The role of stylistic devices is immense!!!

"A Dark Brown Dog" by Stephen Crane is one of the most interesting short stories I've ever read. It is quite an interesting story not only because of that fact that the plot is intriguing or the characters are true-to-life people, but also because of the usage of stylistic devices which the author have chosen for his thoughts expression. I'll try to explain for those people who didn't read it why expressive means and stylistic devices are so important in this story, and maybe after my explanation at least someone will be interested in the reading of this short but sensual story.

When the child kicked the dog, he doesn’t run away or bite the child, but vice versa, he admits his fault. The author wants to show us how the dog needs a friend and vivid metaphors “the dog offered more prayers”, “the dog apologized and expressed regret” are additional indicators of that fact. The reader can just imagine how strong the feeling of love to the human beings is if despite all wipes the dog is still pleading the boy to make friends with him.

Another stylistic devise – simile, also plays a great role in this scene. The dog “slunk like an assassin” – the murder is the greatest sin, and the punishment is severe, but the dark brown dog makes nothing of that kind, he just wants to play with his new friend. The dog faces every problem patiently; he sees that the problem is always his mistake. He tries to minimize the problem by cooling down and praying, he never fights back he also tries to prove to the child that he is a good and a valuable dog so that the child willing to keep him. So the author makes from the simile real hyperbole, which emphasizes in an exaggerating manner the dog’s hunger for the friend. Another simile “the dog drooped like a scorched plant” is used when the dog is examined and commented upon by the whole family of the boy. The common ground of the dog and a scorched plant is obvious. The brown dog is scared and tired of constant abuses and like a scorched plant put down its “leaves” – “ears”, and for the second birth he needs love, care and attention.

In general the story produces dark and gloomy impressions. They are achieved with the events of the story, moody epithets and adjectives. For example: “unimportant dog”, “disreputable dog” – show the attitude of the members of the family to the dog, and “wailful cry” shows the attitude of the dog towards the better part of the family. The only one who loves the dog is a little creature who picks him up from the street. He is “like a calling voice to the dog” – this simile brings to mind another phrase “to be a lifebuoy for somebody”, which means that only the little boy is the ray of sunlight for the dog. He is even described with the help of eloquent simile “Here the child came valiantly forth like a knight”. Only the child feeds his friend (the author even doesn’t use a word “animal” to denote a dog), plays with him and understands him, but at that same time the relations between two “friends” are like a master and a servant. 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.

The Main Characters of the Story

The story "A Dark Brown Dog" introduces us the minor and major characters. 

Minor: the father, mother, neighbours.
Major: the dog and the child.

The story “A Dark Brown Dog” introduces us minor and major characters. To major characters belong the dog and the child, and to minor – the rest of the characters (father, mother, neighbors).

The dog is described in the story directly, the reader finds out that it is a creature of dark brown colour, which has a very small, soft and weak body. From the very beginning we notice a short rope dragging from dog’s neck. The protagonist of the story takes the role of a former slave, who escaped from his master on the ground of being happy in some other place, with some other people. From this fact we can imagine that the dog is very pity and suffer animal. He is a flat character, from the first time the dog meets the boy until he dies he never changes his attitude or mind towards his friend.

 

Stephen Crane's misleading plot

Stephen Crane’s "A Dark Brown Dog" is a tragic story depicting the cycle of abuse, and the impact it has on those involved.

The story begins with the boy encountering the dog, and the boy’s rough behavior can be attributed to his age and a miscommunication between dog and human, but as the story progresses, it becomes more and more apparent that this young boy has signs of his father’s sadism.

The boy was outside just kicking his feet around in the gravel and a little dog came up. He held out his hand and the dog came over. When he came over the boy drew back his hand and hit the dog on the head. The dog fell to the ground around the boy's feet as if he had done something wrong. He really didn’t the boy hit him for no reason.

Later in the story when the boy was taking the dog home he would turn and strike the dog to make him walk. As they reached the door of the house the boy just drug the dog up the step because he was too short to go from step to step. But the dog just kept holding strong. When they got to the top of the steps they sat down and the boy talked to the dog like he was another person. They got in a vicious fight and the child came out on top. Then he kept dragging the dog up the steps to the door. When they arrived at the door they went up some ore stairs to the boy’s room. The dog and the boy sat down in his floor and became very good friends. The parents of the kid came to the room after they heard the noises the child was making. The dad scolded the child because the dog was in the house. So they examined the dog for anything unusual. Still the father was filed with anger. 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. Then the child lived happy after that he nourished the dog back to health. They became very close. But one evening when the head of the family had a bad mood he just hurt the dog and threw it away. The dog was found dead on the pavement.

Crane’s language in The Dark Brown Dog is both formal and although the story is ripe with emotion, the telling of the tale is somewhat detached, almost ethnographic.

Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding.