SOLDIER DOG
BY: SAM ANGUS
MLA CITATION FOR THE BOOK:
SUMMARY
Stanley is young
fourteen year old English by living with his father Da and longing for his
brother Tom to come back. His mother had passed away and that planted a bitter
seed in his father’s chest. With Tom off to the army he is left with no choice
but to live in dreary London. The only thing he looked forward to was raising
his little puppy Soldier. A series of events occur which cause Da to supposedly
drown Soldier which leaves Stanley heart broken. Stanley then decides to leave
Da and head to the army to find Tom. Weeks and months pass and Stanley has
found himself instructing army dogs. He cannot find Tom unless he is sent to
France. Finally he reaches France and goes in search of Tom but then realizes
that Da is looking for him and Tom is in England. Stanley receives a new dog to
train and receives the biggest surprise of his life. Read to find out what the surprise
really was. Will Tom, Da, and Stanley ever reunite? Read to find out.
GENRE
I think this
story is historical-fiction, but mostly fiction. It seems to be
historical-fiction because it mentions many dates and is based off of some
events that may have happened. But in a way this book is very miraculous and
very complicated so it may seem to be fiction as well. Each chapter is named
after a certain area the characters are in or a date such as pages 201, 101,
and 141. I think it is also fiction because from page 245 and on it really
starts to talk about Stanley’s feeling and that to me seemed fictional and
vivid.
MAIN CHARCTER DEVELOPMENT
The main
character Stanley really develops from the beginning of the story till the end.
At the beginning he was a brave young boy but he was hesitant and very quiet.
By the end of the book Stanley was a brave young man with many experiences. At
first Stanley wanted to run away from Da and his grief, but by the end of the
book he find himself missing both his father Da and his brother Tom. Pages 48
and 52 explain how much Stanley hated Da, but page 261 and on we see a
connection between the both of them.
CHARCTERIZATION TECHNIQUES
Sam Angus
the author has various characterization techniques that he expresses throughout
the book. Throughout the book he really showed us what was happening with the
characters. I felt as a reader that I was really observing how those characters
lived and how they acted. The author is very specific and explains every
detail, especially when Stanley got hit on page 261 and on. Between pages 245
and 252 there were a lot of letter exchanges which were some of his many techniques.
There was also a beloved pet that was loyal to Stanley and stayed with him to
the very end.
SETTING
This novel takes
place in 1917 during World War 1. This story also takes place in Liverpool,
England and France. Since Stanley ran off and joined the army he heads all the
way from England to France where he is fighting for his country, running away
from his father, and looking for his brother Tom. Page 53 a chapter called Liverpool really
talks about the environment Stanley and Da live in, and explains to us the
surroundings. From page 101 and on it starts to explain his journey to France
working with the army and his new habitat.
P.O.V.
This story
is third person point of view. This type of writing really helps with
explaining the characters vividly. It helps us as readers’ whiteness what is
really happening to Stanley as if we were standing next to him. All the other characters
interact together in a certain way which helps by telling the story in third
person point of view. I think we watched the characters got to notice their
behavior changes and attitudes throughout the entire book.
THEME
The theme of
this book is loyalty because it really shows the true bond of friendship
between a boy and his dog. No matter what happens Soldier always finds his way
back to Stanley. On page 183 a chapter called “Etaples” loyalty is easily recognized.
Stanley had just received Pistol who was actually Soldier his dog, and they
became a team. On page 275 we really get a sense of how much love Soldier has
for Stanley when he reunites with him.
REFLECTION
Overall I
really enjoyed this book. It was really thrilling, and exciting at the same
time. All the characters had conflicts going on in their life such as Stanley.
He is close to our age and I feel like he is the most interesting character to
me. He had issues with Da and Tom, and he decides to run away and join the
army. Throughout the entire book I felt like I was on my toes, and I was
rooting for the characters. I think this book is extremely encouraging because
it talks about a loyal friendship between a young boy and his dog. I would
definitely recommend this book to anyone and if I had to rate it on a scale
from 1 to 10 it would be 9. I chose 9 because it’s a sad story and it is very
emotional, but overall it is magical.
