Animals and their actions appeared to be a physical representation of the path or right and wrong. They were a direct line to the heavens so their actions, which are natural for them are taken as a sign of virtue. In T.H. Whites translation of The Book of Beasts the fox and the dog, which both belong to the Canidae family, are painted so differently. The wildness of the fox in contrast to the obedient nature of the dog plays into emotional and logical aspect between these two animals. The fox’s intelligence and the dog’s loyalty are highly revered and are examples to live one’s life faithfully, and wisely so as to avoid the sinful workings of the Devil.
The anthropomorphizing of the fox paints him as this weak creature who feigns death to capture his prey. So his ability to trick the weak makes it a strong creature, yet his method of putting “…red mud…[on himself] so that he looks as if he were stained with blood” (White 54) gives him this vulnerable feature that allows him to trick others to
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get what he wants. Even though this is a natural process the fox is still compared to the Devil. This is a direct connection to the story of Adam and Eve story from The Book of Genesis when Lucifer, who disguises himself as a snake, tricks Eve into eating from the forbidden fruit thus exile the pair from Garden of Eden and a life of happiness. The Foxes actions are taken as a metaphorical warning from “...the Lord…[who states:] ‘They will go into the lower parts of the earth,…they will become a portion for foxes’” (54). This heavenly statement is interesting considering that fox is described as “…a fraudulent and ingenious animal…” (54) which means that he’s very smart and dishonest, so he does resemble Satan in this respect, yet biologically he is very similar to the dog who is admirable due to his loyalty to his owner. It’s interesting because being inventive should be highly revered, yet the dog’s complacent loyalty to its owner is more virtuous than the foxes’ dastardly deeds. The dogs are highly appraised, so much so that he “…will even guard his…[Master’s] body when…[he’s] dead,…” (White 62); he chooses death with his owner than living without him.
The most notable tale is the soldier who was murdered without a known suspect and the dog who “…was weeping for master’s woe…[smelled the murderer] took up weapons of revenge, and gripped the fellow tight…” (66) thus bringing justice to the situation and revealing his undying loyalty to his friend. It’s interesting that the dog tongue “…cures a wound by licking it…” (67), yet the fact that the speaker states that dogs tend to eat “…its vomit…[and that] signifies…human beings, after a complete confession, often return…to the crimes which they have perpetrated” (67). After the loyalty and kind nature dogs are known to have, to end with connecting a common quirk to humans living a life of guilt and addiction to sin anthropomorphizes a creature who has been portrayed as an animal for most of the
excerpt. The dog is seen as smarter than the other animals listed due to his loyalty to its master. Yet, it is similar to the fox in its in terms of his primal desire to hunt for food. Even though the fox is represented as a Devil character, the dog has a few faults as well. Despite the obvious fact that these two animals are given male pronouns in both narratives, the dogs desire to eat its own vomit and the fox’s gory possum reenactment give these two creatures humanlike qualities to warn people to obtain from sinful acts of trickery and gluttony to fill one’s desires.
Religion often enlightens one with newfound reverence and respect. While caring for the wolf, the man finds both reverence and respect through a few spiritual encounters. As he is walking with the wolf, the man hears coyotes calling from the hills “above him where their cries [seem] to have no origin other than the night itself.” This represents the heavens calling out to the wolf to enter its gates. Once the man stops to build a fire, he seems to hold a ritual for the wolf. His shelter steamed “in the firelight like a burning scrim standing in a wilderness where celebrants of some sacred
The poem above speaks volumes about the nature of man’s best friend. Dogs are not inherently bad, but are rather “a product of their environment”. The same principle applies to the world’s most misunderstood breed of dog. When you hear the phrase “pit bull”, what do you think? A savage beast, murdered out of cold blood?
First Friend: A History of Dogs and Humans, by Katherine Rogers, articulates the history of the relationship between dogs and humans. Wild Justice: The Moral Lives of Animals, by Marc Bekoff and Jessica Pierce, investigates if and how dogs exhibit morality. In both texts, anecdotes and observations are used to portray instances of dogs displaying cooperation, empathy, altruism, and, by extension, morality. Consequently, it stands to reason that dogs have a capacity for sociality, but how can the sociality of dogs be described? A dog’s capacity for sociality is the ability to form long term relationships with members of the same or other species. Dogs, in particular, dogs who hunt as well as dogs who play, are able to form long term relationships with humans and other dogs through trust, love,
The short stories “Lu-Lu” by Joy Williams and “Stay” by David Schuman appear somewhat different on the surface; however, in greater depth the two emulate one another more than once. The two stories greatly mirror real-life in regards to the way humans view and treat fellow animals. Both stories present a similar situation, while emphasizing the individual human and animal relationship found within each. Through the acknowledgement of each character and how they acquire the animals, it is evident the animals are influential aspects of the stories and illuminate into everyday life. Although somewhat different, “Lu-Lu” and “Stay” both illustrate the idea that humans hold significant expectations as to the belief that animals can provide positive transformations in life.
