The Loaded Dog
About
Author: Henry Lawson whose full name is Henry Hertzberg
Lawson is one of Australia's well known and beloved writers. Henry Archibald Hertzberg
Lawson was born on 17 June 1867 in
Australia and died 2 September 1922. His father, Peter Larsen was a Norwegian sailor and an active feminist and
social radical. He was
famous for his short stories and poetry. In his short stories perfectly
portrayed the life of people in Australia.
He became deaf at the age of nine years. Due to the deafness, poverty there was
unhappiness in his family. He
went to school for three years from age of eight. This school was established
after vigorous agitation which was led by his mother. He left school at age 14 to help his father as a builder. He was an Australian bush or rural poet. Lawson is
considered as one of the best
Australian writer. He writers of the colonial period and is often considered as
Australia’s greatest short story writer. He became the first Australian writer
to whom has been approved a state funeral.
From
1887, Lawson began to write poetry for newspapers and by 1890 he got reputation
as a poet. Lawson’s main works are In the Days When the World Was Wide and Other Verses (1896), While the Billy Boils (1896), On the Track and over the Sliprails (1900), Joe Wilson and His Mates (1901), Children of the Bush (1902), and Triangles of Life and Other Stories (1913)
etc.
Summary:
There are three men Andy Page, Jim
Bentley and Dave Regan who are gold miners and live in Australian bushes. They
mine gold using the technique of shaft mining.
At the opening of the story, we see the
three men searching for gold at a place known as Stony Creek. Stony Creek is a
place where there is shallow water. The three men know that rich gold quartz
reefs are somewhere around that place. To make a shaft the three men dig a hole
as deep as possible, lit the fuse of cartridge and get out immediately. This
results in the formation of a large hole with lots of rocks blown up. They dig
a deep hole, lit the fuse of cartridge and get out at once. This results in the
formation of a large hole with lots of rocks blown up. They find there a large
number of fishes. All of them like the fishes to eat. They want to catch more
fished as they have consent with a butcher for mutual exchange of fishes with
meat.
There
comes an idea to Daves that they will blow the water hole with a cartridge so
they can catches more fishes easily. As his friend Andy like the plain and they
apply this for catching the fishes. Andy makes a large cartage and Andy makes
the use of gunpowder which he has brought from Sydney. On Dave's suggestion, Andy puts the cartridge
into sail canvas and to increase the force of explosion he pastes thick brown
paper around it. After letting the papers dry, he puts more canvas layers
around it and ties it with fishing wire. To be even surer Andy and Dave dip the
cartridge in tallow or bee wax and bind it with fencing wire.
One day Dave and Jim go for work, and
Andy stays back at their tent to cook. Their pet dog Tommy which is a big black
young retriever stays with Andy and watches him work on the cartridge.
Once,
Andy threw away a dead cat from tent, but next morning Tommy brings it back
into the tent. Tommy retrieves everything and puts it in the tent when the
friends are out for swimming in the river.
If not retrieving, Tommy goes swimming along with the friends and
catches their hands with its mouth or scratches their backs. So, if the friends
want to enjoy a good swim, they have to tie their dog. However, all of them
love Tommy heartedness and foolishness. Andy putting the cartridge aside, near
the tent peg starts his cooking work. Tommy then goes to see Dave and Jim
leaving Andy alone. Even while cooking, Andy continuously plans to make the
cartridge better. He sees a treacle tin which has thin neck and thinks that it
makes the perfect case for cartridge. He plans to fill the tin with sand and
stones to increase the explosion. Meanwhile, Jim and Dave come to the tent
along with Tommy, and they relax by the fireside. Tommy had not seen the cartridge goes nosing
around the tent to find it. As usually, after finding cartridge, it brings it
back to Andy, but on its way the fuse of the cartridge gets lit up by the fire
on which Andy is cooking. Dave and Jim shout at Andy and ask him to run. Andy
seeing Tommy carrying the spluttering cartridge runs even before his brain can
respond to the situation. The three friends run for their lives, and runs
behind them holding the cartridge in its mouth thinking all this to be a
game. They all run in circles with Jim
screaming at Dave not to follow him, Dave screaming at Andy to spread out in
other direction and Andy screaming at Tommy to go back home. Andy then stops
and kicks Tommy as hard as he can, but Tommy avoids and starts running again.
Andy throws stones and sticks on Tommy but in van. Tommy thought that he had
made a mistake following Andy, runs behind Dave. Dave had noticed the length of the fuse
snatches the cartridge from Tommy's mouth and throws it far. Tommy runs to the
fuse and after safely getting it back runs after Jim. Tommy gets eager; it
starts shaking its tail and plans to place the cartridge under the seedling. To
save his life Jim climbs the tree even higher. The tree breaks and Jim falls to
the ground and lands on his feet.
