Two Articles

Two Articles

By: R G

Two articles called “A Dog Year” by Jon Katz and “Climbing the Ladder” by Joseph Bruchac are very interesting articles to me. “A Dog Year” is about a strong bond developed between the speaker and his two yellow Labrador retrievers. “Climbing the Ladder” is an article that talks about an important Abenaki family memory. I like “A Dog Year” the most because it has vivid imagery, has a strong bond between characters, and includes un-human characters.

            The two articles have a lot in common. They are both written in the first person. That means that they are written from the point of view of the speaker. Also, they both have memories. The article “Cleaning the Well” is a memory from when a child was three and he and his grandpa checked the peak. The article “A Dog Year” has a memory when the speaker remembers when he got his two dogs. Finally, they both have strong bonds/relationships in them. There is a great relationship between the grandfather and the son in “Cleaning the Well”. They go on the roof when the son is three and enjoy the view. In “A Dog Year,” the speaker has a strong bond with his dogs as he has raised them since they were young. Apparently, both articles have a lot in common.

            Though they have a lot in common, they have a lot of differences. “A Dog Year” is to entertain the reader with a story of loving man’s best friend and creating strong bonds with others. “Climbing the Ladder” informs the reader about the Abenaki people and the grandfather’s tradition of checking the peak. “A Dog Year” also uses a lot more vivid imagery to express what the dogs do and how the bonds between man’s best friend and man stay strong. Next, “A Dog Year” has dogs, an inhumane character not used in “Climbing the Ladder.” A dog makes the story seem different and better. Finally, a lot more dialogue is used in “Climbing the Ladder” as the grandfather and the son speak keeping their bonds strong by being with each other. As you can see, there are also a lot of differences.

            I like “A Dog Year” more out of the two because of the vivid imagery, strong bonds and use of man’s best friend, the dog. The author uses vivid imagery to express what the dogs do all day long and their love for the speaker. I understood what a dogs day is like by painting pictures in my head as I read this article. Also, “A Dog Year” is my favorite because of the strong bonds created between the speaker and the dogs. He cared for them and loved them as he raised them his whole life. These dogs were different and better as they could stop forever sometimes. Also, they didn’t play catch like most dogs. Man’s best friend was nice and caring for their owner also. Most of all these dogs were special. The speaker was lucky to have them and raise them from puppies to dogs. Now you understand why I like “A Dog Year” more.

            I like “A Dog Year” the most because it has vivid imagery, strong bonds between characters, and man’s best friend and the freedom. The poet is free to use varieties of characters, create strong bonds, and paint a vivid picture. I think that Jon Katz is a great descriptive writer who took something from everyday life and added detail to make it more interesting. I learned how to use detail properly from reading “A Dog Year.”