Stephen Crane- Dark Brown Dog PDF

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Essay about the book by Stephen Crane- Dark Brown Dog...

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Dzmurova 1 Vanessa Dzmurova Dr. Jamil Mustafa English Studies 23000: Introduction to Fiction 26 July, 2019 Stephen crane: A Dark Brown Dog: Friends stay with us and endure the worst of pain The Stephen Crane’s short story, “A Dark Brown Dog” tells the story of the horrible abuse of a dog and symbolizes an example of how a child might have ended up just as the dog did. Meaning the horrible abuse of a dog is showing us how the little boy might have been treated if it wasn’t for the dog. The story begins with the child playing by himself next to a wall and dreamingly gazing at his environment. After a little while “a little dark-brown dog came trotting with an intent air down the sidewalk. A short rope was dragging from his neck. Occasionally he trod upon the end of it and stumbled. He stopped opposite the child, and the two regarded each other The dog hesitated for a moment, but presently he made some little advances with his tail.” (Crane 7). After meeting each other and making sure there is no harm, the child starts playing with the dog and the dog, is so consumed in the games that “with his gleeful caperings he threatened to overturn the child. Whereupon the child lifted his hand and struck the dog a blow upon the head” (Crane 7). The child did not take kindly to this and started beating the dog. Tired, he started for home and the dog followed at a distance. On the way, the child turned occasionally and beat the dog who, after every beating, followed faithfully. When they got to the steps of the child’s home, the dog was eager to impress the child, and he succeeded by doing a few tricks. The child was intent on taking him in. They went up the stairs-the dog dragged behind. After a continual debate with the child’s family and the father’s foul mood playing to their advantage, it

Dzmurova 2 was decided that the dog would stay. However, that did not mean that the dog was treated with love and kindness. On the contrary, the dog became the family’s punching bag and often had things thrown at him. When this happened, the dog would howl and hide. However, when the beatings were from the child, the dog would take them faithfully. Over time, the child and the dog became inseparable and would go on adventures together. One day, coming from one of their experiences, they found the child’s father drunk and causing a ruckus in the kitchen, the child hid, but unfortunately, the dog thought of it as a game and started bounding across the room with so much glee. The father saw the dog and directed all his anger on him despite the child’s protests. The dog was kicked severely before being thrown out the window and, on the way down, attracted so much attention from the neighbors. The child descended down the stairs and went to be with his faithful companion. This paper extensively analyses elements of symbolism that are found in the short story. The story was written after the civil war when the emancipation of slaves was widespread, and equity between races was being sought. The dog is symbolic of former slaves, and the rope on his neck symbolizes his break from slavery. The fact that the cord is still on his neck and he stumbles upon it from time to time symbolizes his inability to gain control of his new found freedom. The author also states that the dog came walking down the street “with an intent air down the sidewalk” (Crane 7). This shows that Black people were tired of slavery and were determined to make their newfound freedom work. The dog crossed the street to get to the child. The road, in this story, symbolizes the gap that initially existed between whites and Blacks. The dog was hesitant to cross since black people were used to the status quo and did not know how a change would be responded to. It took beckoning on the child's part to assure the dog that

Dzmurova 3 it was okay to approach. The welcome gesture by the child symbolizes that there was a generation of white people who were not opposed to interacting White people. The fact that the author opts to use a child instead of an older adult is also symbolic in that, had the author used an older person, it could have been interpreted to mean that the existing generation had agreed to change their perception towards blacks. However, by using a child, the author communicates that there was an entirely new generation of white people in the Southern part of the United States of America who were more accommodating of Black people and who believed in equal treatment of people regardless of their race. The two play and in excitement, the dog almost pushes the child over. This act cuts their fun short, the child starts beating the dog and “astonish the little dark-brown dog and wounded him to the heart” (Crane 7). The dog rolls over and lifts his paws upward in prayer, asking the child for forgiveness. This excited the child who beats him (the dog) to keep him in the position of worship. This symbolizes that, although the White people were accepting of Black people, they were still unable to let go of the slavery mentality where slaves were supposed to worship their masters and take every beating. The dog's posture during prayer could also symbolize how Black people lamented their injustices, and since there was no one to listen to their grievances, they prayed to God and asked him for mercy. The dog keeps praying, but the child pays no attention. This symbolizes that even though equality was being preached during the Jim Crow period, black people’s thoughts and opinions were still disregarded. The title of the story “A Dark Brown Dog” carries an element of symbolism. The title prompts the reader to wonder why the dog is neither Black nor White. By describing the dog as “a little dark-brown dog” (Crane 12), the author symbolizes a generation that is not tied down by the traditional views of how Black and white people should be. The title could also express

Dzmurova 4 "colored" people as was the term used to refer to blacks. The child’s proclamation that the dog was only of value momentarily and that he had outlived his usefulness symbolizes that slaves had served their purposes, and since they had been freed, they were no longer critical to the whites. The dog apologizing for being valueless symbolizes the slave’s predicament: they were without education and did not know any other trade. As such, they had no choice but to follow whites even when they were being punished. The dog being ashamed of following the child home symbolizes that Blacks, having been granted freedom, were regretful that they had nothing better to do than to beg to go back to a situation they had been trying to get out of for years. The dog's falling after tripping on the rope symbolizes that black people, for not being careful, landed themselves in modern-day slavery. The dog being dragged through the stairs after he “proved himself” and made “willing efforts” (Crane 11) to the child, symbolizes blacks trying to impress whites to be accepted. They found themselves being dragged into a fate that was unknown to them. The dog is hesitant to go into the house because he was unsure about what awaits him. The dog is small and frail, thereby symbolizing the Black’s misfortune. They had fought for long and were tired. Now that they had received the freedom they so desperately wanted, they were unable to fight anymore, thereby giving the whites the upper hand. After the long struggle at the staircase, the child manages to get the dog into the house across the threshold. The threshold, in this case, symbolizes the transition from one state to another. Victoriously getting the dog across the threshold symbolizes the White’s victory in getting Black people to submit to them. They (the Black people) had succeeded in being free, but their freedom was short-lived-they were won over and enslaved by whites. The child is also determined because he wants the struggle to end in his favor. The battle at the stairway is also symbolic of the difference between the two races. Whites were used to