Jim
starts running, and Tommy follows him like his own shadow. Jim loses his
control and falls into digger's hole.
Tommy stands above the hole and thinks it would be nice naughtiness to
drop cartridge inside the hole. Jim shouts and abuses Tommy, so it goes behind
Dave. Dave hides behind a log, flat on his face to avoid being found by Tommy.
Dave then runs towards a shanty where many Bushmen reconstruct themselves. He
enters shanty and announces everyone about Tommy and the cartridge. When Tommy
was not able to open the front door which was shut he enters from the back
door. When they see Tommy again they start crying but the dog calms them. Both
the Bushmen and Dave hide themselves hides in wash house.
As
all the men were frightened so they scold Dave for having come there and
creating a chaos and confusion. Tommy goes towards the kitchen in his way comes
a Yellow mongrel Cattle dog. The Cattle
dog attacks Tommy by holding him and bites him. Tommy drops the cartridge,
gives a great shriek and runs from there into the bush. The yellow Cattle dog
follows him for a while and returns to see the object Tommy has dropped. In that surrounding area all of the dogs are
terrified so they left that place until next evening. There was another dog who was one eyed who
had taken interest on cartridge next to the Yellow dog is left with hatred to
the smell of gun powder forever. Some
Bushmen say that whenever they bring a ramrod near its nose, it runs away into
bushes and does not return at least for a day. After some time later, some of
the liberal Bushmen make fun of Dave whenever they see him. Tommy has as usual
smiles on its face for all the fun. To the end, Tommy gives the smile of pleasure
perhaps because it is pleased for making everybody laugh. Tommy did not know
that what type of blunder was done by it.
Glossary/Meaning of Difficult Words
quartz:
a
crystal:like mineral
reef:
a ridge of rock or sand above a large
water body
vicinity: surrounding area
bailing:
scoop water out (of a ship or boat)
time
fuse
: a fuse which can be set to explode a bomb or shell at a specified time
sausage
:
meat, usually minced pork, shaped into a cylinder
calico:
a kind of plain white or unbleached cotton cloth
tallow:
a kind of animal fat formerly used in the manufactu of candles
burred
:
rough
whipcord:
thin, tough,
capered
:
skipped or danced in a lively way
whooped
:
gave a loud cry of joy and/or excitement
lark
:
amusing adventure grimly mocking
sardonically:
grimly mocking
shanty:
a small, crudely built shack
stimulated:
state of increased activity
Bushmen:
people who live in a semi:wild area of land
publican
: a person who owns or manages a pub
corrugated:
material shaped into ridges or grooves,
mongrel:
a dog of no definable breed
small fry: insignificant
vicious
: cruel and violent
painstaking:
done with great care
twine
: a type of strong cotton thread
singed:
burnt
lam:
hit hard
Important Additional Questions
Q1. Write a short note on the
beginning of the story.
Ans. The story begins with
three miners: Dave Regan, Jim Bently, and Andy Page :
attempting to sink a shaft at Stony Creek in exploration of a rich gold quartz
reef. The party is fond of fish, and Andy and Dave are fond of fishing. One day
in the middle of winter, Dave, Andy, and Jim are working on sinking shafts – a
particularly dangerous form of mining that involves creating a near vertical
tunnel to the bottom of the mine by using explosive cartridges. Because they
are near Stony Creek, and because Andy and Dave are devoted fishermen, Dave
comes up with a way that they could catch many fish at once: if they blow up
the riverbed with one of their mining cartridges, they could kill a lot of
fish, some to eat and some trade to the butcher for meat. Jim thinks this idea
is “damned silliness” and wants nothing to do with it. But Andy is always game
for whatever Dave comes up with, even if he sometimes ends up taking the blame
when Dave’s theories don’t pan out. Back at their camp, Andy starts to work on
setting up a cartridge to put in the river. This involves creating a cartridge
three times the normal width and then wrapping it in canvas and brown paper to
increase the size of the explosion. But in the middle of his preparations, the
men’s dog Tommy, a retriever puppy, becomes interested in what they are doing.
Tommy’s main joy in life is retrieving things – a dead cat the men tried to
throw away, any garbage they leave behind, and even the men themselves when
they go swimming.
Q2. What is Dave’s Scheme for
catching the fishes?
Ans. Dave is usually the one to come up with schemes, and Andy is the one to
apply them. Andy usually puts Dave’s theories into practice if they are
feasible, or bears the responsibility for their failure. Andy makes a cartridge
about three times the size of those they usually use. Dave’s schemes are
elaborate, and he often worked his inventions out to nothing
Q3. Write a short note on the on the
incident which the Dog plays in the story.
