Duke's Dog

Use this forum to discuss the May 2018 Book of the Month, "The Sword Swallower and a Chico Kid" by Gary Robinson
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Re: Duke's Dog

Post by crediblereading2 »

Duke is such a funny chap that he decides to give his dog this name to keep himself smiling.
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Post by Anthony Martial Tata »

I am opined that the dog's name is a minor detail and is of no real significance.
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Post by Nma26 »

Yes, it was quite interesting that he named his dog 'Girl dog'.For me, I believe it was just an expression of his masculinity.He probably had a soft spot for the dog.
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Post by Ahlily »

kfwilson6 wrote: 13 May 2018, 18:09 Interesting question. I did think this was kind of odd. Maybe it has something to do with an unwillingness to get too attached to anything. I'm curious to see other thoughts on this.
I think you made a good point on Duke not wanting to get too attached to the dog. I've also seen others comment about how it's a way to showcase Duke's fun personality as well. I think both serve to be true, but in naming the dog, he still get emotionally attached to her, even if it's as silly as "Girl Dog." I have family/friends that have named their animals weird names, like D-O-G (DeeOhGee) for their dog, Little Cat for their kitty, and I have a cat named Kat, though his brother is named Kit...so not really the same. Anyway, my point is, if you name something, you're going to form some sort of attachment to it.
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Post by Nelsy Mtsweni »

I think it reflects Duke's humor and open-mindedness. He was not some strict man and traditional man, but was quite easy and relaxed.
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Post by joycechitwa »

"Girl Dog" is truly an interesting way to name a dog. Naming your pets is largely a very personal and individual thing. I have a friend whose cat's name is "Cat". We once had a cat of our own whose name was "Mama Cat" - because she kept giving birth to litters and litters of kittens, practically all the other cats in that neighborhood were Mama Cat's kittens.

Having said that, Duke's personality also has to come into play when he named his dog. My view is that he sort of kept postponing getting a name for it, making do with the temporary name "girl dog" meanwhile. Well, the temporary name stuck. That's my view of how the dog's name came to be, though I do respect the view of those that suggest that he was hesitant to name her because of attachment issues.
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Post by dbulkley »

I didn’t get too caught up with the dog’s name personally.
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Post by jay_2 »

I also wondered this. To me, it’s hoenstly an interesting question. But I agree with the above comments. Maybe it’s just some weird thing to do with attatchment.
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Post by Adediran Israel »

Duke naming of his dog has nothing to do with the personality. I have seen many people naming their pet in the name of someone or something they don't want to forget rather something that directly affects their lives.
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Post by samiam013 »

Wow, I did not question the dog's name until I stumbled across this post. Now I would love to read the author's motivation, if any, on choosing this name for the dog. Personally, I feel as though there is no huge revelation on the dog being named "Girl Dog".
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Post by Shrabastee Chakraborty »

To be honest, I never even gave this a thought before launching into this discussion. To me, it seems random, without any inherent meaning. Duke probably was not bothered enough to give the dog a name, or probably thought "girl dog" would be unique. However, it was interesting to know what everyone thought about this.
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Post by Hiruni Bhagya 81 »

I too think it might be because he didn't like to get attached to things. He lead a care free life. So, he might not want family ties even to a dog.
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Post by Desiree Goulden »

llpwap wrote: 14 May 2018, 15:33 Duke had such a unique ability to make anyone laugh no matter what they were doing at the time. That being said, I don't think the name of the dog had any real significance other than to show the reader more of Duke's fun personality.
Yeah, that is because Duke is a Mary Sue. Everything he says is funny even when it isn't, everything he does has no real consequence and only makes him more famous. The dude never finished school but somehow got his G.E.D in jail and also attended Julliard and the author calls him word for word "The most educated person in prison". He is just a poorly written Mary Sue in my opinion.
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Post by Agbata Charles »

The name of Duke's dog was indeed weird. I took it to be the manifestation of the effect of alcoholism
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Post by Not available anymore »

It's just a minor detail, we can name our dogs anything
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