The Role of Trees in Terry Kay's To Dance With The White Dog
In the novel To Dance With The White Dog there are many similarities between Sam Peek and Kay’s father. The Dedication and Authors Note, located before and after the[b1] novel, give the reader insight into the true meaning of the book. In the Authors Note Kay speaks of his father and the fruit trees that he cared for; from this a correlation arises with Sam Peek and his beloved pecan trees.
Terry Kay’s father cultivates fruit trees. Fruit trees generally live for approximately ten years then die off. It takes fruit trees three to five years before they will bear fruit. Overall fruit trees require a short term commitment. Although Kay’s father became famous for his well grown trees, it did not require the dedication and time that Sam Peek had to exert for his pecan trees.[b2] In the novel Sam Peek has dedicated his life to the growth and production of his pecan trees. Pecan trees take at least five years to yield fruit and can live up to seventy-five years. They take much more time and effort to yield profit. Cultivating pecan trees is a life long project. In the novel Sam Peek dedicates his life to the care of his pecan trees. In his old age, when he is retired from the tree business, he still has the commitment to go to the pecan orchard and pull weeds. This shows Sam Peeks strong bonds to his life and family[b3]. He is very much tied down to the land around his family home. His dedication to his trees is because he wishes to provide a good life for his family. He pours a lot of effort into this wish.
While reading this novel the reader interprets the meaning of the author based on the knowledge that the book is fictional; however, when the reader finds out that there is some truth to the story at the end of the book they must reevaluate their interpretations.[b4][b4] Kay reveals in the Authors Note at the end of the book that the character of Sam Peek is based on his father.
Terry Kay said there was a grand romance of life between his parents. (179). Kay captures his parent’s undying love and celebrates his family in his novel To Dance With the White Dog. Kay believes that his parent’s love still carried on, even after their death. Sam and Cora Peek’s love is portrayed through the white dog that Sam saw licking up grease on his back porch. Strangely, the white dog looked just like a dog that Sam and his wife had when they first were married. Another factor that makes the occurrence of the white dog even stranger is that it did not show up at Sam’s house until after Cora died. Kay said that his parents had an undying love; he uses his novel to express his parent’s love. Kay also notes that true love does not recognize the concept of time and can possibly carry on lasting for eternity.
Within every story or poem, there is always an interpretation made by the reader, whether right or wrong. In doing so, one must thoughtfully analyze all aspects of the story in order to make the most accurate assessment based on the literary elements the author has used. Compared and contrasted within the two short stories, “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, and John Updike’s “A&P,” the literary elements character and theme are made evident. These two elements are prominent in each of the differing stories yet similarities are found through each by studying the elements. The girls’ innocence and naivety as characters act as passages to show something superior, oppression in society shown towards women that is not equally shown towards men.
A.S. Byatt uses symbolism in her story “The Thing in the Forest” to show how children in England during World War II, like herself, felt and reacted to the events that they knew where bad but didn’t understand. This can easily be shown through the sequencing of the plot, the deeper meanings behind characters and places, and the post effects it had the main characters.
Although the author, Betty Smith, denied ever writing a novel with socially political motives, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn abounds with references to class issues. Nearly every scene, every character illustrates or deals with the problem of poverty in early twentieth-century America. For the Nolan’s, being poor means they must always think about being poor – how they will buy the next load of coal, where their food will come from, their insurance, rent, medicine, all the necessities of raising a family. The novel also shows that poverty is not just the absence of food or comfort, it is the direct cause for Uncle Flittman to leave, Johnny’s utter nothingness and Francie’s inability to go to a high school. Every action in the novel is based around a limited amount of resources, as not only the Nolan’s but also the entire community suffers. Exploitation abounds, whether in the overpriced sale of candy, child labour in metal collection, dishonest grocers and butchers and employers with impunity to set their own rules. Katie does her best with the household money, and we find that for the poor sometimes a luxury isn’t in getting something, but in being able to waste it.
Anderson, P.C., and T.E. Crocker. "The Pecan Tree." Solutions for Your Life: University of Florida IFAS Extension (2004). Web. 18 Apr. 2012.
In our society today, we find ourselves dealing with similar factors from ancient literature. One factor that is still relevant to our society is doing things that are forbidden from us. There is always that one person who is curious which makes them more anxious to do things that they are told not to do. When people are forbidden from doing something, most likely it will make them more interested in doing it. In these three stories, I will show how being forbidden in ancient literature is still the same as our society.
Alexandra Fuller and Pan Macmillan’s extract from, Don’t Let’s Go To The Dogs Tonight, explore the roles of the family dynamic and their roles within the family. This is a first person narrative, written from the perspective of one of the daughters. As well, this passage describes the event of selling bales of tobacco in a market setting. This passage develops the roles of the narrator, the mother, and the father, through techniques such as animal imagery, body language, diction, punctuation, as well as structure.
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Goldhagen, Daniel Jonah. Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust. New York: Vintage, 1997. Print.
Mays, Kelly J. ""Puppy"" The Norton Introduction to Literature. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2013. N. pag. Print.
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Shmoop Editorial Team.” Adolf Hitler in World War 2.” Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 26 Feb. 2014