The story demonstrates how the relationship between individuals and the pack grows incrementally divergent, and how the language as an embodiment of human intelligence stratifies the pack hierarchy and complicates the dogs’ communication to the humans. In the story “Fifteen Dogs”, the author André Alexis frequently uses personification and anthropomorphism to vivify the dogs’ behavior. The attitude towards the introduction diverges as some of the dogs do not like it, while the other dogs like it and they want to continue living with it. After the exiles and conspired murders, the dogs within the remaining group led by Atticus’s hierarchy are in relationship of domination. The story demonstrates how the relationship between individuals and
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But as they can speak, and some of them can speak well, speech incurs dissatisfaction within the pack, which complicates dogs’ purposes of living. From “It wasn’t just that Prince was twisting their clear, noble language, it was that Prince has gone beyond the canine” (Alexis 26), it can be inferred that the superfluous use of language incurs antipathy, and this kind of antipathy later magnifies to be a conspiracy of eliminating those who enjoy new language. If they lived in a pattern of hunting and gathering, and communicated by merely barking, who would have felt so bad and would have planned such a scheme to get rid of pack members? It is the infusion of language as well as human intelligence that makes them so different. The gift of language not only bewilders the dogs by confusing them with the question of how should they continue to live with a something they are not supposed to bear, but also complicates their internal relationship because of the arising arguments on different perspective they stand …show more content…
Speaking human language is itself bizarre— “The woman began to breath quickly, then fell to the floor” (Alexis 43). and “The woman was frightened of him, she would not enter any room he had happened to be in” (43). These series of actions show the appalling state Nira is in when Majnoun talks to her in human voice. Apparently, demanding a treat or food by barking is what dogs normally do. But instead, Majnoun uses human language to convey what he wants in presumably precise voice. However, when common sense collides with a talking dog, Nira surprises and appalls, making the situation complicated. Moreover, Majnoun’s speech brings him to a new frontier: he and Nira starts to walk on the street with peculiar movements, and they even have dialogues about personal matters, emotions, and experiences later in the story. Relationship like that happens uniquely between a dog and a master—In comparison to the previous experience of all dogs before they were granted the right to bear human intelligence and language, none of them ever had such complicated interaction with their masters. However, Majnoun and Benjy both reach a level of sophistication that their masters can comprehend dogs’ languages and thoughts. The presence of lingual articulation makes it easier for the dogs to get close to people, therefore, developing into complicated but also affectionate
But as they can speak, and some of them can speak well, speech incurs dissatisfaction within the pack, which complicates dogs’ purposes of living. From “It wasn’t just that Prince was twisting their clear, noble language, it was that Prince has gone beyond the canine” (Alexis 26), it can be inferred that the superfluous use of language incurs antipathy, and this kind of antipathy later magnifies to be a conspiracy of eliminating those who enjoy new language. If they lived in a pattern of hunting and gathering, and communicated by merely barking, who would have felt so bad and would have planned such a scheme to get rid of pack members? It is the infusion of language as well as human intelligence that makes them so different. The gift of language not only bewilders the dogs by confusing them with the question of how should they continue to live with a something they are not supposed to bear, but also complicates their internal relationship because of the arising arguments on different perspective they stand …show more content…
Speaking human language is itself bizarre— “The woman began to breath quickly, then fell to the floor” (Alexis 43). and “The woman was frightened of him, she would not enter any room he had happened to be in” (43). These series of actions show the appalling state Nira is in when Majnoun talks to her in human voice. Apparently, demanding a treat or food by barking is what dogs normally do. But instead, Majnoun uses human language to convey what he wants in presumably precise voice. However, when common sense collides with a talking dog, Nira surprises and appalls, making the situation complicated. Moreover, Majnoun’s speech brings him to a new frontier: he and Nira starts to walk on the street with peculiar movements, and they even have dialogues about personal matters, emotions, and experiences later in the story. Relationship like that happens uniquely between a dog and a master—In comparison to the previous experience of all dogs before they were granted the right to bear human intelligence and language, none of them ever had such complicated interaction with their masters. However, Majnoun and Benjy both reach a level of sophistication that their masters can comprehend dogs’ languages and thoughts. The presence of lingual articulation makes it easier for the dogs to get close to people, therefore, developing into complicated but also affectionate