Summary Of Golden Retrievals By Mark Doty

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Commonly referred to as man’s best friend, dogs never fail to bring joy to even the obscurest of situations. The narrator of Mark Doty’s poem, “Golden Retrievals,” is no exception. Most likely four-legged and furry-bodied, the narrator of Doty’s poem recounts the details of a walk he takes with his hairless, two-legged friend. While the poem begins in a lighthearted manner with the dog’s attention easily being captured by his environs, the tone quickly becomes more somber upon the realization that his human companion is more fanatical about past mistakes and future worries than relishing the present occurrences. By utilizing juxtaposition in both diction and point of view, Doty is able to emphasize the modern issue of conflict between the responsibilities that come with an increasingly quick life style and an ability to fully be free and enjoy the present. …show more content…

The realization that his perception is free from human restraints and expectations begins with the words “thrillingly dead” (Doty 6). The connotation of the word thrilling evokes feelings of adventure and excitement in the reader while dead quickly provides the conflicting idea of decay and woe. This enjoyment that the canine finds in the present, even with its deterioration, is clearly very different from the human who is “sunk in the past” (7) or “off in some fog concerning” the future” (9). When the human is preoccupied with times other than the present, he is blind and unable to move forward, maybe even unwilling to move forward, a situation implied by the words fog and sunk. By juxtaposing the differing levels of appreciation the two beings have for the present, Doty shows the dog as the one to be the most carefree as opposed to the human, who is too preoccupied with the pressures of

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