Ans.:
Dogs as pet animals make great friendship with humans. In this short story The Loaded Dog,
Andy, a miner, loves having his retriever, Tommy, with him at camp and enjoys
playing a game of fetch. It never occurs to him how much trouble it will cause
when Andy and his comrades, Dave and Jim, decide to make an explosive to deal
with the prickly catfish. The dog thinks it is another game of bring when the
men run away from him after the dog takes the cartridge in his mouth and drags
the fuse through the fire. The dog runs the fuse
through the campfire, prompting the three men to flee. Seeing the lit
explosive, the three men try to flee – but Tommy treats their panicked attempts
to get away as a game of chase. Dave and Jim are faster than Andy, but no
matter how much they shout at each other not to follow each other – at least if
they split up they won’t all blow up – they’re all still running together.
Jim tries to
climb a tree and then drops down a mine shaft; meanwhile Andy has hidden behind
a log. When Dave seeks refuge in the local pub, the dog bounds in after him,
causing the Bushmen inside to scatter.
Tommy comes across a "vicious yellow mongrel cattle-dog sulking and nursing his nastiness under [the
kitchen]," who takes the cartridge for himself. A crowd of dogs, curious
about this unusual object, gather around the cartridge. The subsequent explosion
blows apart the yellow cattle-dog and maims numerous others. In the
yard, Tommy runs into a vicious, feral yellow dog that’s been a neighborhood
problem for a while now. The yellow dog bites Tommy, who drops the explosives,
running away in fear. A bunch of other undomesticated dogs surrounds the yellow
dog to see what it’s got. Just as the yellow dog goes in to try to bite the
cartridge, it explodes so hard that the shack rattles. The yellow dog is
killed, and some of the other dogs are also hurt. For the next half hour, the
Bushmen and their wives laugh uproariously. Eventually, Dave apologizes for the
commotion, while Tommy goes back to camp “smiling his broadest, longest, and
reddest smile of amiability, and apparently satisfied for one afternoon with
the fun he’d had.” For a long time afterward, any time one of the Bushmen
encounters Dave, they ask him how fishing is going.
Q4. Write some sentences upon the important characters of the
play.
Ans.
I.
Dave
Regan: Dave is one of
the three men "sinking the shaft" at Stony Creek in the story. He is careless gold miner, who loves
fishing. It is Dave's idea to use a cartridge to catch fish. He gives theories
which are applied Andy. He and a
fellow friend Andy like fishing, so Dave comes up with an idea to blow up fish
in the water-hole with a cartridge. Later, when Tommy the retriever chases the
men with the cartridge in his mouth, Dave seeks help at local pub and leads the
dog with the explosive into the inhabited area.
II.
Andy Page:
He is also gold miner and like his friend Dave, Andy likes
fishing. He puts Dave’s theories into practice if they
were feasible, or bore the blame for the failure and the mocking of his mates
if they were not feasible.
III.
Jim
Bently: He was different to the other men; he wasn't
interested in their 'damned silliness'. He is described
in the story as being dispassionate in the desperate madness of Dave and Andy's
scheme. He enjoys eating fish, but has no interest in fishing. His not
interested in “damned silliness," and therefore he does not participate in
the development of Dave’s idea. Jim is serious with his life compared to his
other friends. He thinks the plan of
blowing the Creek as 'damn silliness'. He is disinterested but doesn't stop his
friends from executing their idea. Jim creates ultimate comedy by climbing a
weak tree and falling in digger's hole.
IV.
The Dog/ Tommy: The
dog itself is one of the vital characters in the story, because everything goes
unexpectedly when the dog steals the cartridge and chases the men with it. Tommy
is the pet dog of three miner friends. It is a foolish young Golden Retriever
which takes the life of its human mates as a joke. He has the habit of slobbering and lashing
legs of his friends with his tail. He has a smile on his face as if it is proud
of its foolishness. His habit of retrieving everything lands him and his
friends into trouble. He creates panic in the story as it carries a cartridge
in its mouth and chases his friends.
Tommy with ignorance does not perceive even for a while the danger which
it is carrying. So, it is really foolish.
He is a black, overgrown pup. His head was usually a red. He is
foolish and slavers. He seemed to take life, the world, and the two men who are
his mates. Tommy is portrayed as a big, stupid dog which keeps
slobbering around his two-footed mates. He lashes his friends with his heavy
tail. He took everything around him as a big joke. He had the habit of
retrieving everything which the three friends threw away.
Q5.
What are the important themes of the play?
Ans.:
There are so many themes of this play
the important themes are discussed below:
I.
