The “Fifteen Dogs” Novel by Andre Alexis

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Table of Contents

Introduction
The Various Reactions of Dogs
The Prince’s Life
Hard Times
The Cruelty of the Instincts
The Last Moment of Joy
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Fifteen Dogs – an allegorical novel by Andre Alexis. The book is an apology with a fable-like narrative focused on animals and morality. This is the second of five planned novels exploring love, faith, place, power, and hate. In a Toronto pub, the Greek gods Apollo and Hermes are arguing about the virtues of people and their ability to use symbolic language. Apollo, who does not appreciate either, makes a bet with Hermes that animals endowed with human intelligence will be unhappier than humans. Hermes agrees, but on the condition that if at least one dog is happy at the end of his life, Hermes will win. They give human intelligence to 15 dogs living in the nearest veterinary clinic. In the course of the story, dogs behave like people, they are seized by power, rage, envy, and unhappiness.

The Various Reactions of Dogs

The first chapter explores the various reactions of dogs to the acquisition of human intelligence. Three dogs decide to stay, and they die disappointed and unhappy. The remaining 12 dogs set up a lair in the High Park, and Atticus, the mastiff, takes on the role of leader. Atticus finds self-awareness unbearable because it makes him doubt the cruelty of his instincts. Majnoun, a black poodle, longs for the past but believes that dogs must learn to accept their new reality (Szpor et al, 2021). Benji accepts intelligence as an opportunity to improve his position. Only the Prince, a mongrel, rejoices in his new abilities and begins to compose poetry.

The Prince’s Life

Language plays a central role in the Prince’s life, being gifted with human intelligence. Having received this new mind, Prince is described as “constantly finding words in himself” (Alexis 22). Prince doesn’t stop at creating this language, though; he even gets creative with the language when he uses a pun to describe the density of the bone he chews. For Prince, the use of language is natural to him, and he does not feel the need to stop creating new words on the grounds that they are not “useful innovations”, unlike other dogs (Kolinska, 2020). The Prince finds it acceptable to use language for entertainment, which leads him to read poetry. While others struggle to accept Prince’s poems against their natural canine instincts, Prince allows himself to embrace this new way of thinking. The other dogs in the pack get annoyed by the Prince when he starts asking “endless questions about trivial things: about people, about the sea, about trees, about his favorite smells… about the yellow disk above them” (27-28). The pack is enraged by the Prince’s questions because, being dogs, they had never faced such questions before they received human consciousness.

Hard Times

Soon Atticus decides that the pack should return to its previous behavior and plots to clear the pack of all dissenting dogs. He arranges the death of Athena and Bella, the small and big dogs, respectively, who maintain a close bond. Scared of Atticus, Benji ran away from the pack with Dougie, another small dog, but they returned after going through hard times (Chewter, 2019). The pack attacked Dougie and killed him but allowed Benji to stay. The pack needed a small dog to maintain the hierarchy, but Benji hated them for killing his friend and resented their abuse of power. (de Valors, 2019). Although Benji considers human intelligence a useful tool, he is happy to perform tricks to impress people. Eventually, Benji becomes overconfident and tries to oust Majnun, who attacks him with the intent to kill him, and Benji flees.

The Cruelty of the Instincts

Atticus finds self-awareness unbearable because it makes him doubt the cruelty of his instincts. Majnoun, a black poodle, longs for the past but believes that dogs must learn to accept their new reality. Benji accepts intelligence as an opportunity to improve his position. Only the Prince, a mongrel, rejoices in his new abilities and begins to compose poetry. In the third chapter, we return to Atticus, who experiences self-awareness as a painful internal oscillation between violence and empathy. Atticus eventually realized that killing dogs was an excess that tarnished his leadership.

The Last Moment of Joy

Hoping to save his poems from destruction with him, the Prince begins to read them to a woman at home until Apollo deprives him of hearing. In his dying moments, the Prince reflects on the gift given to him and realizes that it can be given to another (Brydon, 2019). Dying, the Prince feels happy, and Hermes wins the argument. Hermes gives the Prince the last moment of joy, in which he feels and receives love from Kim.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it can be noted that dogs endowed with human qualities have met all the sorrows of ordinary people’s lives. As in the modern world, people can be envious and overbearing, but there are kind and merciful, like a Prince. Most people die in misfortune, never finding their destination, but only a small percentage appreciate every moment of life and die with a calm soul.

References

Brydon, D. (2019). Risk, Mortality, and Memory: The Global Imaginaries of Cherie Dimaline’s The Marrow Thieves, MG Vassanji’s Nostalgia, and André Alexis’s Fifteen Dogs.

de Valors, E. L. (2019). Metaphysical Space and the Transhumanist Spectrum in André Alexis’ Fifteen Dogs. In 9na Edición de la Conferencia Científica Internacional de la Universidad de Holguín.

Chewter, E. (2019). “Dogism”: Fascism and the Philosophy of Violence in André Alexis’s Fifteen Dogs. The Albatross, 9, 66-75.

Kolinska, K. (2020) “We have to learn to be dogs again:” Human-Animal Consciousness and the ‘Joy in Language’in André Alexis’ Fifteen Dogs. NATURE V/S CULTURE, 75.

Szpor, J., Uchańska, B., & Andres, J. (2021). Possibilities of using open chest cardiac massage in sudden, non-traumatic cardiac arrest. Folia Medica Cracoviensia, 71-79.

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