Dzmurova 5 getting their way, and Blacks were so used to being downtrodden and did not know how they could fight back against the oppression they were being put through. White people put in the work to ensure that the result was as had been anticipated and that Black people did not get to have their way. The dog is unable to prevent being dragged up the stairway since Black people had been raised in an environment that always granted the wishes of Whites and doing otherwise would be disrespectful. Despite being sure that if he allows himself to go into the house, bad things will befall him, the dog was unable to break free and flee. Black people knew they would become slaves if they asked Whites for help. However, they were unable to help themselves. When the child introduced the dog to the family and expressed his desire to keep him, the author states that the family was not welcoming, in fact, “the father of the family, it appears, was in a particularly savage temper that evening, and when he perceived that it would amaze and anger everybody if such a dog were allowed to remain, he decided that it should be so” (Crane 17). The family, in this case, is a representation of the people from the North as well as the Federal laws. Throughout the book, there is no dialogue whatsoever, thereby showing that the family had a somewhat dysfunctional relationship. This could be a representation of the conflict between the North and the South. The father symbolizes the harsh Jim Crow laws, and the child's inability to stand up to his father when the dog was being abused symbolizes that the new generation of southerners had no power and hence, could not fight the Jim Crow rules. It is important to note that lynching was a central part of the Jim Crow rules hence the relevance in this story. The child screams for his father to stop beating the dog. Stephen crane is pointing out it was soon recognized “that if the dog was molested, the child would burst into sobs, and as the child, when started, was very riotous and practically unquenchable, the dog had therein a safeguard” (Crane 33). However, the wife is silent through the whole story and occasionally

Dzmurova 6 takes part in beating the dog. The wife's silence symbolizes the federal government's unwillingness to put a stop to the Jim Crow laws as well as their separate but equal decision regarding slaves. After the child was allowed to keep the dog, the child “became a guardian and a friend” (Crane 20). Crane states that the child protected the dog from being beaten by the rest of the family. However, he hit the dog occasionally, and the dog dutifully accepts these beatings. During the occasions when the child's father fails to feed the dog, the child tries to bring it some food. The show of kindness through bringing the dog food symbolizes that racism and hatred for people of a given race are not innate. Instead, it is a learned behavior that can be unlearned. The fact that the child actively protected the child from being beaten by other family members symbolizes the relationship between slaves and their masters: the masters ensured their slaves were not "used" by outsiders. However, they would beat their slaves whenever and the slaves took these beatings without complaint as is symbolized by the dog howling and making noise when attacked by other family members and silence when being beaten by the child. The author also states that the child and the dog bonded to a point whereby they started going on walks together, and there were times when the child allowed the dog to lead their excursions. This symbolizes that the end of slavery made new opportunities available for black people. However, the dog continually looking over his shoulder signifies that the Jim Crow rules were still being enforced hence the dog looking back to ensure he does not stray away from the path that is expected of him. Black people were careful not to enjoy their freedom too much in case they upset whites. The child and his companion-the dog come home one day to find the father in a fitful rage, and he is hitting everything on his way.

Dzmurova 7 The child knows that during these moments, it is best to keep away from the father. Once the child sees his father’s state, he knows what to do and he dives “under the table, where experience had taught him was a rather safe place” (Crane 33). However, the dog does not know this, and he is thrown through the window. The father's rage symbolizes anger. The south was not doing well since the Jim Crow rules were not being observed as would have been desired. The dog is referred to as a companion symbolizes that black people were slowly becoming close friends with whites and in a way, were almost equal. The dog being thrown out of the window to his death symbolizes the lynching of Black people. The main theme addressed in the story is abuse. The argument is developed throughout the story from when the child and dog first encounter each other up to when the child's father threw the dog out of the door. When the child and the dog first met, the dog “ hesitated for a moment, but presently he made some little advances with his tail” (Crane 7). This could be due to the fear of being abused. When the dog almost tripped the child, the child hit the dog severally, and the dog still followed the child home. This symbolizes that abuse was considered a norm. Being that the dog symbolizes the freed slaves and the child symbolizes the new generation of the south that did not harbor a lot of hatred towards Black people, it is curious that a generation that is supposedly not racist has no problem physically abusing Black people. The beatings could also represent the lynching of black people. Even though black people often begged for mercy from White people, their cries were often ignored, and at the end of the day, the Black people went home with their White masters on whom they relied on food and shelter. In conclusion, Stephen Crane’s “A Dark Brown Dog” is filled with many elements of symbolism from start to finish, and the main symbol is making us see how the dogs’ fate might have been the fate of the little child. The story provides valuable insight into how things were

Dzmurova 8 post-slavery. The extensive use of symbolism in the story allows the reader to understand how the situation was in the past so they may be able to take appropriate care to avoid a reoccurrence of the same.

Dzmurova 9 Work cited Crane, Stephen. A dark-brown dog. University of Virginia Library, 1996....