The key to understanding this novel to the point of engaging analysis lies in its title. The title is the name of the dog which central to the narrative. Sounder, in fact, joins that list of literary animals which transcend the limitations of insight to become fully developed characters who move into the realm of legend. Like Flicka or White Fang, Sounder is elevated to the same level of humanity as the people in the sense of being treated as not mere adornment or plot device, but an essential component in the development of action and theme. Presenting a contrast to those animals, however, the fact that Sounder is given a name is enlarged in significance by virtue of the fact that his owners are not afforded the same dignity.
The characters making up the family dynamic of the novel are not individualized by names. They are referred to “the man” or “the boy” and so on. This decision serves several purposes which the author exploits to make his points when pursuing his themes. This is a family of dirt poor sharecroppers who have almost nothing to call their own. In America, identity and power and influence have always been directly and inextricably tied to private ownership. When one owns the land on which they live or owns the business in which they work, that is considered an essential part of the attaining the American Dream. The family is far away from the American Dream, but they have their ramshackle cabin and access to producing income and Sounder. Sounder is not just a family pet, but a way to make money through hunting. Sounder is, in effect, more important to the family in terms of being able to put a roof over their heads and food in their mouths than the children. This reality ties the family back to the roots of slavery in which familial bonds were considered less important to maintain by slave owners than producing profit even if it meant separating parents from their kids.
The lack of a name for the family while their dog has a name becomes commentary on the nature of identity in America, especially for African Americans. Those who descended from parentage kept in bondage have also suffered the indignity of being seen as essential to this country only as a result of their willingness to do jobs for low pay that white Americans have historically averted. While private ownership is a part of the DNA of American democracy which started out by requiring one to own land in order to vote, it is a social element. The inability to afford to own the home in which you live keeps you from certain influences, but it does not take away your identity. What gives one identity is their name. When a person is referred to as a part of a collective, their identity is denied and shifted over to collective. They are less a specifical person and more just one non-specific aspect of “them.” Whoever “they” might be. To all the white people with whom they interact, the man and the boy and the woman and the younger members are just that: nameless parts of a family. Sounder is a dog that is probably just like their own dog to whom they have given a name. When dogs are given the distinction of having an identity considered more important than human beings, it is a quick and not very long leap into reversing the reality of the situation. The people become dehumanized and the animals become more humanized.
This is a story about dehumanization and Sounder’s humanization must therefore always be analyzed and interpreted within the boundaries of that reality.
