Biography of James Thurber
James Thurber is a popular modern American writer and artist. He was born at Columbus and was educated at Ohio University. He was blind of one eye since his childhood. First he worked as a Code Clerk. Later he became a journalist and artist. He worked on the Paris staff of the Chicago Tribune till 1926. He then returned to America and joined the staff of the New York.He became the life and soul of it. His other works, illustrated with his own drawings are numerous . One of them is The Trhurber Carnival which contains his most Important work. Thurber’s humorous prose and drawings are never gay because their enthusiam is dampened by melancholy -
His fantastic people and animals are distorted and mis-shapen by a malignant fate. Thurber has stated his artistic credo in these words; Humour is a kind of emotional chaos talked about calmly and quietly in retrospect. James Thurber died in 1961.
Snapshot of a Dog is taken from The Thurber Carnival which contains the writer’s most important work. Many of Thurber’s writings and drawings deal with dogs. He understands them, and he has the gift of relating stories interestingly. This piece is typical of Thurber.
It is both homorous and serious as his writings usually are. The story flows along easily and smoothly, and the reader has the impression that the writer is talking to him. The writer looks upon the dog. Snapshot of a dog One day the writer was sorting out some old tilings. In them he came across a photograph of his bull-terrier whom he and his brothers owned twenty-five years ago. His name was Rex. He lived for ten years.
He was gentle by nature and usually kept quiet. Physically he was quite strong. He enjoyed dragging heavy things from different places. Once he brought a chest of drawers to the courtyard of the house from the back-gate. He never bit any person. No doubt he barked on thieves and suspicious persons at night.
He did not catch the other dogs by their throats but firmly gripped their ears. He did not start the fight but if somebody challenged him, he would not leave him. Once he fought with the dog of negro and held on so firmly to him that all methods failed to separate him from the other dog. All the traffic was blocked.
One person tried to open Rex’s mouth with the help of a rod. The other brought fire near his tail, but he would not loosen his grip on his rival. At last the Fire Brigade was called. They threw heavy showers of water on him and it was only then that he left the other dog. This fight lasted from dusk to pitch dark one Sunday. Rex was an enemy of cats.
He took delight in killing them, though he killed them nicely. Even his masters could not stop him from killing the cats. It was perhaps a hobby with him. Like other dogs he never ran after the wagons or motor cars. Swimming was his favourite recreation. He swam in Alum Creek. He would swim up stream and back. for the pleasure of it. He had much fun in the water and would bring back a stick to you if you did throw one in it.
He was as powerful as a wrestler ( ). He played with the baseball and tossed it up. He could lift heavy objects front onejtlace to another. One night when he went roaming ( U I ) in the light of the moon he brought back a small chest of drawers form some unknown place. It presented a nice problem in transportation before him and it was a test of his mettle. Rex was a good jumper also. He could jump as high as eight feet. There was 110 such thing as impossible for hint.
Even death could not beat him down. Once he was terribly beaten by the owner of a dog that he had got into a fight with. His head and body had been badly injured. When he came back, he started licking the hands of the writer and one of his brothers. The other brother was out. Rex waited for his third master and fought against death heroically till he came. He came after an hour. Rex walked towards him, touched his hand with his mouth and fell down. Thus he breathed his last before all his three masters.
Qualities of Rex
Rex had a gentle disposition .He never bit a person during his ten years’ life, nor ever growled at any one except prowlers. He had a strange hobby of killing the cats. His masters tried to stop him from doing that, but could not. However, he killed them quickly and neatly, and without any malice, the way men kill, certain animals. He never killed, or even chased, squirrel.He never ran barking after wagons or automobiles. Perhaps he knew that he would not be able to catch them. He was very fond of swimming. He could swim upstream and back in Alum Creek, just for the pleasure of it,' like a man. He could dive into water from eight feet or more. Rex was also a great jumper.
He would take on any fence that was pointed out to him. Six feet was easy for him, and he could do eight by making a little extra effort. In short, there was in his world no such thing as the impossible. Even death could not beat him down. He remained loyal and sincere to his masters even upto his last moments. He did not die till he kissed the hands of all his masters. Thus he lived and thus he died, bravely and heroically. Adventures of Rex Ans. Rex performed many deeds of surprising nature.
Rex was an American bull-terrier. He was big and muscular. He had a gentle disposition. He always tried to perform the extravagant tasks, his masters used to set for him. One of these tasks was to carry a heavy ten-foot wooden rail into the yard through the back gate, which was quite narrow. Since he could not bring the rail in broad side, he devised his own method to hold on its one end, and then brought it into the yard.
His fight with a big dog of a Negro was also a memorable adventure. It lasted from evening till night. Rex held one ear of his rival with full power and did not release his grip, till the Fire Brigade came and a heavy stream of water was thrown on the dogs. It was also his habit to test his mettle by lifting heavy things. Once he was out at night on his usual stroll, he brought with him a small chest of drawers.
He carried it for the fun of lifting it. He was also a great jumper and a great swimmer. He could jump as high as eight feet. As a swimmer, he swam up stream and back just for the pleasure of it. thus Rex lived a life full of adventures and died as bravely as he lived. Psychology of dogs The writer has not only given an account of an individual dog, but also he has thrown light on the nature of dogs in general. The faithfulness of the dog is proverbial and Rex remains true to his nature.
Sincerity and love for the master is ingrained in his blood. He is badly wounded when he comes back home and knows that he is dying. He kisses the hands of his two masters, but the third one is not at home. He looks for him and with the sheer force of his will power prolongs his last moments. When the third master comes from outside, Rex walks a few paces towards him, touches his hand with his muzzle and falls down never to rise again. This example illustrates the unique quality of dogs more akin to faithful and sincere people.
We also come to know that dogs can perform deeds of astonishing nature. They can lift and drag, heavy afticles. They have also a fighting instinct in them. The scene of their fights is very interesting as is in the case of Rex’s fight with the dog of a Negro. They are also great jumpers and swimmers.
They could jump over high walls or fences with great care. This is why police trains them for such' purposes. They can also swim against the waves of water and try to perform odd jobs as men do. As human beings have their own individual philosophy, the dogs too have their own peculiar traits.
For example, Rex takes pleasure in killing the cats; but he does not kill the squirrels and does not run after the wagons or automobiles. He does not bite any body, but barks at the thieves and prowlers. He is never the first to start a fight with an other dog, but when he is dragged into the fight, he teaches him a lesson by holding on to one of his ears. Thus we see that the account of Rex’s life and adventures gives us an insight into the psychology of dogs.
Post a Comment