Theme of humor and Life in the Bush:
The whole story is humorous and it is planned as a comedic tall tale, of course, but the basic situation sets up a hardship for the men at the center of the story that underscores the very real struggle those living that kind of life faced every day. Likewise, the easy camaraderie between the men and their dependence upon one another—as well as their willingness to take an everybody for himself approach when survival is on the line—reminds the reader of the value of strong social bonds within such a self supportive community.
II.
Theme of Man verses beast:
The center of the story is not on how the dog is presented as an opponent hindering the men from their end, but rather how the dog and the men respond to the exact same narrative stimulus. The language often serves to personify the dog, even to the point of giving him a human name rather than one for suitable for an animal. And yet despite this imagery of personification, Tommy manifests himself as quite unlike the humans through behavior. The dog is endowed with a sentient awareness of the absurdity of the situation that has sent the men scampering for safety and even reveals the unusual canine ability to appreciate the situation with sardonic humor expressed through a grin.
III.
Theme of Exploitation for benefit:
Andy, Dave, and Jim exploit the environment as miners to make a profit. Their behavior runs the risk of being interpreted as ravenous and more evidently destructive. They liberally use explosives and their extensive knowledge of manipulating nature to extract valuable minerals and resources. However when Tommy grabs the explosive the narrative shifts the target. Lawson begins to draw out the irony of torture and greed.
IV.
Theme of Fear:
One of the themes of the story is fear. When the dog takes the cartridge, he puts himself and everyone near him in danger, but he has no concept of fear because he is ignorant of what the cartridge is capable of doing to him. As the three men run away, the dog chases them playfully. The men react to their fear with an everyman for himself attitude. This fearful reaction continues as, in an attempt to find safety, Dave runs into a bar, exposing more men to danger.
Q6.
Write in few sentences the story of “The Loaded Dog”.
Ans.: One day, Dave Regan, Andy Page, and Jim Bently are plummeting ray at Stony Creek. Dave and Andy like to fish. Dave discovered a new way of catching the fish. He suggests they should try to explode the fish with cartridge. Jim is not interested in this but Andy accepts plan. Then they come back at the camp, Tommy gets grip of the explosive. He starts running after the three men, who are trying to run away. The Dog runs after Dave and he runs into a local inn. Tommy meets a violent yellow dog, so he drops the cartridge and runs away. The yellow dog smells the explosive when it unexpectedly explodes.
Q7. Write the plot of the
play?
Ans.:
Three men are mining at a close claim and camping in the bush. After deciding
that they'd like to go fishing, they discover a way to fish using their mining
skills, and decide to blow up the fish in the waterhole. They set about
creating a cartridge, but before they can test their fishing ability, the
retriever dog steals the lit cartridge, chasing the men with before finally
blowing up the Mongrel dog in town. This is set during the Gold Rush age.
However, the humorist elements hide the harsh living conditions of characters.
Q8. Write a short note on the form of this play?
Ans.: There is the third person, omniscient
narration. The play has Linear structure.
There is a mix of short sentences and long descriptive paragraphs. There
is shifting between long descriptive paragraphs and short sentences like
"Dave got an idea." creates grabs the attention of the responder.
Q9. Write a short not
on the ‘Life in Bushes’ or ‘Life at Mining sites’ incident in the story.
Ans.: Life
at mining sites in the forest was not easy. This can be seen through the life
of three miners in the story. These men spend many hours in search of gold, but
they do not know its exact location. The cartridge which they make is dangerous
and can blast anywhere. If Tommy had not taken the cartridge, w do not know
what would have happened the actual plan is executed.
These
men live in tent without proper facilities to sleep and cook. Fishing is their
only means of food, and if they do not catch fish they will have to starve for
the day.
Q10. Write a short note on Uncertainty in the
play.
Ans.:
The
story has uncertainty in many respects as it is full of unanticipated events.
Nothing the story happens as planned. The
three friends who are important
characters of the story were in search
of gold but no one knows that will they find gold or not. Also Tommy takes the
cartridge which is actually made to blast the surface of Stony Creek to catch
fish. All were uncertain about that what will happen within minutes, but
suddenly Yellow dog enters the story, and it gets killed.
Q11. Write a short note
on fear in the story.
Ans.:
Fear is introduced in the story in the form of Tommy who carries lives his life
foolishly and makes the story fearful. When the dog takes the cartridge, he
puts himself and everyone near him in danger, but he has no concept of fear
because he is ignorant of what the cartridge is capable of doing to him. As the
three men run away, the dog chases them playfully. The men react to their fear
with an everyman for him attitude. He is ignorant of the danger it carries and
just tries to be playful. Fear attacks him in form yellow mongrel Cattle dog
near the pub. He is terrified seeing the Yellow dog, and his fear saves him
from being killed by the cartridge.
