Genre
Children's fiction
Setting and Context
Friendly in West Virginia in an unspecified time period.
Narrator and Point of View
An unnamed, third-person omniscient narrator tells the story.
Tone and Mood
The tone is sad; the mood is optimistic.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Marty is the protagonist; Judd is the antagonist.
Major Conflict
The major conflict of the novel occurs when Marty first discovers that Judd has been brutally abusing a beagle that he has.
Climax
The climax of the story is reached when Marty manages to rescue the dog by stealing it one night.
Foreshadowing
“The day Shiloh come, we're having a big Sunday dinner.”
Though readers don't know who Shiloh is, it is as clear as a day that he is going to play an important role in the story.
The protection of Shiloh is foreshadowed by Marty's determination.
Understatement
The importance of protecting our friends is understated throughout the novel.
“Lose one, I'll buy another”.
That phrase of Judd shows that he doesn't really care for his dogs.
Allusions
The story alludes to the small actions it takes to do good in the world, and novel alludes to the Bible.
Imagery
The imagery of the happy, relieved Shiloh is present in the novel.
Paradox
“It's sort of like Shiloh's there and he's not”
Parallelism
There is a parallel between the kindness of Marty and the warm attitude of the rest of his family.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
Judd acts as a metonym for all of the evil people in the world.
“I'll keep an eye out for him”. (An eye is metonymy. Marty promises to look for Shiloh).
“Law never told me before what I could do with my dogs”. (Law is metonymy. Judd is talking about sheriff.)
Personification
“Have to go out every day for a whole summer to collect cans sad bottles to have much of anything at all.”
