The Dogs
After reading the third section and the discussion we had in class, I can not seem to get over the re-occurrence and focus on the dogs in the story. In the scene where Lucy and David are attacked. We get this intense and detailed description of how each dog is shot to death except for Katie. Rather then simple alluding to the killing of the dogs, Coetzee’s decides to provide this image for the reader. As we discussed in class, i feel this intense description allows the reader to understand the magnitude at which the three attacks. That if they could show such pure hatred and disregard for the dogs, who are living creatures, what was going to stop them from showing the same hatred with Lucy or David. It’s no surprise that David was set on fire. These three attackers had pure hatred and demonstrated it in rash ways. I think it attempts to give a characterization of the three attackers since we don’t know too much about them.
Then later on in the third section we get pages upon pages about David and the dogs. He helps Bev out at the clinic putting down the dogs and even offers to bring them to the hospital to be incinerator every Sunday. I think in this section we finally get a glimpse of a different side of David. He’s not fully taken a step in the right direction but he’s working towards it. He cannot stand by and watch the workers at the incinerator beat the dead dogs so that they fit in the incinerator. He feels as though he needs to tend for them now that they can not tend for themselves. We start to see an unselfish side of David where he cares for something other than himself. I think the dogs are important as they provide new aspects to David’s character. When David says the line “For his idea of the world. A world in which men do not use shovels to beat corpses into a more convenient shape for processing.” I get a very different interpretation that has nothing to do with the dogs. I feel as though David is making reference to the set up of society in South Africa. That David himself does not believe that people have to change or go through certain experiences to fit into the societies view. That women should not be beaten and raped so that the fit into the view of South African society. I may be completely wrong in my interpretation but that’s just what i pulled from it.
This section shows that he sort of has a heart lol. He feels bad for the dogs, as any person in their right mind would watching that. I hope he becomes a better person and starts thinking about other people other than himself.
That was a very brutal attack. i agree that these 3 attackers had pure hatred, otherwise how could they have committed such a violent act? But why? There has to be a reason why they chose Lucy and David right? I just feel like there was a definite motive behind it.
While I hated such vivid descriptions of the dogs being slaughtered, I liked the way that they were used. The reader is forced to assume what could’ve happened to Lucy based on the treatment of the dogs.
I liked how Coetzee used the dogs to help the reader develop an understanding of David on an emotional level. He connected with the animals in a way that he could not connect with humans.
I think that throughout the entire novel the narrator’s perspective of the animals in general, but especially the dogs are a view that is easily over-looked, but vital to understanding the book. The way the animals are portrayed and the way that they are viewed by David shows the shifts in the book. I am a dog lover, so the scene where they shoot the dogs was horrifying for me. I have three dogs myself, and if anything happened like that to them I would die. But I do agree, the shooting of the dogs is very representative of what we don’t see in the rape. It is also interesting how the author makes David’s personality seem so cold and distant, but I think he uses the dogs to almost personify the part of David that we aren’t allow to see. You are very right, understanding the dogs in this book is vital to understanding David Lurie. Amy Pittman – UAH Student
I think the brutality of these attacks is absolutely horrid and shows the despicable behavior of these men and to what extent they will go to get what they want. This does show the inside character of these men who are attacking and shows the inside picture we don’t get from Lucy. At the end of he book David treats the dogs as humans more his “friends and loved ones” who are actually humans. This makes me upset why couldn’t he forget about his stupid pride and treat people better. He is showing progress by being kind to the dogs but you would think he would have learned a lesson form what happened to his daughter. I was hoping he would realize what he did to Melanie is not so different than the rape of his daughter. I had hoped he would have changed more but I shouldn’t have since he shows no signs of progress before the incident.