The last days of dogtown by Anita Diamant Essay Example for Free

The last days of dogtown by Anita Diamant Essay Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The last days of dogtown is a novel written by Anita Diamant. The purpose of the novel is to express the level of morality of life in the American society during the 19th century. The author reveals life in the 19th century as sad but at the same time thoughtful. The last days of dogtown is a community set in an exotic landscape with a group of different and surprising characters. These characters are depicted as residents who are threatened or damaged by the ill wills of the outside world. Diamant portrays life in dogtown as cruel expressed through poverty and witchcraft. Residents in the last days of dogtown are oppressed by ignorance, poverty, illness and racial inequality. It is set in a dying town in Massachusetts during the 19th century. (Diamant Anita 52)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dogtown was a name associated with a roaming pack of wild dogs. The wild dogs roamed above the hills of a dying town in Massachusetts. The author portrays dogtown as a refuge place from cruelty and tragedies in the world. However, the decline of morality in dogtown presents other small tragedies which are set off by the residents. Dogtown which acts as a refuge from cruelty in the world presents a settlement space in which residents can live without being damaged or threaten. However dogtown does not fulfill its role since it is portrayed as an open prison where residents are faced by prejudice and other negative influences of the outside world. (Rossi, Mark, Howard 75). The roaming pace of dogs is used to illustrate the large number of people spreading rumor around the town about their townspeople. The spread rumours of presence of witches and whores in the town. Although the rumours are of factual their volume increases when more tongues wag around the town. Residents in this town have made it their business to express the most well hidden secrets of their town’s people. Diamant introduces the character in dogtown in a very confusing manner, creating complex relationships among them. These relationships are tested by the ill wills of the American society. The women in this society are presented as witches, whores or with weird behaviors. The man is depicted as brutal and cruel who shows no respect for the women. All the residents in dogtown have suffered different misfortunes from the brutal society. For example, the thwarted love of a free African woman by a local racist. Dog town’s poverty and misfortune pushes them into different destines. Slavery, alcoholism, poverty, sexuality, prostitution and racial tension have been used to create an immoral American society, in which residents are faced with brutal and cruel misfortunes. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The authors major conclusion is that she expresses the possibility of loving even in the most brutal and cruel conditions. In this town, residents behave like a pack of wild dogs, by huddling together with a dedication to survive and live with hope. By coming together, they search for warmth and safety. Although comfort and kindness are hard to find, these people huddle together and are to survive. The author shows the great immorality depicted in the American society during the 19th century expressed in form of alcoholism, poverty, prostitution, racism, sexuality and canine behavior. The author tries to show that people can come together and outcome even the cruelest conditions in the world. The possibility of creating love in such an environment can create harmony by demonstrating kindness and affection. (Diamant Anita 107). Works Cited Diamant Anita. The last days of Dogtown. Simon Schuster, 2006. Diamant Anita. The Red tent: A novel: Tenth-Anniversary Edition. Picador, 2007 Rossi, Peter H, Mark W. Lipsey, Howard E. Freeman. Evaluation: Systematic approach, sage, 2004.