My Interpretation of “Dogs Death”
Judith McBride
ENG 125: Introduction to Literature
Instructor: Hannah Martin
January 21, 2013

The literary work that captured my interest was “Dog’s Death” written by John Updike in 1958. Updike was “widely recognized as one of the most accomplished and prolific stylists of his generation, Updike has emerged as a short-story writer and novelist of major importance in American letters” (Parks, J., Peck, D., 2006). He was born on March 18, 1932 in Reading, Pennsylvania and died on January 27, 2009 in Danvers, Massachusetts. In my essay I will explain why I choose this poem, which analytical approach I am going to be using along with evaluating the meaning of the selection Dogs Death and why it captured my interest.
When reading literature we want to be able to understand and reflect on the information so you can understand it. It is important to use your imagination when reading poetry or short stories. “The human power that shapes artistic expression, it enables a writer’s work to become an expression of meaning in our world, and allows reader’s to engage in identifying with what the writer’s work has to say about things that matter” (Clugston, 2010).
Unless you have experienced this yourself you cannot truly understand. John Updike’s poem Dog Death also shows the loss of a family member. I choose this particular literary writing because I could relate to the feelings of loss, the loss of a family member. “She must have been kicked unseen or brushed by a car” (Updike, 1958) already sets the tone for this poem. From the beginning you can feel the sense of loss, confusion, sadness and feelings of frustration that the injury was unknown. Along with this, he uses imagery to enhance the tone. As our text stated, the tone of this poem was “designed to fire up feelings”. (Clugston, 2010) As I was reading Dog’s Death my feelings of sympathy and the emotional images of loss aggravate the ache that accompanies loss. When one loses a pet, it is very emotional for a family to deal with, but more devastating for a child. The dog waited until the children went to school before crawling underneath the bed to die. In this poem I chose the literary term image, which is “a distinct representation of something that can be experienced and understood through the senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste), or the representation of an idea” (Clugston, 2010). One of the analytical approaches I chose was reader-response. Dog’s Death made my feelings and emotions come out while reading and feeling sorry for the dog and her family. I once had a dog that was hit by a car and died in my arms on the way to the veterinarian hospital. It is a very emotional time and I think that in this poem where he states “And my wife called in a voice imperious with tears” (Updike, 1958), tells how much the dog was loved by his owners. It starts when you first bring the puppy home and go through the training process. The love grows unconditionally. As Updike stated, “though surrounded by love that would have upheld her, nevertheless she sank and, stiffening, disappeared”. The husband and wife shows emotional connection to the death of their dog is a sentiment that many of those who read this poem can sympathize with. As a dog lover his wife’s imperious call strikes a chord in me as a mother. The certainty that she would die and knowing the explanations to come, solidifies her loss of control and utter feeling of helplessness. The images portrayed in this poem show that even though she was slowly fading away she was eternally a good dog. The idea that she was hurt was not enough to deter her from her desire to please her owners. She was able to drag herself to the newspaper with the knowledge that she was going to receive the praise she craved.

References
Clugston, R. W. (2010). Journey into literature. San Diego, California: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
Parks, J. D., Peck, D. (2006). John Updike. Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition; September 2006, p1-14 Retrieved January 20, 2012, from Literary Reference Center Database.