The People Trudge On
The short story of A Dark Brown Dog begins even before the first word is read on the page. Its ingenious and creative title brings to mind an image of what the story will be focused on, a dark brown dog who represents a man who has recently be freed from the chains of slavery. Stephen Crane writes a comprehensive description of this little dog and its experience of being taken in by a little boy. The amount of symbolism used throughout this essay is staggering, and is the main literary element used in this piece of work. Written in 1890, this story represents the period of time that came shortly before. The dog, the boy, and the father all act as important symbols in this classic retelling of the reconstruction period know as Jim Crow.
Jim Crow was the period of time in the United States after the Civil War. Slaves had been emancipated, and equality was supposedly underway. Unfortunately that was not the truth of what really went on in the United States. Many blacks were either still kept as slaves, or subjugated into a serf like state. The dark brown dog, which the story derives its title from, enters the story and takes on the role of a former slave. He is seen in the beginning as walking down the road, tripping over the long piece of rope tied around his neck. This piece of rope is symbolic of the former slavery which he just became free of. However, it is impossible to do anything with that freedom because now the dog has nowhere to live; the dog is forced to walk along the road dejected with no means of protecting or caring for itself. The fact that the dog is stumbling shows that it does not know what to make of its newfound freedom, and is awkward in this new state of being.
On the opposite end of the street sat a little boy. The boy represents the new generation of people in the Southern United States. The dog and the child regarded each other with curiosity, as two strangers from different worlds often do. The little dog makes advances towards the boy, and they start to play with each other. Unfortunately the dog becomes too excited, so the boy has to put the dog in its proper place by beating it. This is what people do to dogs after all, and during the period of time this was written a black person was almost equivalent to a dog. The event represents that even though the chains of slavery are gone the mentality of slavery remains. As the boy beats the dog for getting too excited, the dog rolls onto its back and raises its paws into the air. Almost as if the dark coloured dog was praying. This generates an enthusiastic response from the boy, and he keeps tapping the dog to make sure that it holds this position of worship. The dog worships a new master who will dominate its life. The boy leaves, and like an ever obedient slave the dog follows. As they walk home together the dog is being constantly beat by the boy, but this is what the dark skinned one expects so nothing is changed.
When they reach the house the boy has to drag the fitful dog up the stairs. The brown dog knows that if he enters there bad things will happen. Yet despite this struggle the boy wins, for he is more determined that the outcome be to his liking. This represents the strong distinctions between blacks and whites; for once one has been downtrodden for his entire life he has no knowledge of how to fight back. Quickly an argument breaks out among the family as to whether or not they keep the dog or throw it out. This debate was common among households in the South as the people tried to come up with ways to continue living their lives, all the while subjugating the black race. The father decides to keep the dog, in order to make his wife irate. The father represents the South and the Jim Crow Laws, while the wife represents the North and the United States Federal Governments Laws. It is clear by the progression of the story who wins out in the end, for the wife is never heard from again.
The boy and the dog begin to bond, as master and servant often do. The boy protects the dog from being beaten and hurt by the father, but in turn still beats the dog. The dog accepts these beatings from the child, because the child is the one he is faithful to. When the father fails to feed the dog the child attempts to fetch some food for his companion. This shows the reader that the hatred of black people is something which is taught, not innate. They go on walks together, and bond very well. Sometimes the boy will lead the way on their excursions, and at other times the small dog leads. Exploring new ideas together shows the reader that new doors were opened up by the fact that slavery was ended in the United States. Yet despite these excursions that did not rule out the fact that Jim Crow laws were still in effect. This is why the dog keeps looking over his shoulder, to make sure he is still following the boy’s path even though he is leading. The boy is the one who decides which roads they shall follow. This is because white people still were the ones who maintained all the power, if the blacks were to stray too far from their place then they might be endanger of rocking the boat too hard. They did not want to upset those who had the power over them.
Things are looking pretty good for the dog, as he and the boy become closer to each other. It is unfortunate to note though, that the new generations are not the ones that have the power. One night the father comes home in a drunken rage, and he is not going to play nicely with anyone who gets in his way. The South is suffering, and Jim Crow is not being enforced harshly enough. Blacks are becoming close to the equals of whites. The child, quick to sense his father’s anger, quickly dives under the table. The poor black dog was not so lucky. The father takes the dog by the leg, swings it around a few times, and chucks the animal out through the window. The dog crashes five stories down and never gets up again. This act is supposed to resemble lynching, and lynching was the life blood which enforced Jim Crow Laws. After all, what could the poor wife and child do to save the carcass? Fight back against the one who provided for them? No, they had to accept the way of the world and let life go on.
This dramatic death ends Stephen Crane’s masterful short story. From beginning to end, it is richly detailed with symbolic messages of the time he lived through in the United States. This story derives its worth from its parallelism to history, and the message it delivers to the audience. Though this terrible occurrence of slavery may never happen again in the United States it is still good to learn from the mistakes of the past, and to not repeat them. Symbolism gives the reader a door to the past, and the characters of this story are the reader’s outlet to the terrible world of Jim Crow.
-Brendan
(I decided to post this in case someone needed some incite on the short story. All the ones I read online before I wrote this one were pretty terrible, and I figured mine offered some unique insight. Do not copy, that is plagiarism and your teacher will know because any search will turn up this original.)
