Being Humanistic
The word humane has an extremely positive denotative and connotative meaning to it. In Merriam-Webster dictionary, it defines the word humane as having compassion, sympathy, or consideration for humans or animals. As an example sentence, it states: “It’s not humane to treat animals that way.” If it is accurate to put the word “humane” as being human-like, then most of people using the word “humane” would have to think that it is an inherent characteristic of human beings to have “compassion, sympathy and consideration towards humans or animals.” The short story “A Dark-Brown Dog” by Stephen Crane rebuts this common belief by accusing the human atrocity done towards nature, and how there is no clear difference in humanity and bestiality
One way of identifying domesticated or animals is looking for bells, leashes, collars and accessories. These materials are cultural symbols that enable people to differentiate animals that are civilized and animals that are not. This is the reason why the fact that the dog had “a short rope……dragging from his neck” becomes important. It indicates that the dog is already domesticated. Even though there is no owner who leashes the dog, from the fact that dog does not show active rejection towards his leash it can be deduced that the dog is domesticated to its heart.
The taming makes the dog weak and submissive. The rope itself enacts as an obstacle for the dog acting freely: “Occasionally he trod upon the end of it and stumbled.” The dog “trips upon it and fall forward”. The rope is what makes the dog get dragged inside the house eventually as well. Not only that, the dog does not resist to oppression that he receives unjustly when the father hits him with various materials. The unusual slave stance that the dog takes can be seen from the factor that the dog was domesticated before taken into the family.
The materials that the father uses to violently treat the dogs can be thought as cultural symbols as well. The dog is hit with “very large saucepan” and “coffee -pot”. It is ironical that such savagery is done with highly developed gadgets of modern civilization. No matter what the development might be, its usage is decided by the human, which in this case was savagery.
The child uses “a small stick” that he finds when beating the dog. The beatings by the child are not threatening to the dog. He just endures it, unlike the sever ones by the father. The child is less exposed to the human civilizations, so even though he may show “humane” characteristics of violence, the severity is clearly low. It is symbolized through the level of the used tools: “a small stick”. A stick is not made by high-technology. Not only that, the child has sympathy to protect the dog, unlike the father.
Stephen Crane gives a euphemistic sting towards the arrogance that many have about themselves. No matter how advanced our inventions might be, we use it for beating animals. If humans are not humane, what should we do? Should we “burst into a long, dirgelike cry?”
Comments
Jung Yoonjo: So sad I didn't get to read your main points. But I think your essay is often to a great start. Good luck.
Han Jonghyun: Awesome introduction! I am very curious on how this reflection would lead onto! Please post the finished version on your blog so that I can read it!
Seungwon: This is a completely different approach to the story than what most of us did. Analysis of the dog's perspective! I love the idea. Please go on, I am curious how this would end up with.
Sol Kim: Very interesting approach. I think your experiment of stick to the family intended a negative connotation. Not negative maybe, but something related to instinct. Nice introduction, and I expect more from your blog. I'm interested in all the other papers that you wrote.
Soyeon Min: I think your essay needs more development. You must have ran out of time and so dies anyone. While it is conventional wisdom that quality is over quantity, it is impossible to produce any quality with such small quantity. I hope you develop further.
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