In Jeanette Winterson’s, “The 24-Hour Dog”, the relationship between narrator and dog is a loyal one where as in Ken Barris’, “The Life of Worm”, the relationship between narrator and dog is quite strained. This essay will aim to discuss these stories in relation to one another, how they differ and relate to one another. Lillian Feder writes about madness in, “Madness in Literature”, this will be used to highlight the mental states of both narrators. The relationship each narrator shares with his dog is unique, in Harold Herzog’s, “The Impact of Pets on Human Health and Psychological Well-being: Fact, Fiction, or Hypothesis”, he discusses how pets can actually affect your mental health. In Adam Dashner’s, “Examples of Symbolism”, the significance …show more content…
The narrator, in his paranoia over security, got Worm as another line of defence in his security set-up, for Worm ‘patrols [the] inside [of] the house” (Barris 15) as a last resort. The average relationship between human and animal is one of loyalty and love (Herzog 235), however in “The Life of Worm” the narrator is quite stern towards his dog, he tells him to “shut up” (Barris 16) and imagines Worm “stripped of fur and skin” (9). The narrator is very paranoid about security, so he avoids people in general, for they might be a threat towards him. When Worm kills a “cocker spaniel in his prime” (18), the narrator feels “satisfaction” (19), for Worm eliminated a possible threat. In that moment the relationship shared by narrator and dog is one of trust and loyalty (Herzog 237). Therefore even though the human-dog relationship they share is strained, it keeps them together, for the narrator seeks security and Worm provides exactly that to …show more content…
Any action, person, place or object can have a symbolic meaning (1). Symbolism is often used by writers to enrich their writing, making it more colourful and it gives the work a deeper meaning (1). Symbolism is used in literature and certain colours, objects and animals have specific connotations (2). Black is generally used to represent death or something evil, where a chain symbolizes the coming together of two things (2). Just like this a dog is a symbol of a loyal, trusting relationship (2). The symbol of a loyal dog is heavily laced into both narratives. Symbolism is used to bring across a deeper meaning to the narrative, by using actions of characters, events or words in the context of the entire narrative (1). In “The 24-Hour Dog” and within “The Life of Worm”, symbolism is used, each dog represents something different to their respective
“A person can learn a lot from a dog, even a loopy one like ours...he taught me about friendship and selflessness and, above all else, unwavering loyalty,” says John Grogan, author of Marley & Me. Although dogs are just animals, they can bring out the best characteristics in people. Recently, an exploration of one of the most well-known pieces of canine non-fiction and an exploration of my own life has taught me just how true this is. In John Grogan’s Marley & Me and in my life, patience, flexibility, and love are frequently illustrated.
Symbols are used to represent something else deeper than the actual meaning either in real life or in literature. In the story “The Scarlet Ibis”, Doodle who is mentally and physically disabled was not expected to live. Although, he did live, however, he could not do things other children could do such as walk or talk. Therefore, his older brother set out to teach him because he was embarrassed to have an abnormal brother. However, many years later Doodle is soon overworked until he can no longer go on, and he sadly dies. In “The Scarlet Ibis”, James Hurst uses the caul, the oriole nest, and the blood od Doodle as symbols to offer greater insight into abstract ideas that are difficult to understand on their own.
To begin with, the use of symbolism creates obscurity, and causes the reader to examine the story. To further explain, the symbols also causes the reader to look deeper into the story's meaning, as it creates an interaction between the story and the reader. As a result, it enhances the effectiveness of the story. For example, a quote in the story states, “We all dancer an Owl dance, a Friendship dance, and a couple of Circle dances”(Sears 21).
