Tuesday, January 14, 2014

there is no line at all: a close reading of 'Fox'

          Fox  is a story with many messages and themes woven into it. I looked closely at the word choice in the book and made some inferences about the characters and the themes. I mostly notice the differences in the character's personality and how that made them react to things. I noticed many things about the fine line between good and bad and how there isn't really a line at all. Fox, the character, made me think that there is really no good or bad and that humans are just characteristics and emotions layered on each other to create a complex being. Fox is a story about pain and dealing with it and that even if there is no good and bad there is always a right thing to do.
          First of all I noticed the words that describe each character and how they were different. The words that were related to dog were tend, offer, gentle, kind. This automatically makes the reader think that the dog is sweet and kind and good. However I looked deeper is also could be a weakness of the dog because he is naïve and it's too sweet and kind and too trusting so he might get hurt. The words that were related Fox were silent, ash, burnt. This gives you a very negative feeling about Fox however when I went deeper I thought about how these words aren't Fox but their what it became of him and they changed him.  Through hurt and being hurt he became cold. This relates to what I was saying about there being no good and bad. Sweet, kind people can be turned cruel through hurt and evil.
          As I thought more about the differences between dog and fox I realized something; both animals had to deal with the forest fire and probably had other troubles in the past. However dog trys to see life in a good way. He tried to see the bright side and try to get Magpie to see that too. He tried to make the best of the situation even though he had one eye. Fox on the other hand dealt with his losses by turning cruel and taking it out on others. He thought that if he could make others feel that he felt then his pain would go away but that wasn't true. This really shows how different people deal with loss and that one actually's better. Fox was a pessimist he didn't look on the bright side like dog and just made everything worse. Dog is an optimist and people like dog I can make the world a better place.
          In conclusion Fox and the story about what loss and pain can do to you and how it can do different things to different people. I think, sad as it is, that Fox will change dog. I think that when Magpie gets back, Dog will be hardened and not as naïve. As a closing thought I think the author meant to show fox the character as a representation of the forest fire. He uses words to describe Fox like tongue of fire, flickers, and scorches. What Fox does to magpie and dog is very similar to the forest fires well. He breaks them and leaves them in his wake changed and hurt. At the very end of the book is a line that says: "she couldn't tell if it was a scream of triumph or of despair."I think it was little bit of both I think that Fox was confused and hurt and made others feel the same so he was triumphant but still he did not feel happy therefore he was in despair.  Let this be a lesson if you were hurt seeking out to hurt others is not the answer but seeking love from others is you will not gain anything and you will not be happier if you destroy others as others have destroyed you.

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