9 thoughts on “Response to “My Kid’s Dog” (Hansen)”

1. 

   It at first seems that the narrator doesn’t seem to care about the dog at all. But as the story progresses he admits to having some sentiment for the family dog’s death. We notice it when he states “but during our joint ordeal, I had developed a grudging affection for our pet”
   The story seems to give the idea that the feeling of loss or love is easily replaced in the middle class lifestyle of the United States. When the daughter finds out about the dog’s death her means of coping with the pain and loss is to replace the dog with another. The story also has humorous points where it seems the narrator also seems to want to avoid the sadness of the dog’s death by giving him hilarious nicknames. The story seems to want us to realize that money is only a temporary fix for an unavoidable void.

2. 

   The narrator of the story reveals his impatient personality through the small interactions that he recalls with their family dog. For instance, he complains about the dog’s lack of intelligence when he calls for him and “the so-called accidents in the house” such as digging through the laundry (Hansen 367). The narrator also comes across as petty and jealous when he remembers moments when the dog is being playful with his wife and kids and implies that if he had done the same he wouldn’t get credit for it or may possibly be ridiculed for acting in such a way. This story proves to show that in the US, the middle class believes that everything is superfluous and if it dies on you, you can always get another one. When the narrator’s daughter is told that the dog passed away she automatically begged for a new one just like the old dog. As I was reading the story, there was a point when I was confused as to why the narrator kept giving the dog a different name each time. However, toward the last line the narrator insinuates that all of those names were given to the dogs that they had previously owned. This brings some sort of humor and irony to the end of the story when the narrator agrees to buy “another dog, just like [Sparky]”(Hansen 369).

   • 

     In the story, the narrator reveals his indifferent and heartless personality through the recollection of moments with his dog. At the beginning of the story, he was glad to get rid of his dog. He states that the hatred towards the dog was reciprocal and the dog disturbs his comfort. The narrator shows how apathetic he is towards his dog by undermining his moral respect for the dog. He buries it in its grave and digs it out repeatedly because he has suspicion on whether if the dog is dead. He also beats the dog to make sure that it was dead. Moreover, he devalued his dog by criticizing its “…inability to fetch, to take a joke…” Towards the end of the story, the narrator heartlessly agrees with Suzy to get another dog to replace his old dog without a slight feeling of remorse. The story suggests that middle-class life in the U.S. feels less empathy. Financial differences create behavioral differences; the middle class might value their social assets the most, meanwhile, the lower class might value interpersonal relationships more. Referring back to the story, the narrator had no empathy and was able to replace his old dog without any sense of yearning. The serious point was when the narrator discovered the dog might have had rabies, which caused its death. The story is told sarcastically with some irrelevant humorous points to diverge the malicious and cynical tones.

3. 

   1. Throughout the story, the narrator reveals that he is affectionate in the sense that he suppresses his own feelings and hard work so that his family would feel better. He also presents a sort of competitiveness and jealousy with his kid’s dog, stating that the dog seemed to have a completely different devilish persona when it came to the narrator and was conning the rest of the family. While hating on the dog, he still calls it affectionate and cliche names, almost in a mocking way.
   2. The story suggests how a picture-perfect middle-class family really can have a lot more going on than what it may initially seem to. We are presented with a family where the father is at home and the rest of the family members are outside doing whatever they want and, of course, there is a dog. The reading reveals the father’s true feelings about everything going on. He clearly has some sort of one-sided competitiveness with the dog, who he also doesn’t claim ownership of (instead saying “my kid’s dog”). Humorously, he says that his wife should always be obeyed. He describes his son Buzz going to college with an extremely high and hard to pay tuition. He describes Zack to be in a hellish surf shop and brings up his youngest child Suzy to be somewhere unknown with her cousin. Then he nonchalantly goes through this entire ordeal of just trying to bury his kid’s dead dog and though the dead dog ends up being stolen, he seemed pretty okay with that too. Talking to his daughter later he only mentions that the dog died and that they will be getting another one. The serious point here is how much more there was going on behind the scenes of the happy middle-class family with a dog that is never disclosed. The humorous point was how he insulted the dog constantly but would call it cliche and cute names at the same time, such as Foo foo, Scruffy, Precious, Spot, Shortcake and more.

4. 

