The Power of the Dog

“With all his money and family, he was just folks, dressed like any hired hand in overalls and blue chambray shirt.”

The narrator is here describing Phil. Phil intentionally dresses the part of the rugged frontiersman as part of his identity construct. Clothes is especially important to Phil, given that he refuses to be naked except in his special, sacred spot.

“It is not easy or desirable to slough off old habits, or to forget who you are.”

The narrator comments on the white linen Phil eats on. It suggests that the rough exterior as presented in the previous quote is not entirely authentic. This speaks to the theme of the authenticity of the self, which only Peter truly embraces.

“It embarrassed him to be called John. He didn’t feel like John. He felt like Johnny, and maybe that was his trouble, for who trusts the Johnnys of the world.”

The narrator signals Johnny’s singular weakness, which is his apparent lack of confidence. He does not feel as though he is a John because he deems himself unworthy of such formality as to call himself by his grown-up name. This attitude will place him at odds with the harsh environment of the western frontier.

“Well, then. To be kind is to try to remove obstacles in the way of those who love or need you.”

This is Johnny’s final advice to his son Peter. The words remain with Peter long after Johnny hangs himself. Peter sees it as his mission to fulfill the obligation inherent in the advice, which he ultimately does by killing Phil.

“He felt strangely remote, even lonely, and sort of wished he wasn’t a Burbank, something like that, something.”

The narrator implies that Phil is uncomfortable with his family lineage. He wishes that he did not come from wealth as it in some ways reminds him that he is not self-made. He projects this insecurity onto Rose by criticizing her for simply marrying into money.

“He knew if a timber wolf was lame, noted the fainter print of the favored paw in dust or snow, saw a quivering in the stubble and watched the grass snake unhinge its jaws and bolt down tiny new mice while the mother leapt in circles, screaming.”

Here, Phil’s predatory instincts are described. His ability to identify weakness and seize upon it are features of his territorial dominance. This makes him the Alpha dog of the narrative, but it also leads to the kind of cruelty which ultimately dooms him.

“For magpies ride about on the backs of horses and cattle and pick at sores they find there and eat the living flesh.”

Phil has clear disdain for the magpie, But symbolically, this disdain extends to those people he views as possessing the same parasitical characteristics. This in part explains his suspicion and contempt for Rose. He sees her as a magpie-type figure.

“He’d never known anybody yet who talked too much who wasn’t a God damned fool.”

Phil respects that George does not speak more than he needs to. Ironically, Phil does not understand that he himself is guilty of the accusation of talking too much. This is one of many ways in which Phil deludes himself.

“He thought he might have dealt with anger, but he had little experience with tears.”

The narrator describes George’s reaction when he discovers Rose crying. He has no experience with tears, which signals the lack of kindness and compassion he is used to at the ranch. Nevertheless, George does not shy away from Rose’s sadness.

“They could not suit Phil, they could not please him, and his glances reminded them of their useless lives.”

The Burbank parents are weary of Phil, whose fierce intensity is filled with purpose. His glances are filled with contempt, for they have lived what he deems an easy life that has come at the expense of their dignity, as Phil sees it. Once again, Phil fails to acknowledge that his successes are to some degree similarly unearned.

“She walks in beauty, he quoted from his father’s books. She walks in beauty, like the night.”

George quotes the Romantic poet Lord Byron. This reflects the tendency George has toward idealization of Rose. By contrast, Phil regards Rose in what he views is a more realistic manner.

“The place had the offensive odor of women.”

This is the reason given for why Phil does not use the bathroom he has access to. When his mother was at home, she would use it. Thus began Phil’s negative associations with the feminine.

“I wouldn’t want to get in the habit of talking too much, don’t you know.”

George says this to Rose in jest as a way of poking fun at himself. Also, it shows his awareness of who he is, and his ability to make fun of this quality likewise shows confidence in himself. Again and again, George is able to balance strength and sensitivity to embody the book’s version of the masculine ideal.

“For there is no place on a ranch for a married man; like married priests, they can’t keep their mind on their work, always running off to where the wife is.”

This is another passage that shows Phil’s misogyny. This quote provides further indication of why he sees Rose as a threat. Her presence is a distraction for George who is needed to participate in his duties at the ranch.

“He worked barehanded with hammer and tongs that no leather or cloth might blur the sharp image his brain conceived.”

An explanation is provided here as to why Phil insists on not using gloves when he works. He has a certain image of how his work should be, which involves dirty hands. This refusal to wear gloves will later directly lead to his demise.

“But what was art (she defended herself) if not the arrangement of trivia?”

The narrator is speaking of Rose. In her modest view of her own skills, she posits a theory for what art actually is. While Phil may be gifted with more natural talent, his cruelty saps his performances of any heart or feeling.

“Was he unaware that Phil had not spoken directly to her more than twice?”

Rose thinks this about George. This shows George’s aloof tendencies. He seems distant at times and does not really grasp how Phil is affecting Rose.

“And then just before we got into the machine, she said the oddest thing. Said, ‘You’ve been very kind.’”

This line is spoken by the governor’s wife after the dinner hosted by George and Rose. That she finds Rose’s compliment odd speaks to how unimportant being kind is for the governor’s wife compared to how much value Rose places on it.

“The drylanders were foreigners, for the most part, Finns and Swedes and such, and he had not much use for foreigners, and none at all for farmers.”

Phil’s xenophobia is revealed. He sees the people who arrive from different countries as representative of change; therefore, he hates them. As the novel progresses, more and more of Phil’s negative qualities come to light.

“There she was catered to; but even there she felt an imposter, a child playing grown-up.”

This is precise explanation for why Rose feels out of place. The quote also captures her growing feelings of inadequacy. She is made to feel like a child by the cruel and condescending Phil.

“Phil went there to swim, sometimes strangely moved by his own naked reflection.”

The narrator is speaking of the secret grove where Phil bathes. This is a direct reference to his tendency toward narcissism. Had his parents not instilled such strict values of modesty, Phil might not have learned to view his body as something secret to fixate on.

“He’s only a man, she would insist to herself, only another with secret problems; but teetering on the precipice, walking that tightwire, she knew he was a great deal more than a human being, or a great deal less; no human speech would move him.”

Rose intuitively understands that, like all humans, Phil has a weakness too. But because he has put up such a strong persona, she has no means by which she can expose it or even appeal to it. She wants to believe that there is compassion somewhere in Phil, but he cannot be moved by her words alone, no matter what.

“Phil was moved by loyalty, and more than once felt a lump in his throat.”

While others in his life do not see this, Peter does. By showing loyalty to Phil, Peter begins to break down his disguise. For Peter, however, this is all a ploy to grow closer to Phil so he can remove the man from his mother’s life.