John Updike Ethos

The love that a dog owner shows is intense. John Updike was able to have a lot of descriptions of the entire situation in the poem “Dog’s Death”; from when the dog was puppy to when the dog is on it’s last days of it’s life. The owner had plenty of time to get to know the dog throughout those entire years. The agonizing days of having a sick dog, the same dog one brought up. Having so many feelings happen throughout your mind because of the way Updike has written by using pathos, sensory details that are authentic, precise and specific . One of the most moving techniques is pathos. The entire piece had been wrapped around in pathos. The descriptive words that Updike used to create this pathos made the audience imagine how everything happened. Having that horrible image of a dog trying to make it to the newspaper to use it when it’s half alive, that makes the audience feel empathy/sympathy. Those who are dog owners most likely have encountered the scene of their loved pet having to be put down or being sick at old age. It really is a strong piece to the point where it made me cry. It’s obvious that Updike wanted his audience to feel the pain of having a beloved pet dying, in one’s arms. Death itself it pretty unbearable and having to witness the pain and struggles of a loyal and endearing dog makes the audience feel what the wife

It’s a feeling everyone has gone through, therefore, it’s comprehensible. If Updike had made it seem like the family didn’t care about the dog and ended up insulting the dog, the reader would be more mad than upset. But that isn’t what Updike was going for, he wanted the audience to think of their deceased pets and smile at the good times and cry at the end. Updike wanted to bring up lost memories of that one dog that was as loyal to be called “good