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Atticus Social Hierarchy Essay

analytical Essay
946 words
946 words
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A theme presented in Fifteen Dogs is that often, without an escape from social hierarchy, one is often doomed to misery, either as oppressed or a cruel dominant leader. In the novel, all the dogs deal with a major conflict between obtaining power of status in a hierarchy. Atticus, tries to maintain power by using violence in killing Bobbie, Athena, and Bella who dare to disobey his rule and by symbolically proving dominance by mounting the weaker dogs like Benjy, Dougie, and Max. However, in Atticus’ struggle to assert dominance in the pack, he motivates a revenge plot by Benjy to poison the whole pack. Atticus live unhappily because he is constantly fighting for his power. He dies unhappy because he is consumed with a regret that he could …show more content…

Historically speaking, one can compare the bourgeois and the proletariat of the late industrial revolution in 1840. These social hierarchy terms were coined by Karl Marx. The bourgeois can be likened to the dogs like Atticus. However, their power is a result of their wealth and ownership, not their physical size. The bourgeoisie were factory owners and rich businessmen, constantly competing for better business and higher profits. The constant competition indicates that the bourgeoisie had to be always changing and could not be content with what they have. They cannot find peace and appreciate the world because they have to be concerned with ruthless competition of the business world. The flip side of the industrial revolution was the proletariat. The proletariat were labourers. They were not valued as human beings but only for the profits of their labour. Their personalities and being have no worth. This lack of worth means they lived in horrible, oppressed condition as a result of their lower class. Thus, they cannot be happy because the proletariat lived worthless …show more content…

Marshall, heir to the Astor family fortune. Marshall was a direct descendent of John Jacob Astor, the richest man in America in the 1840s. Marshall was a member of one of the richest families in America. However, the conflict between his family members to control the family fortune led to a series of cruelties. Marshall abused his elderly mother Brooke Astor, dooming his mother to misery during her final moments. The motivation for this cruelty was money, which can be likened to power in today’s society. As a result of his cruelty, Marshall was prosecuted for his crimes of abuse and stealing Mrs. Astor’s fortune. He would suffer in jail miserably. Then, he died at age 90. He was not able to appreciate the money and power he had at the top of the hierarchy before he lost it all because he was competing for a higher

In this essay, the author

  • Analyzes the theme presented in fifteen dogs, that without an escape from social hierarchy, one is often doomed to misery, either as oppressed or a cruel dominant leader.
  • Analyzes how prince, the only dog who escapes the hierarchy, is able to appreciate the beauty of the world despite his blindness and deafness later in life.
  • Compares the bourgeois and the proletariat of the late industrial revolution in 1840. their power is based on their wealth and ownership, not their physical size.
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