miss Julie’s disgust when she says; “She almost had poor Diana shot for running after the lodge-keepers pug.” The sexual affair between the dogs also represents the sexual affair between Jean and Miss Julie and how the two of them look down on each other. Jean looks down on Miss Julie for being surprisingly easy to obtain. While Miss Julie loo...
The authors in “Proper Library” and in “Mrs. Turner’s Lawn Jockeys”, both use the empathy of the child archetype to boost the protagonist’s confidence, giving them security. They argue that children are judgment free and have unconditional love, until exposed to bias.