A Different Perspective on "A Dog's Tale"

Upon reading Mark Twain’s short story, A Dog’s Tale, for the first time, the story may seem like a tragic tale about a dog who loses her puppy to a mean owner. However, upon closer analysis, a much more complex and socially controversial meaning comes out of A Dog’s Tale. In the article by Gay S. Herzberg, “A Dog’s Tale: An Expanded View”, Herzberg argues that A Dog’s Tale is actually a critical piece of work, “Condemning the misuse of language, the cold-bloodedness of science, and the evils of slavery.” In his article on A Dog’s Tale, Herzberg’s main argument is that in A Dog’s Tale, Twain subtly presents his views on language, science, and slavery; three subjects that were extremely important to him. Herzberg’s analysis also does a good job at relating an old story to a younger readership by elaborating on the themes of Mark Twain’s short story and relating them to relative issues today.


 Language is obviously a motif of A Dog’s Tale, however in his article, Herzberg argues that it is actually central to the meaning as well. Herzberg spends the first paragraph of his article reflecting on Twain’s twisting of language to mean different things in his story. Herzberg points out that language is used as a “social weapon”, because Aileen's mother uses it to impress and intimidate her fellow dogs. Herzberg also notes that although language is used as social weapon in this story, by changing the meanings of words merely to impress other dogs, Twain leads the reader to believe that language is actually useless or “gone to the dogs.” In his first paragraph, Herzberg makes his claim that by showing the abuse of language by the dogs, Twain is actually voicing his belief that language as a whole has fallen to misuse and under-appreciation. Language is important to Twain because language is the tool that Twain uses to communicate with his audience. By having the dogs speak words so that the meaning is lost, Twain is subtly showing that language as a whole has less meaning than it used to because of gross misuse. Although Twain does hold language to be extremely important, one of the most obvious themes of the story is not the abuse of language, but the abuse of Aileen’s puppy by the scientist.


 The scientist in A Dog’s Tale is certainly viewed by the reader to be the antagonist in the story. Herzberg, in his article and analysis of A Dog’s Tale, argues that in his story, Twain is sharply criticizing some of the harsh and cruel methods of science. Mr. Gray (the scientist) represents the scientific world, placing ethics and equity aside for the sake of progress. Herzberg claims that Mr. Gray considers logic and reason to be more important than compassion and emotion and therefore feels no compassion for Aileen’s little puppy that he killed. Twain is painting a picture of the scientific world through his description of Mr. Gray, claiming that science is primarily concerned with proving theories and outdoing other scientists and in the name of progress, actually harms and kills many innocent animals. Herzberg argues that Twain is reminding the reader, through the character of Mr. Gray, that although scientific advancement can save humans, it can also do great harm to animals. Herzberg’s claim that Twain is using Mr. Gray as a representation for the scientific world is easy to pull out of the story, however Herzberg’s next claim, that the dog’s represent slaves, requires a more in-depth analysis of the text.


 After explaining the misuse of language and the cruelty of the scientist, Herzberg goes even deeper into his analysis of A Dog’s Tale. Herzberg claims that A Dog’s Tale is also a parody of slavery, stating that the same story of separation that Aileen and her mother experienced could have been written about a slave family. Herzberg compares the dog’s “unquestioning resignation to fate” to that of a 19th century slave. Herzberg also goes on to explain that Aileen served her new owners loyally, without question and was “pathetically grateful” for attention. He compares Aileen’s willingness to serve to that of a slave, claiming that Twain was probably making a point about slavery. Herzberg also includes a quote taken from A Dog’s Tale in which Aileen’s mother says, “we were sent into this world for a wise and good purpose, and must do our duties without repining, take our life as we might find it, live it for the best good of others, and never mind about the results; they were not our affair”. Herzberg considers the attitude of Aileen and her mother to be much like that of a slave, such as serving for no reward and putting others before self. Herzberg’s claim that A Dog’s Tale is a parody of slavery brings new meaning to the story by giving it a deeper meaning that is more relevant to a young readership than just simply a story of a dog and her puppy.


 In his article, “A Dog’s Tale: An Expanded View”, Gay Herzberg argues that Mark Twain uses the story, A Dog’s Tale, as a way to express his views on language, science, and slavery. Herzberg states that although A Dog’s Tale may at first appear to be yet another bash against mankind for the way that we treat animals, the story is actually a critical work with deeper meanings and more complex themes than one may originally understand. Herzberg, in his analysis of A Dog’s Tale, brings to the surface some of the subtle themes of the short story and in doing so, helps young readers to relate to the interesting and relevant topics presented by Mark Twain. “A Dog’s Tale: An Expanded View” is therefore an important analysis of one of Mark Twain’s least well-known works.

Works Cited

Herzberg, Gay S. “A Dog’s Tale: An Expanded View.” Mark Twain Journal Winter 1977-1978: 20. Print.

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