The Role of Trees in Terry Kay's To Dance With The White Dog
In the novel To Dance With The White Dog there are many similarities between Sam Peek and Kay’s father. The Dedication and Authors Note, located before and after the[b1] novel, give the reader insight into the true meaning of the book. In the Authors Note Kay speaks of his father and the fruit trees that he cared for; from this a correlation arises with Sam Peek and his beloved pecan trees.
Terry Kay’s father cultivates fruit trees. Fruit trees generally live for approximately ten years then die off. It takes fruit trees three to five years before they will bear fruit. Overall fruit trees require a short term commitment. Although Kay’s father became famous for his well grown trees, it did not require the dedication and time that Sam Peek had to exert for his pecan trees.[b2] In the novel Sam Peek has dedicated his life to the growth and production of his pecan trees. Pecan trees take at least five years to yield fruit and can live up to seventy-five years. They take much more time and effort to yield profit. Cultivating pecan trees is a life long project. In the novel Sam Peek dedicates his life to the care of his pecan trees. In his old age, when he is retired from the tree business, he still has the commitment to go to the pecan orchard and pull weeds. This shows Sam Peeks strong bonds to his life and family[b3]. He is very much tied down to the land around his family home. His dedication to his trees is because he wishes to provide a good life for his family. He pours a lot of effort into this wish.
While reading this novel the reader interprets the meaning of the author based on the knowledge that the book is fictional; however, when the reader finds out that there is some truth to the story at the end of the book they must reevaluate their interpretations.[b4][b4] Kay reveals in the Authors Note at the end of the book that the character of Sam Peek is based on his father.
The book starts with Blumberg’s personal experiences with his dogs and moves onto several examples from other famous p...
To what extent do the belief systems in The King of Trees act as a means of enforcing societal norms?
Anderson, P.C., and T.E. Crocker. "The Pecan Tree." Solutions for Your Life: University of Florida IFAS Extension (2004). Web. 18 Apr. 2012.
In our society today, we find ourselves dealing with similar factors from ancient literature. One factor that is still relevant to our society is doing things that are forbidden from us. There is always that one person who is curious which makes them more anxious to do things that they are told not to do. When people are forbidden from doing something, most likely it will make them more interested in doing it. In these three stories, I will show how being forbidden in ancient literature is still the same as our society.
Several literary devices are implemented in the novel to convey the author’s experiences and feelings, thus contributing to the overall appeal of the writing. In his younger years
Led Zeppelin appeared in the music scene, setting the new tone for a harder rock. Led Zeppelin reached new heights of commercial and critical success that made them one of the most influential groups of the era. Black Sabbath and Deep Purple transformed Led Zeppelin’s new style into a “heavier metal” rock. These bands later influenced other bands such as Judas Priest and Motörhead, which eventually started the New Wave of British Heavy Metal in the 1980s.
Heavy metal music has developed greatly ever since it was created in the late 1960’s, evolving into large and varied categories of subgenres. It is not uncommon for types of metal to be confused for one another despite their distinct differences. There are hundreds of subgenres, but three of them will be discussed, the bluesy and distorted doom metal, the fast and fantastical power metal, and the ill reputed black metal.
Mays, Kelly J. ""Puppy"" The Norton Introduction to Literature. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2013. N. pag. Print.
Goldhagen, Daniel Jonah. Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust. New York: Vintage, 1997. Print.
Terry Kay said there was a grand romance of life between his parents. (179). Kay captures his parent’s undying love and celebrates his family in his novel To Dance With the White Dog. Kay believes that his parent’s love still carried on, even after their death. Sam and Cora Peek’s love is portrayed through the white dog that Sam saw licking up grease on his back porch. Strangely, the white dog looked just like a dog that Sam and his wife had when they first were married. Another factor that makes the occurrence of the white dog even stranger is that it did not show up at Sam’s house until after Cora died. Kay said that his parents had an undying love; he uses his novel to express his parent’s love. Kay also notes that true love does not recognize the concept of time and can possibly carry on lasting for eternity.
Within every story or poem, there is always an interpretation made by the reader, whether right or wrong. In doing so, one must thoughtfully analyze all aspects of the story in order to make the most accurate assessment based on the literary elements the author has used. Compared and contrasted within the two short stories, “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, and John Updike’s “A&P,” the literary elements character and theme are made evident. These two elements are prominent in each of the differing stories yet similarities are found through each by studying the elements. The girls’ innocence and naivety as characters act as passages to show something superior, oppression in society shown towards women that is not equally shown towards men.
Hawthorn, Nathaniel. "Young Goodman Brown" The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Vol. I. Shorter Seventh Edition. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 2008. 620-629. Print.
Leon Forrest authored a unique and challenging novel, titled: A Tree More Ancient than Eden, which depicts Nathaniel Witherspoon 's quest for understanding his African American identity. This novel is very different from the traditional narratives that typically flow chronologically; this novel flows through the narrator in a stream of conscious thoughts. Forrest’s novel moves from one incident to another, jumping around in history while carrying around the descriptions of mystical, biblical, and historical events. Through the narrator, the author explores the African American experience and addresses the issues of race that conflict with the narrator. In this essay, I will be discussing how the novel deals with the past, how the author addresses
Henrik Ibsen uses the technique of realism throughout A Doll's House as a means of explaining the oppression set on women during the Victorian era. Nora and Torvald's marriage, like many other marriages of the Victorian era, is presented realistically in the sense that their marriage is primarily built from romanticized illusions. Throughout the ...
Shmoop Editorial Team.” Adolf Hitler in World War 2.” Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 26 Feb. 2014