The Art Of Racing In The Rain Conflict Analysis

Humans and animals have a strange way of communicating with one another. They do not share a similar language, yet the human is able to see through the mind of a dog and vice versa. In The Art of Racing In the Rain, by Garth Stein, Mr. Stein used the characters of Enzo, Denny, Eve, Zoe, etc. for his book. Enzo, the main character, is a dog. Denny is Enzo’s owner and Eve is Denny’s wife, Eve and Denny share a daughter named Zoe. The family went through many conflicts and did not necessarily come out on top. Garth Stein used conflict to give the reader a greater understanding of the communication between Enzo and his owners. The Art of Racing In the Rain will keep you guessing and wanting more. Many varieties of conflict are used in The …show more content…
He was not sure what it was but knew it was something terrible. Months later, the illness was discovered and Eve was put in a hospital. On her first night out of the hospital, she began to fear that she would die. Eve told Enzo, “Don’t let it happen, not tonight” (pg. 127). Eve knew she would die from this disease, yet she was not ready for the end. She was going through man vs. man conflict. Eve was trying to fight death and hoped that it would not catch her. Enzo comprehended what she was saying and stayed up all night. Enzo made sure Eve didn’t die that night. Later on, Eve was getting sicker and sicker. Denny and Zoe went with Eve’s family up to the mountains to get away for a bit. Annika, Eve’s niece, developed a crush for Denny. Annika was fifteen years old, still, she sticked to Denny like white on rice. A storm was brewing in the mountains and Denny wanted to leave. Annika made Denny take her with him and she even forced herself to stay at Denny’s house for the night. As Denny was sleeping, Annika began to make serious sexual advances on Denny. Denny was sleeping and did not understand what was happening. When he woke up, he …show more content…
Denny believed he was going to easily win the case over custody. At work one day, a police officer came in and arrested Denny for rape. Annika accused Denny of rape! Once Denny returned home, he wanted to take solace in liquor. Enzo knew that Denny was making a big mistake, and began to think, “It was absurd. Depressed, stressed, hands shaking, and now he was going to get himself drunk? I couldn’t stand for it” (pg. 204). Enzo barked at Denny to stop. Denny was facing man vs. self-conflict in this situation. He was fighting the demons that were inside of him. He wanted to take refuge in alcohol, even though they would not be able to help him. After Denny spoke with his lawyer, it became clear if he won his case against Annika. He would be able to get Zoe back. The closer it got to the trial, the stronger Denny got mentally. He refused to let Annika win. Everyday Denny would think about the trial and he prepared for it. Jump forward to the day of the trial. Dogs were not allowed to enter the courthouse so Enzo had a vision of what happened. He wished he could fight on the side of Denny, but knew it was not possible. In Enzo’s vision, he envisioned himself being called up to