James Thurber is a famous and popular American writer and artist. His humorous prose and drawing are never gay because the enthusiasm is dampened by melancholy. His fantastic characters are mostly animals whose balance of life is distorted and disturbed by a malignant fate.
‘Snap Shot of a Dog’ is taken from THE THURBER CARNIVAL which contains his most imp work. Many of his writings and drawings deal with dogs. He understands them and he ahs the gist of being able to communicate his understanding to the reader.
This piece is typical of Thurber. It is both humorous and serious as his writings usually are. The story flows along easily and smoothly and the reader has the impression that the writer is talking to him. The writer looks upon the dog sympathetically and at times affectionately. Rex was the name of the author’s pet dog. He was no doubt a dog of his own type who was fond of adventures. This account is as such written objectively. The dog has been dead long ago. The memory of the dog is still fresh in the mind of writer when he wrote this story. Rex was a bullterrier. He has a strong built. Indeed he was a beauty. The writer and his two brothers loved it dearly. He was a faithful dog and carried out all the orders of his maters. There was nothing impossible in his world.
The writer describes certain qualities of his pet. Though he was strong and pugnacious yet he never started the fight. He had a gentle nature. He never bit anybody through out his life. He only barked at the housebreakers and trespassers. In fact his habit of killing cats was also due to his professional ethics.
The writer used the word Homeric to highlight the fighting style of his beloved dog. Rex fighting style was different from other dogs. It always carried a certain amount of energy and a sense of determination. He was as powerful as a wrestler and this accounted for him being a good fighter. He only fought with only those dogs that invited him to do so. His longest fight...
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