Summary Of Golden Retrievals By Mark Doty

Commonly referred to as man’s best friend, dogs never fail to bring joy to even the obscurest of situations. The narrator of Mark Doty’s poem, “Golden Retrievals,” is no exception. Most likely four-legged and furry-bodied, the narrator of Doty’s poem recounts the details of a walk he takes with his hairless, two-legged friend. While the poem begins in a lighthearted manner with the dog’s attention easily being captured by his environs, the tone quickly becomes more somber upon the realization that his human companion is more fanatical about past mistakes and future worries than relishing the present occurrences. By utilizing juxtaposition in both diction and point of view, Doty is able to emphasize the modern issue of conflict between the responsibilities that come with an increasingly quick life style and an ability to fully be free and enjoy the present.

Initially, the dog is presented as a simple being with a very short attention span.

The realization that his perception is free from human restraints and expectations begins with the words “thrillingly dead” (Doty 6). The connotation of the word thrilling evokes feelings of adventure and excitement in the reader while dead quickly provides the conflicting idea of decay and woe. This enjoyment that the canine finds in the present, even with its deterioration, is clearly very different from the human who is “sunk in the past” (7) or “off in some fog concerning” the future” (9). When the human is preoccupied with times other than the present, he is blind and unable to move forward, maybe even unwilling to move forward, a situation implied by the words fog and sunk. By juxtaposing the differing levels of appreciation the two beings have for the present, Doty shows the dog as the one to be the most carefree as opposed to the human, who is too preoccupied with the pressures of

life.
Similarly, the differences between the actions of the dog and the human conflict each other, emphasizing the variations in their natures. The dog is able to “sniff the wind, then [be] off again” (4-5). His sniffing shows that he is breathing the world in, appreciating it to the fullest extent. However, he does not linger, quickly moving on and refusing to stay stuck in one period of time. The human lingers, staying “sunk in the past” (7). While the dog is able to run, jump, and in general, be free, the human is obsessed with “what [he] can never bring back” (8). The conflict provided by these actions allows the reader to see witness the difference between one who understands the horrible consequences that actions can have on the future, and one who only has knowledge of the present.
While humans are often thought to be superior to animals, Doty’s differing opinion is evident in his poem. His narrator, being an animal, is able to present an outlook so different from the average human opinion that one cannot help but to question whether humans have become too caught up in the idea of perfection to move forward. The juxtaposition provided by the choice of diction and the actions of the human and dog causes the reader to draw the conclusion that modern worries have become a hindrance to one’s ability to enjoy the present time and their surroundings.