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Winter Dog
Winter Dog
Setting
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"Big Ice" marks the coldest part of winter and is described by the narrator as "sometimes grotesque and sometimes in dazzling architectural forms."
Blue, white, grey and sometimes dazzling emerald green - (258) - highly intriguing to kids
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Title significance
The dog was received in winter. Also the day of their big adventure on the "big ice" "marked the official beginning of the coldest part of winter" (257)
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The Dog was received in the winter time, saved his life in the winter and then died in winter.
Themes
Children vs adults
At the beginning of the story: the children are "half crazed by the promise of Christmas" (249) Christmas and snow are exciting and magical. The children want to go outside at 4:30 am to make a snowman, they are "giddy" and "giggling" and singing Christmas songs in comparison to the adult (narrator) who says things like "try to be quiet" and the snow is "too dry" to make snowmen out of.
Adult narrator reminiscing on his childhood adventures with his dog. The narrator and his dog planned to "look at my snares" but were distracted by the "big ice"
p252 the children are being observed by their father as they silently play outside in the moonlight, unaware of how their childish frolicking appears to be a dance on the "white stage". "It is almost as if they have danced out of the world of folklore like happy elves..." childhood concepts of magic, mystery, elves and mythical stories. And just like a myth or a legend, suddenly, the golden collie-like dog appears.
"There seemed no other children around that afternoon , and the adults were expecting relatives" (257)
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Quotes
"People hoping to find objectivity in the most subjective situations" (251) This is ironic because the "people" that he is objectively referring to are family members (possibly)
Links to other stories
'The Lost Salt Gift of Blood' - the journey from mainland Canada is portrayed to be a long one and torturous. 2500 mile journey in The Lost Salt Gift of Blood and 1500 mile journey in Winter Dog: "too far, too uncertain, too expensive, fickle weather..." (250) negative portrayal of returning home to the east coast of Canada.
Characters
Children are collective and are given no name, impersonal. Not the focal point of story.
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