An Analysis of a Dog's Death

The poem Dog's Death, written by John Updike, takes you through the emotions of the love and loss of a family dog. This poem will definitely hit home to anyone who has, or has had, a dog. The death of a dog, emotionally, is similar to the loss of a family member. I believe the tone of sympathy and sadness throughout the whole poem is not only for the family that is losing a dog but for the dog that is losing a family. Updike's use of descriptive wording helps paint a picture in our imaginations of what the situation looks like "as we teased her with play, blood was filling her skin." The description in that sentence alone lets you see the picture of a dog playing with its family and then the camera zooms into the dog's body to see blood pumping out of an organ into the dog's cavities. Also "I stroked her warm fur And my wife called in a voice imperious with tears." You can see a dog sitting in its owners lap while hearing a woman mourn and sob in the background, her voice full of anguish.

"She must have been kicked unseen or brushed by a car" this first line leads you into anguish and sadness that permeates this poem. "Too young to know much, she was beginning to learn" tells you that she is very, very young. "To use the newspapers spread on the kitchen floor" lets you see that its an animal. "And to win, wetting there, the words, 'Good dog! Good dog!'" allows you to realize this poem is about a dog.

"We thought her shy malaise was a shot reaction." Lets the reader know that the puppy has been acting out of character and that the family just thought it was a reaction to a shot the puppy had received recently. "The autopsy disclosed a rupture in her liver" this ties the reader back to the opening line about the puppy being kicked or brushed by a car. "As we teased her with play, blood was filing her skin" allows the reader to look into the writers soul and see that Updike felt guilty about not knowing. "and her heart was learning to lie down forever" this is a second reference for the reader to see that the puppy has died.

"Monday morning, as the children were noisily fed and sent to school, she crawled beneath the youngest's bed" shows the attachment the puppy had for the youngest child and also shows the puppy's loyalty. "We found her twisted and limp but still alive" adds a depressed note to the story. "In the car to the vet's, on my lap" shows the attachment the author had to the dog. "she tried to bite my hand and died" letting the reader know the puppy didn't want her owners to watch her dye, she tried to save them from that.

"I stroked her warm fur and my wife called in a voice imperious with tears" lets the reader feel the denial and anguish of the puppy's owners. "Though surrounded by love that would