Download a PDF to print or study offline.
Study Guide
Bibliography
Course Hero. "A Dark Brown Dog Study Guide." Course Hero. 26 July 2019. Web. 5 Aug. 2020. <https://www.coursehero.com/lit/A-Dark-Brown-Dog/>.
In text
(Course Hero)
Bibliography
Course Hero. (2019, July 26). A Dark Brown Dog Study Guide. In Course Hero. Retrieved August 5, 2020, from https://www.coursehero.com/lit/A-Dark-Brown-Dog/
In text
(Course Hero, 2019)
Bibliography
Course Hero. "A Dark Brown Dog Study Guide." July 26, 2019. Accessed August 5, 2020. https://www.coursehero.com/lit/A-Dark-Brown-Dog/.
Footnote
Course Hero, "A Dark Brown Dog Study Guide," July 26, 2019, accessed August 5, 2020, https://www.coursehero.com/lit/A-Dark-Brown-Dog/.
Stephen Crane
1901
Short Story
Allegory, Tragedy
"A Dark Brown Dog" is written in an omniscient third-person perspective, with insight given into the thoughts and feelings of multiple relevant characters. The narrator editorializes through the use of poetic language, such as personification. A very young child conducts "interviews" with the dog, for example, and a small apartment is referred to as a "kingdom governed by this terrible potentate."
The story "A Dark Brown Dog" is written in the past tense.
"A Dark Brown Dog" references the character of the dog at the center of the events of the story. The dog is also an allegorical representation of the hardships endured by freed slaves. The title reinforces the dog's position in the narrative while drawing attention to the social role of color at the time the story was written. Crane chose not to hyphenate "Dark Brown" in the title but does hyphenate the phrase "dark-brown" within the story, in the ordinary sense of an adjective describing the color of the dog's fur. The implication of Crane's not hyphenating the phrase in the title is that the dog stands for something more significant than a literal dog.
This study guide for Stephen Crane's A Dark Brown Dog offers summary and analysis on themes, symbols, and other literary devices found in the text. Explore Course Hero's library of literature materials, including documents and Q&A pairs.
Have study documents to share about A Dark Brown Dog? Upload them to earn free Course Hero access!
