Does The Influence Of External Forces In 'The Half-Husky'?

844 Words2 Pages

External Forces Essay

Throughout the short story “The Half-Husky” by Margaret Laurence, every character is affected by external forces in many ways. The audience sees the author suggests ideas on external forces as early as the second page of the story. When Laurence embeds the story with external forces so early, it advises the audience that it is very important. Also, the author affects every character with external forces which also proves why they are vital to the story. Margaret Laurence suggest that the majority of the external forces are negatively influencing the characters throughout the story for instance Vanessa, Nanuk, and Harvey. The author develops ideas such as Vanessa growing up with a tough Grandfather, Nanuk being assaulted his whole life, and Harvey growing up with an abusive aunt, by using external forces. …show more content…

Nanuk was abused at an age as early as four months old. Even though Nanuk was fully grown at the time, he could not defend himself from the barbaric mailman, Harvey. Harvey began abusing Nanuk by jabbing him repeatedly in the head with a wooden stick. It was only four months later did Harvey decide to use a slingshot on Nanuk. If anybody, including a dog, is treated this way from as young as 4 months old, there is no chance this will not affect their life and behaviour. Nanuk acts violently and “remained at a slight distance, his lips drawn back in the devil's grin”(Page 34) whenever Harvey comes into sight. Although Nanuk is abused the majority of his life, that is not the only force affecting him. Grandfather Connor is also a large force affecting Nanuk, but “Their paths hardly ever crossed, [because of] the organizational abilities of my mother” (Page 31) If Vanessa’s mother does not do this, Nanuk would more likely than not, be living somewhere else. The use of external forces on any characters including a dog is very important in this

Open Document