All Creatures Great And Small By James Herriot

In Pinckney Benedict’s 2008 short story “Mercy,” the narrator and his father both take pride in their family’s ranch. The narrator works hard for his father each day, taking breaks only to sneak treats to the miniature horses being kept on the neighbor’s ranch nearby. The narrator’s father; however, does not show the same compassion for the animals as his son. He is adamant about keeping the horses off of his land and warns his son that he will shoot to first to intrude. The narrator views his father in a very austere manner.

Orwell reveals the corruption of the farm’s rules, which mandated, “they were not as other animals. If they were hungry, it was not from feeding tyrannical human beings; if they worked hard, at least they worked for themselves. No creature among them went upon two legs. No creature called any other creature ‘Master’, all animals were equal” (Orwell 62).

As the rain of hardship and pain floods the souls of one family, the silent but all-seeing pet dog learns to stand by his family and ultimately learn, throughout his life, the art of racing in the rain. Within Stein’s The Art of Racing in the Rain, the story is told from the perspective of the common household dog, Enzo. This unparalleled perspective displays the trust that many people place upon a dog’s shoulders, but Enzo’s point of view also shows how beautifully bonded Denny, Eve, Zoe and Enzo are through the trials of life and death. While Enzo cannot speak, he thoughtfully forms ideas about what he would say if he were a human; nevertheless, Enzo’s inability to speak makes him wise beyond his dog years, for as humans, we tend to speak what is on our mind before considering the impact that it will leave upon

“But, I 'm already resigned to this fate / Looking over my life, I recall / If it hadn 't been / for the loneliness / I 'd have no companion at all. ” This stanza from “Loneliness”, by Lora Colon evokes the negative impact a lonely fate has on a person. Words like “resigned” and “loneliness” establish a sense of depression and resignation. During the times of the Great Depression, many people felt similar feelings of melancholy and stoicism. Jobs were hard to come by, and realistic dreams of success were scarce. John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, allows readers to see the life of the Great Depression. The two main characters, George and Lennie, search for jobs, like many other migrant workers. They dream of owning their own land, however, Lennie’s habit of getting in trouble prevents their dream from being reality. After he accidentally causes more trouble at their new job, George is forced to kill him out of mercy. Throughout the novel, Steinbeck shows that even if one meticulously plans out the road to their American Dream, fate will inevitably intervene and lead one to desolation and loneliness.

Along this difficult march, the narrator reflects on the life of the dog and remembers the not-so-bad characteristics of the family pet, “During our joint ordeal I had developed a grudging affection for our pet; he who’d been so quick to defend my kith and kin against the noise of passing trucks, who took loud notice of the squirrels outside, who held fast in the foyer, hackles raised, fearlessly barking, whenever company arrived at the front door (248).”

...And the Earth Did Not Devour Him is not a story of one character, but rather of a people. Rivera, much like in the Actos of El Teatro Campesino, basically uses a stock character. Although each story seemingly gives more detail and specificity to the character, it can also be interpreted as doing the exact opposite. In telling of the life of one, Rivera in turn reveals the lives of many. Even though specific details of each of their lives were obviously different, the core issues still remained; Chicanos needed change and they needed it immediately. One of the most noticeable techniques Rivera uses within his novel is the constant changing of the point-of-view. The novel is centered on an unnamed male protagonist, however, throughout the story the point-of-view ranges from that of a mother praying for her son unwillingly fighting in Vietnam to that of an omniscient narrator, capable of entering anyone’s heads. This often times seemed to be very random and even abrupt. However, it was through the sporadic sprinklings of changes in point-of-views that Rivera was able to not only showcase cultural struggles of the time, but also call for social change as well as reveal the confusion and uncertainty of the people themselves.