   The narrator reveals his fed up, witty personality through the actions he chooses to share with the reader and the sarcastic remarks he makes in his inner monologues. For example, when the narrator pointlessly yells “‘I’ll cut your face off and show it to you,'” at the puppy to vent his frustrations. Introducing his wife sarcastically as “She who must be obeyed…”, critiquing the puppy’s tricks and love harshly, and hitting the dog in the head with a shovel to ensure he was dead all evidence the narrator’s jaded mentality, which he chooses to express through humor.
   This story reveals that the expectations for many Americans – like getting a secure job, marrying and having kids, and getting a pet dog – leads to a mundane life. The author chooses to characterize the narrator as brutally honest, using outlets of sarcasm and quick wit as a means of expressing the chore of living. A lack of fulfillment leads the narrator to viewing things pessimistically and acting indifferent toward otherwise emotional things: describing his son’s college choice as the “realm of heart-attack tuition”, pouring a glass of alcohol immediately after burying the family dog, and stuffing the dog’s body into a suitcase to transport him to the vet.

5. 

   1. At the beginning of the story, it is very apparent that the narrator was very impatient and blunt with his actions because of his inability to understand the dog’s young adapting phase. This emotion is explicitly shown through the quote, “I’ll cut your face off and show it to you”. However, the narrator becomes more laid back as he has more interactions with the dog and allowing it to grow on him. Towards the end of the story, he calls the dog an “heirloom” which highlights his new true feelings towards the dog.
   2. This story portrays middle-class living to be uninteresting and lackluster because the desire to maintain a stable job and support a family lacks the excitement that many people seek in life. For example, the narrator exaggerates the fear he has to fulfill his son’s “heart-attack tuition”. The care for a dog symbolizes the yearn for joy and happiness because everything else in an average middle-class family will either bring worry or sadness to their lives. Moreover, the narrator further emphasizes the constant urge to bring himself stress relief by pouring himself liquor directly after the burial of the dog.

6. 

   The narrator of the story reveals his personality by the actions he takes around his dog. He begins by shouting at the dog but eventually ends up caring for the dog as he buries and digs out the dog multiple times. The narrator shows how invested he is in his dog as he keeps going back to it even after its dead. The narrator is very much like his daughter by the end, wanting a new dog just like his old one .
   The hilarious ending had many hints of what was to happen to the dog’s corpse as the narrator described the man with the truck as suspicious. As a student in the middle class I could relate with the feeling the narrator had. This story suggests that its not safe for people in the middle class to give their trust to someone. It is also possible that the series of events that occurred to the narrator can happen to anyone in the middle class.

7. 

   The narrator portrays himself as apathetic towards the dog. He insults it, and ridicules it for things it may not be able to understand or control. He is convinced it is slightly evil but fools his family with his jumps and wagging tail. The fact that he uses a lot of names for the dogs tells us how much he values it. After the dog dies it turns into the narrator constantly checking up to see if the dogs okay or to see how he died, even going as far to give him a burial. The story plays on many of the stereotypes for the middle class. Things like a Cadillac, watching the game on Sundays, having multiple kids and a family dog. Even things like “patriarchal scream” points towards the dynamics of his household. The story is definitely comedic and has many funny moments, it does show a serious note when the man runs off with the narrators suitcase. By pointing out him getting screwed over in some way it shows how the middle class is seen as getting screwed

8. 

   The narrator reveals his personality through first person point of view and his love and hate relationship with his dog. By using first person point of view, the narrator tells the reader, without any doubt, how he perceives and reacts towards his dog’s behaviors and actions. Therefore, the narrator shows a range of different emotions throughout the story. For example, when he describes his dog acting nice with his family as “conning them with his tail”, it suggests that he is a skeptical person and he gets easily irritated. However, when he is delivering the dog to the veterinarian, his skepticism softens. The narrator sees Sparky in a better light and even refers to him as a “family heirloom”, which suggests that he is compassionate and cared a lot about his dog. In addition, when the narrator uses sarcasm it is difficult to truly understand what his feelings are in the situation or how much he cares. It could suggest that he has a combination of different feelings and sarcasm is the best way to express his ambiguity.

   The story suggests that middle class life in the US is led by the father of the household. As a father, the narrator has the responsibility to look after his children which he refers to as taking “inventory of my progeny” like if it was a duty. However, this power is not too strong because his children are doing their own thing and he refers to his wife as “she who must be obeyed”. In addition, the narrator’s sarcasm brings the story to life because it adds humor to a serious situation like his dog’s death. A point that could be considered serious is the kidnapping of his dead dog. However, it is also humorous the way he describes it and even waves goodbye.

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