29 pages • 58 minutes read
Beware of the Dog
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
The Fragmented Nature of Truth
The fragmented nature of truth is a key theme in “Beware of the Dog” and links to literary Modernism as well as the historical context of WWII. Against the backdrop of a disorienting situation, which Dahl depicts through ambiguous language, stream of consciousness, and inner monologue, Peter undergoes a quest for truth, grounding himself in concrete sensory details to piece together his reality.
In “Beware of the Dog,” Dahl follows many of the techniques and beliefs of Modernist writers who came before him. Modernists often approached the nature of truth with a sense of uncertainty, acknowledging the subjective and elusive nature of truth while highlighting the importance of individual perspectives and the limitations of language in conveying an ultimate truth. At the same time, they recognized the importance of truth based on physical reality and concrete sensory details. While they were skeptical of absolutes, they sought to engage with the world and capture its essence through vivid and precise descriptions of sensory experiences.
“Beware of the Dog” throws Peter into disorienting situations where objective truth is unclear. This is further heightened through close third-person narration. Early in the story, Peter’s perspective seems to be falsely confident as he navigates this disorientation. After he ejects himself from the cockpit of his aircraft, Dahl conveys Peter drifting out of consciousness and becoming detached from the passing of time:
He watched [the world] as it turned from white to black, then back to white again, and the white stayed for a long time, but the black lasted only for a few seconds. He got into the habit of going to sleep during the white periods, of waking up just in time to see the world when it was black. The black was very quick (152).
Peter’s apparent calmness as he tumbles dangerously through the air mirrors the worldwide normalization of extraordinary circumstances that occurred during the upheaval of WWII.
Once the narrative shifts into the hospital setting and introduces elements of mystery, Peter becomes less confident in the truth and more uncertain of his situation. He becomes determined to uncover objective truths. Throughout the story, he constructs his reality based on concrete, sensory details. By noticing details of his physical surroundings, he is eventually able to construct a new truth. At first, his observations are limited and subjective, and they obscure the truth. For instance, he initially disregards the nurse, noting almost nothing about her appearance and mannerisms, only to realize later that she is shiftier than he thought. Eventually, he is able to orient himself and derive meaning from an array of observations—including the sound of the JU-88s, the quality of the water he’s bathed in, and the view from his window that shows a sign written in French. Dahl departs slightly from Modernist thought by implying that these details lead to something akin to an objective truth (“Slowly he began to realize the full meaning of the thing” [161]), contending that although reality comes to us in fragmented form, it can be pieced together with enough determination and self-awareness.
The Utility of Fear
The purpose of fear is explored through Peter’s character arc. Initially, the story presents Peter as a fearless individual, seemingly unaffected by the disorienting circumstances he finds himself in. However, as the narrative progresses, his bravado falls away. Peter’s admission of disorientation marks the beginning of his shifting relationship to fear, as the narrative starts to center on his struggles with doubt and confusion. Eventually, fear comes to Peter in the form of intuition, providing him with a heightened sense of awareness and guiding him toward the truth. This transformation is significant as it portrays fear not as a hindrance but as a tool for survival and self-discovery.
Peter begins the story in a dangerous situation: he has lost his leg, and his plane is likely to crash before he is able to make it home. He should feel afraid, and yet he convinces himself that he is “fine, and because he still felt fine, he felt excited and unafraid” (150). The first moment he truly feels disoriented comes just before he jumps out of the plane when he sees “only a vast white sea of cloud” and realizes “he did not know where he was” (151). Once Peter wakes up in the hospital, he is in a decidedly vulnerable state, and for the first time, admits his fear. He tries to stay awake, and decides that “[h]e wanted to keep his eyes open because he was frightened that if he shut them again everything would go away” (154).
At a pivotal point in the story, Peter accepts his inner disquiet and identifies it as a useful tool that functions similarly to instinct or intuition. Fear becomes a force that “warned but did not frighten; the kind of fear that one gets not because one is afraid, but because one feels that there is something wrong” (159). Acknowledging this feeling gives Peter the momentum and determination to finally uncover the truth of where he is.
By the end of the story, Peter’s bravery does not stem from denial or ignorance of the danger he faces; he is fully aware of his situation and the potential risks involved. Despite this awareness, he displays courage and resilience, choosing to confront his circumstances head on. This nuanced portrayal of bravery highlights Peter’s vulnerability and humanity, emphasizing that courage is not the absence of fear but the ability to act despite it.
Loyalty and the Subsuming of Identity
“Beware of the Dog” explores the complex dynamics between the individual and the collective. As a war narrative with a Modernist ethos, the text juxtaposes Peter’s struggle to assert his individual reality with the theme of loyalty and the subsuming of identity. While the story primarily centers around Peter as an individual facing formidable challenges, he is portrayed as more than just a solitary figure; ultimately, he exemplifies loyalty and a willingness to sacrifice his own well-being for a greater cause.
Even though Peter is the protagonist of the narrative (the story is structured entirely around his actions and his psychological battle for the truth), his name is only revealed in the penultimate line. Throughout the text, he is referred to simply as “he.” During key moments, he is denoted as “the pilot,” which creates a distancing effect, providing a slight detachment as Peter’s actions are narrated. This withholding of Peter’s name casts him as an archetypal “everyman.” Although the text concerns itself with the nuances of Peter’s thoughts and emotions and therefore values him as an individual, the fact that Peter’s name is withheld—only to reveal it during a critical moment of loyalty and self-sacrifice—establishes him as a character whose individuality may ultimately be less important than the collective he stands for.
During the pivotal final moment in which Peter recites his name, rank, and number in the final lines, the dialogue reveals his name, but the text refers to him only as “the man” (“The man in the bed did not move” [164]). This linguistic choice creates greater distance between the narrative’s point of view and Peter, moving the perspective outside of Peter’s thoughts and viewing him as an almost generic person (a “man”) who is loyal enough to sacrifice his survival for the good of the collective. While Peter finally declares his name—a mark of identity and individuality—during these last lines of dialogue, it is said in the same breath as his rank and number, with his number being given the most weight: “My name is Peter Williamson. My rank is Squadron Leader and my number is nine seven two four five seven” (164). This emphasizes that Peter is not just an individual but a soldier subsumed into a larger whole, one that he is willing to sacrifice his body and his life for. Further, he is willing to be reduced to a number.
The story’s exploration of loyalty and identity resonates with and comments on the broader Modernist exploration of the individual’s place in a fragmented and uncertain world. Modernist writers grappled with the challenges of reconciling personal identity with societal demands, questioning traditional notions of selfhood. Peter’s unwavering loyalty and willingness to sacrifice himself speaks to the tensions and complexities of this modernist dilemma. Dahl implies that even during a period of increasing fragmentation and isolation (a time during which art had grown skeptical of patriotism and the validity of institutions, instead favoring individual subjectivity), giving one’s life up for a shared cause could still be a noble and worthwhile act.
Unlock all 29 pages of this Study GuidePlus, gain access to 8,800+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
Related Titles
By Roald Dahl