Theme: “For a start, the very young are necessarily self-centred. What do they care for the tragic or untidy lives of their neighbours? Their primary business is survival, and their preoccupation is with those who help them to survive. Of course their business is also learning about the world around them-hence the boundless curiosity of young animals…” (Page 122)

Of the many important themes that appear throughout Timothy Findley’s novel The Wars, the loss of innocence is undeniably one of, if not the, most significant. When central character Robert Ross goes off to fight in the War to end all Wars, the traumatic events he experiences strip him of his docile nature. It should be noted that this loss of innocence in Robert Ross cannot be pinned down to a single, sudden event or specific battle – rather, it is a process that unfolds slowly over the course of the novel, and it is devastating. Perhaps more significantly, however, is that the loss of innocence is strongly tied to another theme central to the novel – animals and animal symbolism. In The Wars, animals and the natural world represent something pure and untainted by the war; whereas the world of humans is war-torn and brutal. Robert himself appears to feel more at home with animals, and is timid, fumbling, and awkward in front of other humans – at least in the early parts of the novel. It is noteworthy, then, that in most landmark scenes in which some innocence is lost, an animal is always present.

In the essay, The Loss of the Creature, written by Walter Percy, he discusses multiple stories relating to an unknown “creature” in our lives. Life is about our experiences. It is important to explore the world whenever we get the opportunity, but we must look at the world through a new perspective in order to truly see it. Walter Percy indirectly tells us, the most worthwhile kinds of experiences are not the ones we plan, but the ones we don’t quite expect to happen. My mother planned a vacation for my family and I looking for that once in a lifetime experience. She decided that experience would take place in Hawaii, the Aloha State. Unfortunately, that once and a live time experience she was searching for, would not be the highlight of our vacation. It would be something simple, yet surprisingly beautiful and euphoric. It was my “true experience”, my “creature”.

On June 25th I arrived in Ireland, extremely jetlagged. Once there, I stayed at a farm with my family, my Irish grandparents, my great uncle and aunt, and their kids. For two weeks, I had the pleasure to see the beauty of the land. The extremely green fields, the tiny shops and pubs straight out of Diagon Alley, and most importantly, the animals. I saw a countless number of cows and sheep patrolling their fields as I went on walks to stretch my legs.

1. Old Major explains his grief about a typical animals lifetime. He walked through the process of how laborious and short lasting a animals life on the farm is. He says that no animal in England is free. He’s concerned that this unethical process will continue on after he dies. He helped the animals understand that it is not the climate that is killing them off, but the owner. Some workers in today’s time might complain that their pay is not enough to support them or their family, or that they are not being treated properly.

In Helen Macdonald’s memoir, H is for Hawk, she explores her journey of grief and recovery following the death of her father and how a goshawk and the wildness it embodies allows her to rediscover herself and restore her own humanity. In the very first chapter Macdonald takes time to assert her opinion of the sanctity and power of the wild, a world separate from and yet connected to our own, very much like the land of Faery from Gaelic and later English mythologies. To Macdonald the wild is a place and a presence that is both alien and familiar. Macdonald hunts down these places that to her seem to be more deeply connected to that force, wildness within and beyond all things. Macdonald relishes in these places’ beauty, as her father had taught

“Animal Farm” by George Orwell is an allegorical novel published on England in 1945. According to the author, this book reflects historical events leading up and during the Stalin era before World War II. It is the story of a revolution which goes wrong, based on the Russian revolution and Stalin’s use of power, the overall message is that man’s desire for power makes a classless society impossible. In the book, each animal represents a public figure or a type of person in real life. With this we can begin to develop the questions below in order to have a more complete idea of the meaning of the novel.

This book begins with Old Major gathering all the animals into the barn and telling them about a dream he had last night. He saw a place where the animals were free from the rule of the humans. After describing his dream he gave a speech about the evils of man and taught the animals the song called “Beasts of England.” The animals sang the song five times in a row and had a lasting impact on them, this shows how respected and influential Old Major was. The rebellion that took place after his death was inspired by him. He set the foundation for Animalism and if he was still alive after the rebellion things would have gone much

Midgley’s main thesis in the story, Animals and the Problem of Evil is that humans classify animals as evil beasts and separate our habits to hide the fact that we live similar to them. Midgley uses the separation of chaos and order of humans and animals and the beastial comparison to aniamls to support her main thesis. I have chosen to focus on her explanation of society’s comparison to animals as beastial and evil and how we distance ourselves from them even though the two species live closer than what most of us think.