...I never had been bor-r-r-r-rn!” (Thoreau 117). His unequal reverence for men and beasts are indicative of a religion that still needs to be reworked, and adapted to the central characters- for one individual it may work, but for a society a religion that cannot account for people with the regard it gives to other animals will almost certainly fail.
Why is it so easy to use animal characteristics to portray what human nature craves? In writing, it is so much easier to say it is the animal in us because readers do not want to face the idea of calling it as it is, which is to say that it is the human in us. That human nature is only described as animalistic because no human want to say that they have animal characteristics but to give the animal human characteristics. When humans want their freedom, they write about how “free” an animal is. They write how animals can feel certain emotions. "In the 'Red Fox Fur Coat,' the author uses the main character's transformation into a fox to comment on how humans only feel free when they escape the confines of civilized society, while "Blood" uses
feelings in the man and the dog, of a constant battle with this world of
The dog they rescued is a particularly prominent topic, a vestige of the past civilizations. In defiance of the treacherous environment, the dog managed to survive, a feat that even Lisa, the most cold-blooded of the three main characters, could not help but be “impressed by” (Bacigalupi 61). Therefore, the dog is a symbol of hope for the reader, an animal that is in the extreme, completely out of its element, and yet capable of surviving. As a result, nature’s idea of itself is astoundingly resilient, keeping certain species alive as an attempt to return to the normal state of the world. Even after horrendous trauma the natural world is still capable of a stalwart attempt at reclaiming itself. Accordingly, it is never too late to start fixing the damages and help nature’s cause, before allowing it to escalate to such a degree where the oceans are black with pollution and there is no room left for the humans of today. Chen could not help but notice that the dog is different than them in more than just a physiological nature; “there’s something there” and it’s not a characteristic that either them or the bio-jobs are capable of (64). Subsequently, the dog has something that the evolved humans are missing, compassion. In consequence, the author portrays the idea that the dog
According to his article “The Lowest Animal”, Mark Twain raises the idea that “humans are declining from the Higher Animals” by researching and illustrating evidences. He refutes the idea taken by Darwinian that “humans are rising from the Lowest Animals”. In his article, he offers the idea that most animals have a lot of features which do not belong to human beings. He uses the cats and roosters as examples to contrast them with the traits and dispositions of man, to notice the dark side of human’s nature, and criticize cruel and greedy humans. He wants to distinguish the specific habits and behavior of both animals and humans, and to indicate “the lowest animal”. Twain uses religious shocks and unlimited accumulation as examples to demonstrate
Animals can protect us from things that are bad.In the book, Marley and me by John Grogan Marley protects the family by running to someone that tried to touch the baby. In the book travels with Charley, Charley goes crazy towards a bear for his owner's safety. As you can see animals can protect us from bad things.
“The delightful tale of a fox who lives by poaching food from his three neighbours, Messrs.
After the child encounters the dog they being to play with one another. The passage notes; “the dog became more enthusiastic with each moment of the interview, until with his gleeful caperings he threatened to overturn the child. Whereupon the child lifted his hand and struck the dog a blow upon the head.” (Crane) With this we see the first act against the dog. The dog does not turn violent or try to run away. Instead he summits and begs for forgiveness. He rolls onto his back and gives the child a look of prayer. The relationship roles here become clear the child can play god with this dog. Knowing how the dog reacts to this is showing how the dog’s character is to please his master. They play for a while longer, until the child loose interest in the dog’s antics. He began to head home, when he notices the dog is following him. He decides to get a stick and hit him with it. The dog still summits to this act and continues to tag along. When they finally reach ...
The Fox seems to captivate and mesmerize March to the point where their first interaction becomes sexual. She becomes so entranced by the Fox’s body that she starts to take in every detail and feature on it. She describes the fur’s color, the texture, and oddly enough, its buttocks. The sense most closely resembles love at first sight. The Fox blows her away and makes her forget about everything around her. But, there are many deeper meanings within their first encounter. The Fox represents more than just a mysterious creature, it also represents what is missing in March’s life: a man and love. In March’s and Branford’s relationship, March is forced to take up that role. But, the Fox foreshadows events that are to come: a mysterious “youth” will arrive and take control. March uses the Fox as a distractor from Branford, because Branford “drowns” March with her issues and
The fox teaches the little prince how to love. It is the time that one 'wastes'; on someone or something that makes it important. It is the fox that tells us how love overcomes existentialism: 'One only knows the things that one tames… Men buy things already made in the stores. But as there are no stores where friends can be bought, men no longer have friends.';
Since animals, especially dogs, share similar emotions as people they to make great companions. Animals do show us how to love better, because their emotions are more pure than a human's. According to Mary Lou Randour, in "What Animals Can Teach Us About Spirituality", animals are spiritual companions to humans. She tells the story of a boy who, after murdering someone, receives a dog to care for as a form of therapy. The dog comforts him, and the teenager learns to love the animal over time. The boy's pet is "healing his soul" by teaching him how to love. Dogs give their masters unconditional love, never questioning the human's orders or disciplines. I thought the story of the dog appearing in the author's backyard as her dead grandfather was rather outlandish. All of Randour's examples of how animals influence our feelings were viable aside from the disappearing ghost dog.