Marley and Us: John Grogan's Narrative Devices Malena Marcase 11th Grade

Human life is complicated. With all of the activities we pack into one day, it’s a wonder how we get any time to just breathe and take in the beauty of life. For dogs, it is just the opposite. A dream come true is to get few scraps of leftovers from the dinner table. The worst nightmare is to have to take a bath, and a lifetime goal is to finally catch one of those rabbits in the front yard. Dogs naturally enjoy the simple things in life every single day. Marley, a Labrador retriever, is an unintentional constant nuisance in his home. As his owners balance their marriage, jobs, and kids, Marley slowly makes his way to the bottom of the priorities list. All the while, Marley unreservedly loves and seizes each moment without ever looking back. In Marley and Me, the heartwarming story of the world’s most terrible dog, John Grogan uses powerful metaphorical language, parallelism, imagery, and syntax to reveal the many lessons we can learn from our unconditionally loving pets.

Grogan is a very figurative writer and frequently puts a unique perspective on Marley’s outrageous actions and behaviors by employing witty metaphorical language. Marley is described as “broad as a bulldozer” and his tail “as thick and as powerful as an otter’...