Symbolism is used in many ways and writers use symbolism to “enhance their writing.” It can give their work “more richness and color and can make the meaning of the work deeper.” In literary work the actions of the characters, words, action, place, or event has a deeper meaning in the context of the whole story. The reader needs to look see the little things like a dove symbolizes peace, or like the red rose stands for romance. Mostly everything can have a symbolism meaning to it. For instance the flag symbolizes freedom and the stars represent the states. Even some signs are symbols like when a beaker has a skull with a bones placed like an ‘x’ behind it symbolizes that it’s toxic or bad. When people see the red light when driving that’s
The author uses diction to shape the tone of the passage. That tone is critical of dog owners, but at the same time showingdisplays a fondness of dogs. You can see this tone throughout the passage in the author’s diction
Symbolism is used to represent the deeper meaning of an aspect or rather unnoticeable part of the story. Using symbolism helps further the understanding of the story and it’s meaning. In the book Night by Elie Wiesel, symbolism is used to deepen and accentuate the theme of sadness and horridness that has been established throughout the story. Juliek’s violin, selection, and kaddish all show strong symbolism of despair, loss of hope and faith, and attempts to grasp what remains of humanity within oneself.
Symbolism is the the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities. One example of a symbol in the novel is the turtle. The turtle symbolizes determination and has similar perseverance to the Joad family. “And over the grass at the roadside a land turtle crawled, turning aside for nothing, dragging his high-domed shell over the grass” (14). This quote shows the turtles determination to keep going, regardless of what happens.
Gerald Stern’s ‘The Dog,” gives an unique look into a dog’s mind after death. The
Jeremy Rifkin had made such impact on readers through his article “A Change of Heart about Animals”. Not only did he inform us the reality that animals do have feelings, he also unbounded the label we had long given to the animals, thus fully altered our perspectives about these fellow creatures. In regard to the influence, I myself am not excluded. As a matter of fact, since I was a kid, I have started raising pets. As long as it seems, I have built myself an assumption about these domestic animals as they don’t differ much from humans’ natural behavior in life. They have feelings, family and awareness of surroundings.
Symbols are important in each story to define the theme. Close observation of the symbols within each story proves to one their
Such symbols include hands to represent labour, cards to signify chance and taking a risk, and finally, rabbits to suggest ideas about achieving one’s hopes and dreams. Symbols are a key central device in delivering meaning, as they consistently repeated throughout the narrative and are typically associated with the novella’s many characters.
A Three Dog Life is about Abigail Thomas trying to cope with her husband’s traumatic head injury, that happened because she let Rich walk Harry alone one night; which makes him acts differently to the things that were so familiar to him. We read along as Thomas tries out new coping mechanism; like buying a new house, new dogs and buying paintings. The purpose of this essay is to take an analytical approach to how guilt is an important theme A Three Dog Life.
Symbolism in literature is used to give an entirely different meaning which is more significant and much deeper to a story using objects representing other objects and giving them a sense that is different from their literal meaning. The meaning of the symbols used to depend on the reader, and there is no universal meaning for symbols used because their purpose is inherent in the symbol itself. In both stories, the authors use symbols to give different meanings to their story.
I have never considered that a book about a dog could be so appealing and full of deep thoughts. But I changed my viewpoint after reading the autobiographical novel “Marley & Me” written by John Grogan which depicts an astonishing story about the neurotic and loyal, clumsy and loving dog named Marley. In fact, as the author mentioned in some interviews, he intended to write the “dog story”, but soon after he realized that it was impossible to do so without including the family life [2]. That is why the title “Marley & Me” encapsulates the main topic of the book such as the relationship between a human and a pet. To start with let me introduce main characters: John, Jenny, and Marley.
In life we all have something that has changed the way we perceive things. Most things that change a person’s perception happens to be an experience that they have gone thru and learned from. In my case it wasn’t necessarily an experience, it was a dog that changed my perception on life. My mind and heart was opened in a whole new way. I never thought I could love an animal just as much as I loved the people in my life. I always thought it was strange that pet owners loved and treated their pets the same way they treated their children. My perception on dogs or pets in general definitely changed. Throughout this paper you will see why I am a totally different person because of a dog that entered my life.