Theme and Narrative Elements in the Short Story - Research Paper Example

This paper will discuss the literary elements that can be found in the short story entitled A Dark Brown Dog, written by Stephen Crane. This allegory is mainly centered on three characters. According to the writer, the dark brown dog, the father and the child are viewed as the main characters in the story. In most literary publications, the story mainly revolves around the characters. An overview of the story proves that the dark brown dog was mistreated by the family members (Crane, 2008). On the contrary, the dog did not respond violently to the household members even after receiving various forms of torture from the members of the household.

In A Dark Brown Dog, the dog was treated inappropriately by the caregivers (Crane, 2008). The child of the household occasionally protected the dog from the harsh beatings. The child usually cried whenever his parents mistreated the dog. In one rare case, the father had struck his son’s head with a large saucepan after he had run towards him protesting in order to protect the dog. From that point onwards, his parents reconsidered the issue of throwing items to the dog. Finally, the father of the household came home drunk.

Afterwards, his son arrived home together with the dog. The father gave the dog a heavy beating and threw the dog outside the house through the window (Crane, 2008). The dog landed in a heap on top of the roof of a shed which was five stories below. The mood at the end of the story assumes that the dog had died after all the exploitation by the family members. In this literary work of fiction, the most prevalent theme is violence. According to the author, the dark brown dog faces violent actions from the members of the household (Collins, 2011).

However, the dog was able to cope with the unjust beatings from the family. Further analysis also shows that on some occasions, the child who occasionally protected the dog imposed some form of torture to the dog. The author asserts that earlier on, the child thrashed the dog with a stick after he noticed that the dog was pursuing him. After he did this, the dog usually made funny gestures of apology to the child. According to the details contained in the story, the dog usually accepted the beatings from the family members (Collins, 2011).

The child occasionally cried after the dog was smashed because the child loved the dog and even treated it like a close friend. The theme of violence in this short allegory has significant effects on the literary works. The child played the role of a close friend and a guardian to the dog (Magill, 1997). There are numerous literal elements that are contained in most short stories. Some of most common elements include the setting, characters, point of view, symbolism and plot. In this short story, the plot and the characters play an eminent role in the advancement of the subject matter of the story (Collins, 2011).

As stated earlier, the father, child and the dog are considered the main characters. These characters employ all forms of violence to the helpless dog. In some instances, the dog was usually protected by the child. In addition, these three characters ensured that the plot was alive all through the narration. In conclusion, the plot enables the development of the theme of violence. The author of the story categorically places his ideas in the narration. All these ideas and thoughts are liable for sustaining the main