Cyclical behaviors of abuse and hatred are infinite and completely tragic. Writer and poet, Stephen Crane, in his piece, "A Dark Brown Dog," effectively illustrates the desperation for acceptance of a stray dog that is brought home by a child and beaten by his family. Crane, through the use of staggering symbolism (something used to represent something else for the sake of meaning), conveys the portrayal of a dog as a freed, black slave, still trapped under the weight of societal acceptance after the Civil War. Similarly, the rope and father are symbols of restraints that play an essential role in the tragic life of the dark-brown dog.
The dark-brown dog had a light-hearted clumsiness to him when he “came trotting” down the sidewalk “occasionally
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The image of a short rope hanging from the dog’s neck is repeated throughout the piece to symbolize both, a past struggle, as well as a current obstacle, hindering his ability to move forward smoothly on his journey. Furthermore, the rope represents a past mentality of slavery and how even though this slave is now free, he isn’t really ‘free’ at all. The dragging rope is a constant reminder of where he has been and who he is on the surface. Society has fixed this idea that he carries no value and although he is persistent with repentance, this chastisement is seemingly perpetual. When the child introduced the dog to the family, “scorn was leveled at him from all eyes” as he made his case to the “family council,” announcing why this dog is worthy enough to become a member of the house (Crane 13). As it becomes evident that the dog is no longer being accepted, he becomes internally embarrassed and filled with shame as he is put on a display of mockery. The father returns home from work “in a particularly savage temper” and decided the dog could stay, but only because he believed it would provoke hostility in the family (Crane 13). Soon after, the child took the dog to his room and cried softly, while the father began his typical violent outbursts on the wife. The father’s ill humor is what permits the ‘acceptance’ of the dog in the family. A few nights later, the father storms the apartment drunk and throws the dog out of the window and the dark-brown dog falls to his
The poem above speaks volumes about the nature of man’s best friend. Dogs are not inherently bad, but are rather “a product of their environment”. The same principle applies to the world’s most misunderstood breed of dog. When you hear the phrase “pit bull”, what do you think? A savage beast, murdered out of cold blood?
The animal lives comfortably in the cage, until one day, the animal finds the cage door open. Faced with the internal conflict of deciding whether or not to leave the safety of the cage, the animal must make the hard decision. Nevertheless, drawn to the light and the outside, the animal decides to venture out of the cage, and never comes back. As stated in the passage, "So does he live, seeking, finding, joying and suffering." (para 8). This explains how the animal now lives outside the cage, with freedom. The theme is revealed through the animal being able to get out of the cage and have his freedom. The reader connects with the passage by being put in the shoes of the animal. Having the feeling of being caged up lets the reader connect with the passage and the
... wildly, beating his little yellow wings against the wires" (259). When Joe is around Caesar, he threatens to take the dog off his chain and release him into the town. To Louisa, taking the dog off his chain symbolically relates to her being freed from the constraints Joe is putting on her. Because she, like the dog, have been alone for so long, it would be frightening to go out and experience new things. People tend to do what they know, and for fourteen years, Louisa and her pets have been accustomed to solitude. The man's influence is seen as disruptive since it threatens change on Louisa's life. The symbolism Freeman portrays between the pets and Louisa is immense and obvious. Because of this, it is easy for the reader to make such connections. Freeman's choices make this an easy to read story that appeals to all readers at all different skill levels.
Because the poem is written in two different formats it causes readers to want to know more from both perspectives. If reading the poem from the slave owners perspective the mood of the poem, revolves around happier times. Slavery is showcased to be a time of possibility and better times for everyone involved. But when reading it from the slave’s perspective, it is told from the business element. Although it is clear, they do not enjoy their job, you also see that they are overly dedicated. In the beginning, they state that they work from sun-up to sun-down doing the same thing every day. And although, they are doing the same thing every day their determination and hard work is clearly shown. Furthermore, it is also shown that even at a young age they started working as slaves. From the slave owner’s perspective, we see that they are content with how things were during slavery. But from slave side they are fed up with being viewed as a profit. Therefore, the two separate moods are clearly shown. However, one thing that is interesting is that both poems end with the same word “slavery”. The fact that both poems ended using the same word, show how although they are living in two separate worlds somehow they still will collide. It also shows, that although they have two different moods it all ties back to the word
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.
