[Comments]
HaeUk Ko: I’m not so sure whether individual character’s actions can define a character to be of one genre. I think genres apply to a story as a whole. Moreover, even if a character might posses characteristics representative of the pessimistic and realistic atmosphere of naturalism, it could merely be an way to emphasize other viewpoints than naturalism. But, otherwise, your analysis was clear and really helped me grasp the story.
Hyunseok Lee: Good analysus of the story. However, I thought this essay too focused on what the writer intended to show. We discussed enough about what the author tried to say, the way of expression. Coming up with your idea with creativity will work out better.
Han Jong Hyun: I am not sure how you defined animal-like behaviors. For me, the father is definitely a savage; even though he is drunk, his actions of beating the dog and his wife is unforgivable. However, the actions of the boy are rather confusing; they oscillated between two different emotions, and it remains as a mystery what the true nature of the boy is. How about the dog? I am not sure. Well, good insight shown here in overall.
[Essay]
For naturalistic writers, human beings are considered as "human beasts," according to Emile Zora's description. They also believe that characters can be studied through their relationships to their surroundings. As most of the naturalistic stories focus on describing their characters, “A Dark Brown Dog” by Steven Crane has its main theme on showing the types of human beings. Crane uses his characters to show the animal-like side of human beings not by arguing or criticizing the rightfulness of them, but just by objectively depicting their actions in detail.
In “A Dark Brown Dog,” there are three different characters that are actually not quite different. The distinct behaviors among the characters, the dog, the child and the father, can be narrowed into one same category: animalistic behavior. In the first place, the dog undeniably belongs to the category of "animal", though it seems to be the “protagonist” in the story. Its continuous dependence on human beings even after they beat him up is one of the animal traits shown in the dog: thoughtlessness. The child, although he becomes good friends with the dog, still commits animalistic actions based on his feelings. He harasses the dog just for his own pleasure. Last but not least, the father, though he is a grown up human being, is the most animal-like character in the story. He does not restrict himself from acting with his instinct only, without any intellect involved.
Although both are in the category of naturalist piece of writing, the way that instinct is depicted is quite contrasting between "The Dark Brown Dog" and the story “To Build a Fire” by Jack London. Whereas “To Build a Fire” has a tone of criticizing the man who only believes in his intellectuality, “A Dark Brown Dog” rather seems to be accusing people who acts only with their instinct, in a mild way. Another difference is the feature between the two stories. While “To Build a Fire” describes the difference between the protagonist and the antagonist, “A Dark Brown Dog” focuses more on the similar behaviors of all characters. Human characters in "A Dark Brown Dog" seem to be showing the worst and the most violent side of human beings.
In addition to the stories, there are real-life examples of human beings who commit animal-like behaviors. Although in these days, it is said to be more developed, and seem to be filled with a lot of intellectual people, the human instinct of acting in a deprived way does not seem to have been developed at all. People still grossly murder one another, sometimes in a way which cannot be considered as a crime committed by people living in the 21st century. This shows that outlook of this wonderful society does not positively correlates with how much developed the people living here are. I wonder whether this kind of behavior has been naturally built in human beings when they are born, and can never be extinguished.
Crane seems to have a purpose of depicting different kind of characters in one same category of “animalistic” behavior. All the small details tell how deeply Crane has understood his characters. He is not criticizing or giving any opinion in a hard way, but he just shows how the world of human reality is. Just by showing the nature of human beings, he let the readers think more deeply on the issue that is often ignored, or purposely erased by some people: how we all should act. Overall, detailed and objective observation on each character and the neutral viewpoint of the author are what make the story naturalistic. (I'm really inspired!)
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