Darkness (Allegory)
Darkness is an allegory of great emotional turmoil. On the one hand, Marty knew that it was his responsibility to save Shiloh, this pet had chosen him, and what was more – he trusted Marty. On the other hand, the boy knew that his recklessness could get his family in trouble. He stared up “into the darkness of the living room” and “the darkness” stared “back.” Marty studied “darkness in the room” around him and was “thinking” about his “lies” again. From all those stories his mother told him about Jesus, Marty learned that he was going to go to Hell, for he was a liar. Marty wished he could tell about Shiloh his Ma and Dad.
A dog (symbol)
A dog is a symbol of loyalty. Dogs were domesticated somewhere between 18,800 and 32,100 years ago, and since that time they have been loyal friends to people. Marty and Shiloh’s story is a perfect example of that beautiful kind of friendship. When the boy left the dog at Doc Murphy’s, he noticed “the way” Shiloh’s eyes followed him “over to the doorway”, saw how his “muscles” moved, like he tried to get up when he saw Marty “leaving.” Shiloh lost lots of blood, thus was rather weak, but he was still eager to follow Marty and stay by his side at any cost.
Changing (motif)
The story is not only about love and responsibility, but little changes that lead to great discoveries. Marty has been always appalled by injustice he saw, but he had never really tried to do anything about it until he met Shiloh. That “mistreated” beagle taught him one valuable lesson: indifference can cost someone’s life. People around there “tend to keep quiet out of someone else’s business”, pretending that they don’t notice anything. Marty breaks that rule and sees that he is not as helpless as he believed himself to be, that the world is not “black and white” as Dad claims it to be. The boy changes over the summer, he learns to take responsibility. He also learns that even small deeds matter.
