The dog has a rhythm
The narrator describes the scene,when he is just taking Marley home in the car and the dog is beating the rhythm with his tale on the car chair. Thus the story fills up with the sounds of different length of this beating, “thump-thumpthump-thump-thump-thump.” Here, John helps the reader to see the situation more vividly, to imagine an active part in it.
The thoughts of the dog
The author often adds the imaginary thoughts of the dog to the main text, as follows: “Great digs, but where are my brothers and sisters?”, when telling about how the dog was afraid to stay alone after he was taken from his family to John’s home. Thus the author helps us to understand Marley’s character and motives of his actions more vividly.
Strolling
Grogan colourfully describes his family’s strollings with the dog, saying that it actually were not those walks that are common for other people. Their walks were as follows: “Marley strolled like a runaway locomotive strolls. He surged ahead, straining against his leash with everything he had, choking himself hoarse in the process. We yanked him back; he yanked us forward. We tugged; he pulled, coughing like a chain smoker from the collar strangling him.” Even from this one passage the reader can understand the dog’s essence, his giddiness.
Touch of winter
It’s obvious that the narrator is amazed at the nature of that place where he lives. He can escape from his job, daily routine and see the beauty of the night, changes of the seasons etc: “Winter in West Palm Beach is a glorious time of year, marked by crisp nights and warm, dry, sunny days. After the insufferably long, torpid summer, most of it spent in air-conditioning or hopping from one shade tree to the next in an attempt to dodge the blistering sun, winter was our time to celebrate the gentle side of the subtropics.”