The speaker continues to take on the role of beggar as she imagines the Hound “sometimes – at your side to run”, but only “When you were willing” (11-12). Again, she is implying that the poem’s subject holds the power. The speaker does not want to irritate and exert her own sense of empowerment, so will only act when or if the subject is willing. The final lines bring the poem to a close by asking, “May it come – Tell Carlo – He’ll tell me!” (13-14). Carlo was the name of Emily Dickinson’s Newfoundland dog, which lived from 1850 to 1865 and was a gift from her father. The moniker Dickinson bestowed upon the dog was an allusion to St John River’s dog in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. (Lexicon). The speaker is suggesting that, perhaps, her dog might serve as an emissary between the she and the subject of the poem. This is an abrupt change in tone and may be a light-hearted acknowledgment of the juvenile outlook that the speaker has toward her beloved. Since she has yet to fully develop a stable sense of self, this contributes to the speaker’s underlying fear of
Salamano and his dog have a strange relationship. They are always together and even look similar, but Salamano is constantly beating the dog. One would think that since the dog was Salamano’s only companion then he would treat it better. Salamano and his dog symbolize the absurdity that occurs in our everyday life.
The poem opens in medias res of the teenager’s testimony as he recalls the mistreatment of a dog. Smith illustrates the offender “[dragging the dog] across the floor, / its claws out in resistance” (Smith 3-4) in order to victimize the hound. With its flaws flailing in protest, the animal is clearly unhappy with the offender’s actions. Even the appearance of the dog with “fur hooding its eyes” frames it as a vulnerable creature whose mop of hair obscures its vision—a fragile barrier from witnessing the horrors of the world (Smith 5). The description becomes violent as the the offender “shook and twisted / the folds of [the dog’s] neck” (Smith 7-8) implying strangulation. Arguably the most vivid description of abuse in the poem, Smith leaves
Authors use literary elements throughout short stories to give an overall effect on the message they give in the story. In his short story, “Doe Season” by Michael Kaplan, illustrates a theme(s) of the hardships of not wanting to face the reality of death, losing of innocence and the initiation of growing up. Kaplans theme is contributed by symbolism, characterization, setting and foreshadowing.
Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes symbolism throughout his short story Young Goodman Brown to impact and clarify the theme of good people sometimes doing bad things. Hawthorne uses a variety of light and dark imagery, names, and people to illustrate irony and different translations. Young Goodman Brown is a story about a man who comes to terms with the reality that people are imperfect and flawed and then dies a bitter death from the enlightenment of his journey through the woods. Images of darkness, symbolic representations of names and people and the journey through the woods all attribute to Hawthorne's theme of good people sometimes doing bad things.
The yellow-white dog named Caesar which Louisa owns, has been chained to the dog house the last 15 years after he bit someone. Caesar being chained to the dog house could actually represent the feeling the reader gets that Louisa is chained to her own house and to her solitary ways. The narrator talks about how Louisa would have to move out of her comfort zone and enter a new place where Louisa and her pets would be “robbed of their old environments” ( ) and they would come to not know themselves as the narrator says, “they would almost cease to be themselves” (
Once Brown enters the forest he meets the devil, who resembles his father. The representation of his father as the devil symbolizes that even Browns own blood is evil, and that everyone has some evil inside themselves. It shoes how far back evil goes, and that...
feelings in the man and the dog, of a constant battle with this world of
Edgar Allan Poe's classic tale, "The Black Cat," is a disturbing story that delves into the contrasts between reality and fantasy, insanity and logic, and life and death. To decipher one distinct meaning presented in this story undermines the brilliance of Poe's writing. Multiple meanings can be derived from "The Black Cat," which lends itself perfectly to many approaches of critical interpretation.
Ones take of this story can be many of sorts. The dog essential may have saved this young child, his father may have chosen to throw him out the window. If the dog wasn’t there to take his place, who is to say what could had happened? It also shows how the dogs undeniable, love, devotion and eagerness to please his master. Eventually these traits, sadly left him resting lifeless in his young master’s arms. The relationships between these characters, is one of who’s pulling the strings. The abuse has been passed down from father to son. This story leaves an emptiness, with the unsettling turn of events.