The loaded dog analysis. A Character Analysis of the Story "The Loaded Dog" 2022-12-26

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The Loaded Dog is a short story by Australian writer Henry Lawson that tells the tale of three gold miners and their loyal dog, Andy. Set in the Australian outback during the gold rush of the late 1800s, the story explores themes of friendship, loyalty, and the human-animal bond.

At the beginning of the story, we are introduced to the three miners: Tom, Jack, and Peter. They are working hard in their claim, but their efforts are not yielding much gold. In an effort to improve their luck, they decide to bring in a new member to their team: Andy, a loyal and hardworking dog.

Andy proves to be an asset to the team, helping to haul equipment and supplies and even assisting with the search for gold. However, he also causes some trouble when he digs up a stick of dynamite, thinking it is a bone. The miners are able to disarm the dynamite and avoid a disaster, but they are left with the question of what to do with it.

After much discussion, they decide to use the dynamite to create a clever trap for a wild dog that has been terrorizing the area. They attach the dynamite to a bait of sausages and set it off, successfully killing the wild dog and earning the gratitude of the other miners in the camp.

However, their celebration is short-lived as they soon realize that Andy has also been killed in the explosion. The miners are devastated by the loss of their loyal companion and friend, and the story ends with a poignant tribute to Andy and the bond he shared with his human companions.

The Loaded Dog is a poignant and heartwarming tale that highlights the enduring bond between humans and animals. Through the character of Andy, Lawson explores the idea that animals can be just as loyal and hardworking as their human counterparts, and that they deserve our respect and appreciation. The story also touches on the theme of friendship, as the miners are shown to be deeply bonded by their shared experiences and the loss of Andy is a poignant reminder of the importance of the relationships we have with those around us.

In conclusion, The Loaded Dog is a thought-provoking and moving story that explores themes of loyalty, friendship, and the human-animal bond. Its memorable characters and powerful themes make it a classic tale that will continue to resonate with readers for years to come.

The Loaded Dog Themes

the loaded dog analysis

He presents us with the idea the bush is a negative place to live. The language often serves to anthropomorphize the dog, even to the point of giving him a human name rather than one for suitable for an animal. The fuse sounded as if it were going a mile a minute. The Bushmen ran round corners, and some shut themselves in the stable. This connection has been made with the man.

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The Loaded Dog Quotes and Analysis

the loaded dog analysis

Jim Bently said it was big enough to blow the bottom out of the river. It has intimidated Tommy in the past and despite many attempts by the bushmen to remove it from the kitchen, it remains there. Grant experiences many instances in which his life is put in danger. Narrator The decision to isolate the turning point of the story now takes on additional meaning. Tommy is so determined to play a game of fetch that he chases Andy, Jim, and Dave through various obstacles. The dog laid the cartridge, as carefully as if it was a kitten, at the foot of the sapling, and capered and leaped and whooped joyously round under Jim.

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The Loaded Dog

the loaded dog analysis

However, the creek was low, just a chain of muddy water-holes, from the hole with a few bucketfuls in it to the sizable pool with an average depth of six or seven feet, and they could get fish by baling out the smaller holes or muddying up the water in the larger ones till the fish rose to the surface. Look behind you, you fool! And the dog followed Andy. This essay will analyse the poems Clancy of the Overflow written by A. They are running away from Tommy as fast as they can. These qualities are greatly significant to the people living within it. Taken from his Joe Wilson and His Mates collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and after reading the story the reader realises that Lawson through humour may be exploring the theme of fear.

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What makes "The Loaded Dog" by Henry Lawson humorous?

the loaded dog analysis

He remains as innocent and playful as he has always been. They had a big black young retriever dog—or rather an overgrown pup, a big, foolish, four-footed mate, who was always slobbering round them and lashing their legs with his heavy tail that swung round like a stock-whip. For bushmen, having a good sense of humour helps with the monotony of bush life and is essentially a way of survival. It also smells like hot meat! This story is written in third person. In the end of the story, Tommy is described as "the great, idiotic mongrel retriever," reflecting how Tommy cannot help but be loved.

