The Dog Symbol Analysis

The dog that makes its way into the prison yard symbolizes the equality of all people regardless of social or political institutions segregating them. Until the dog arrives in the yard, the separation between the colonizers (Orwell and the superintendent, namely) and the prisoner is clear. Orwell, the superintendent, and the rest of the guards go through the routine preparation for the prisoner’s execution without much reflection, but when the dog arrives it treats everyone, including the prisoner, indiscriminately. In behaving just as excitedly about interacting with both the guards and the condemned man, the dog indirectly highlights the common humanity of all the men present. The dog thus draws Orwell’s, and the reader’s, attention to the cruelty of what is taking place.

The men must chase the dog around the yard, and some even try to stone it. The chase can be read as the jailers’ attempt to rid themselves of this unwelcome reminder of the prisoner’s humanity. The dog, though, cannot be scared away, and the men settle, instead, for catching the stray, which Orwell holds through the hanging. The dog is briefly tamed, as are the men’s feelings of guilt, though discomfort troubles them while they wait for the prisoner’s death. Finally, when the prisoner hangs, the dog runs to see the body and barks at it, confused. It does not understand the violence done by some men to another. To the dog, all people are the same.