Walking the Dog | Analysis

Dette er Studienets analysehjælp til novellen "Walking the Dog" af Bernard MacLaverty, hvor du får et gyldent overblik over alle de væsentligste elementer i teksten, som er relevante at tage med i en analyserende opgave.

Præsentation af teksten

Titel: “Walking the Dog”
Forfatter: Bernard MacLaverty
Udgivelsesår: 1994
Genre: Novelle

Bernard MacLaverty (f. 1942) er en irsk novelle- og romanforfatter. Hans litterære værker handler mest om livet på de britiske øer og især om konflikten mellem katolikker og prostestanter i Nordirland. En af hans mest populære værker er romanen "Cal".

Uddrag

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Title

The title of the short story only suggests the events to be narrated are going to take place while a character is walking his/her dog. Those who are familiar with the author’s literary work might suspect that the events could have something to do with the conflict in Northern Ireland. Upon reading the story, we realise the title is also symbolic. While the character is, indeed, walking his dog, the narrative is also about how John gets almost killed by so-called fighters in the IRA. However, you should note that the fighters most probably are not members of the IRA but only claim so to deceive John.

The title suggests that violence and the risk of getting killed in Northern Ireland became as common as walking one’s dog and that the abuse of power makes others feel like dogs on a leash.