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The Loaded Dog Analysis

the loaded dog analysis

Lawson employs the 3rd person and utilizes formal language by using powerful adjectives and imagery to represent the solitary personality of the drover. It lies in the fact that there is some level of justice at the cost of the perpetrators. . Characteristically, Tommy 'watched Andy with great interest all the morning making the bomb, and got in the way a lot, trying to help. The cartridge was rigid and solid enough now—a formidable bomb; but Andy and Dave wanted to be sure.

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The Loaded Dog Study Guide

the loaded dog analysis

The alliteration here acts as an affirmation—just in case it should still be needed—that what is to follow is going to be an exercise in humorous prose. Jim Bently looked behind and bolted after Dave. Andy took off his boots, tucked up his trousers, and went into a hole one day to stir up the mud with his feet, and he knew it. Along with alliteration, the narrator robustly inhabits his tale with personification, simile, metaphor, and even stripped-down technical description of mechanical actions and activities that drive the plot. Most of his head was usually a red, idiotic, slobbering grin of appreciation of his own silliness. Ironically, it is a cartridge that was not intended to harm him or remotely connected to him that became his folly. The Hotel Symbol The hotel is a gathering place for all the men looking to strike it big.

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The Loaded Dog

the loaded dog analysis

I know some people consider their pets as a part of their families. Andy was very patient and painstaking in all he did, and nearly as handy as the average sailor with needles, twine, canvas, and rope. Dave was desperate, the time flew much faster in his stimulated imagination than it did in reality, so he made for the shanty. Throughout this text, Lawson expresses the bush as being a negative place to live. It all took but a very few moments. Lawson's technique of selecting language to help accomplish this dichotomy is how he is able to bring about a sense of moral structure to the story.

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The Loaded Dog by Henry Lawson (1867

the loaded dog analysis

The outback is very harsh and barren; the Australian men who have lived in the outback are made for the desolate terrain. I think that Lawson follows some of his basic idealism and desire to affirm solidarity in how he describes the behavior of the dogs. Wright also utilizes the 3rd person but she uses colloquial language to engage intimately with her audience. Story Summary Dogs and other pets make great companions, but think about a time that a pet stirred up trouble. Buy Study Guide Cartridge Symbol The cartridge is a conduit for the hopes and dreams of the miners. When they flee from him, he pursues thinking a game has commenced. Not because he was vicious, but because he was ignorant of what he was holding between his teeth.

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The Loaded Dog Summary

the loaded dog analysis

The focus of the story is not on how the dog is presented as an antagonist obstructing the men from their goal, but rather how the dog and the men respond to the exact same narrative stimulus. Stenders is again setting the basis for later in the film when he further develops the idealised Australian identity as liking mateship, believing in egalitarianism, loyalty, being gregarious, humour and the view of authority being disrespectful. Tommy's sense of fear kicks in when he encounters the mongrel. The guy on the street who is selling puppies is probably a backyard breeder. In the case of the story Lawson is using a humorous slant to place an emphasis on what may happen if one does not remain in control. They kept at a respectable distance round the nasty yellow dog, for it was dangerous to go near him when he thought he had found something which might be good for a dog to eat. There is always a rich reef supposed to exist in the vicinity; the only questions are whether it is ten feet or hundreds beneath the surface, and in which direction.

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Humour In Lawson's The Loaded Dog

the loaded dog analysis

All the intentional attempts on his life were utter failures. Henry Lawson is able to portray his image that life in the bush is not romantic. Throughout this kangaroo hunt there are countless instances of insanity and violence, but yet again the Outback is renowned for these kinds of… Australian Identity Through Poetry. This may be important as it suggests just how dangerous life in the bush can be for those who live there. The quote reveals the mongrel's stubborn behavior and rocky history with the hotel guests. Dave roared and cursed at the dog, who seeing that Dave was offended, left him and went after Jim, who was well ahead.

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