Question: Discuss the effectiveness of the ways in which Susan Perabo presents the mother’s grief
in this story
Explaining Death to the Dog (1999) by Susan Perabo displays the ways in which a mother copes with
the death of her baby by relaying the event to her dog, Stu. The prose fiction text features devices
such as characterisation, setting, narrative method, and symbolism – all of which I will discuss the
usage and effectiveness of to explore the ways in which Perabo presents the mother’s grief in the
story.
PLOT: Explaining Death to the Dog is the story of a mother who has lost her baby and attempts to
explain the concept of death to her dog, Stu. Susan Perabo presents the mother’s grief in the plot of
the story through different events that happen: the mother focuses her attention on the dog while
trying to make him understand the concept of death. “I was trying to think of a way to make a case
for how confused Stu really was, but Todd didn’t seem receptive to the idea”. Perabo demonstrates
that the mother has a desire for the dog, Stu, to understand and share her pain. This implies that the
mother is trying to overcome her grief by passing it onto the dog – if the dog had come to
understand the concept of death, the mother would be able to comfort the dog and feel better
about her own pain.
CHARACTERISATION:
SETTING:
NARRATIVE METHOD: The extract has a strong focus on the experiences of other people, which is
ironic as it is written in the first-person narrative of the mother. She discusses the loss that the dog
must feel
SYMBOLISM:
‘Todd sighed, looked at me like I was the baby squirming around while he was trying to get the
diaper on’
“I think Stu misses the baby,” I said.
I was trying to think of a way to make a case for how confused Stu really was, but Todd didn’t seem
receptive to the idea.
I had a desire to get Stu off the couch and give him a push toward the bedroom, so he could stumble
upon Todd and see what the death thing was all about, but I didn’t have the heart.
in this story
Explaining Death to the Dog (1999) by Susan Perabo displays the ways in which a mother copes with
the death of her baby by relaying the event to her dog, Stu. The prose fiction text features devices
such as characterisation, setting, narrative method, and symbolism – all of which I will discuss the
usage and effectiveness of to explore the ways in which Perabo presents the mother’s grief in the
story.
PLOT: Explaining Death to the Dog is the story of a mother who has lost her baby and attempts to
explain the concept of death to her dog, Stu. Susan Perabo presents the mother’s grief in the plot of
the story through different events that happen: the mother focuses her attention on the dog while
trying to make him understand the concept of death. “I was trying to think of a way to make a case
for how confused Stu really was, but Todd didn’t seem receptive to the idea”. Perabo demonstrates
that the mother has a desire for the dog, Stu, to understand and share her pain. This implies that the
mother is trying to overcome her grief by passing it onto the dog – if the dog had come to
understand the concept of death, the mother would be able to comfort the dog and feel better
about her own pain.
CHARACTERISATION:
SETTING:
NARRATIVE METHOD: The extract has a strong focus on the experiences of other people, which is
ironic as it is written in the first-person narrative of the mother. She discusses the loss that the dog
must feel
SYMBOLISM:
‘Todd sighed, looked at me like I was the baby squirming around while he was trying to get the
diaper on’
“I think Stu misses the baby,” I said.
I was trying to think of a way to make a case for how confused Stu really was, but Todd didn’t seem
receptive to the idea.
I had a desire to get Stu off the couch and give him a push toward the bedroom, so he could stumble
upon Todd and see what the death thing was all about, but I didn’t have the heart.
