Essay~The Obedience of Being Free

The freedoms and confinements of reality are portrayed in the beat poem. “Dog” by Lawrence Ferlinghetti describes a dog walking through the streets of a busy city street, being able to see and smell and hear everything. The poem also has a deeper meaning, being that the dog is free and able to do what it wishes, but also tells the downside of freedom: having a master in some form or another. The reader is able to picture everything that is happening in the poem so clearly that they have an understanding of the dog’s feelings from a certain standpoint. In Ferlinghetti’s poem, creativity bonds together the imagery, figurative language, and the speaker to create a vivid picture of what is happening and describes the feelings and actions of the dog. The imagery in this poem is very distinct, and helps the reader actually smell, hear, and feel what the dog is. At the very beginning of the poem, the speaker describes, “The dog trots freely in the street/and sees reality/ and the things he sees/ are bigger than himself/and the things he sees/are his reality/drunks in doorways/Moons on trees/The dog trots freely thru the street/and the things he sees/are smaller than himself/fish on newsprint/ants in holes/chickens in Chinatown windows/their heads a block away”(1-15). This imagery makes this really easy to picture the street itself, and everything that is going on. These fifteen lines also plant a seed in the reader’s mind that wants to keep growing, that is thirsty for more, that wants to keep reading, because the reader can actually relate to how the dog feels. Towards the end of the poem, the speaker says, “with his head cocked sideways/at streetcorners/as if he is just about to have/his picture taken/for Victor records/listening for/His Master’s voice/and looking/like a living question mark/into the/great gramophone/of puzzling existence” (68-79). These twelve lines describe the dog’s actions, and although the speaker does not tell what the dog is feeling, one can feel what the dog is feeling. The dog is feeling the desire to be obedient, but the need to be free. While telling the dogs actions and vision, the speaker creates a beautiful picture in one’s head, and raw feelings in the reader that stick for a lingering time. Figurative language in this poem arises with the recognition of a sort of fervor and sincerity in the dog. In the middle of the poem, the speaker says, “Congressman Doyle is just another/fire hydrant/to him”(44-46). This metaphor shows that the dog really doesn’t care for politics and the people involved in it. He’d rather do his business on them than agree with them. It’s a way of saying that everyone has thoughts about politics and similar controversial subjects, no matter how small or unable. Near the end of the poem, the speaker describes, “A real live/barking/democratic dog/engaged in real/free enterprise/with something to say/about ontology/something to say/about reality/and how to see it/and how to hear it”(57-67). These ten lines tell us what the dog is feeling, but also plants another greater seed in the reader’s mind: the seed of change. From what the reader can tell about what the dog is feeling, it is easy to go along with because the dog seems so confident and like such a free spirit, but without insulting someone’s judgment aggressively. The reader can value the dog’s way of looking at things, while the speaker is describing a vision of hope that the reader can build off of. The speaker of the poem is able to keep us in check with what the dog is doing, while letting our thoughts roam but also planting the dog’s own feelings in our minds. Towards the end of the poem, after talking about politics, the speaker describes, “The dog trots freely in the street/and has his own dog’s life to live/and to think about/and to reflect upon/touching and tasting and testing everything/investigating everything/without benefit of perjury/a real realist/with a real tale to tell/and a real tail to tell it with”(47-56). This describes the dog’s actions (walking through the street) but expresses the dog’s curious personality, just like people in the world are curious about almost everything and want to do something about it. The reader also makes sure the dog sounds comfortable and confident, which gives the reader, even, a triumphant feeling. In the middle of the poem, the speaker says, “He’s afraid of Coit’s Tower/but he’s not afraid of Congressman Doyle/although what he hears is very discouraging/very depressing/very absurd/to a sad young dog like himself/to a serious dog like himself”(34-40). These few lines are directly saying the dog’s feeling, but it also makes the reader wonder why the dog is feeling this. The speaker plants a feeling of mystery in the reader because it makes you wonder why the dog is so sad and so serious, and maybe if the reader is reflecting his feelings in an indirect way, through the dog. The speaker allows the reader to know what the dog is feeling while also letting our minds (the reader’s minds) wander and think of different possibilities. In this poem, innovation forms a unique alliance between imagery, figurative language, and the speaker’s language to connect thoughts in the reader’s head and tell what the dog is feeling. The imagery paints a bold picture of everything the dog is seeing, feeling, and smelling while letting the reader’s imagination roam a little. The figurative language lets the reader interpret how the dog feels about something, like its lifestyle, Congressman Doyle, and the obedience of being free. When one is obedient, they usually have a master of some kind, right? As it turns out they also have a master when they are free. When our thoughts roam, they are still often controlled by one central thought. So nevertheless they are controlled. One could say we, people, are never truly free from anything, no matter how hard we try. The reader can make the assumption that that’s why the dog is disappointed in the world. Being “free” is important to everyone on different levels, and that is why our world likes to be and is so different.