Travels with Charly the Doggy

Charley, in the eyes of John is a very obedient, calm dog. In other words, he can be described as a house dog. A dog that is not very violent or aggressive. Why? Probably because of the fact that he has pretty much stayed inside a house, and never went anywhere far in his entire life. The furthest place he went until the park was probably just around the corner of town. As a result, he reacts very aggressively when encountering the bear. The bear was probably a symbol of freedom, and wilderness. I think it was that moment when Charley discovered himself of somebody more than just a house dog, a dog that likes to explore and tournament. So, when he saw the bear, he went mad about it. After his encounter with the bear, Charley was probably pretty upset with Steinbeck. Charley’s reactions of not eating or interacting with John showed him his anger towards Steinbeck. Apart from his anger, Charley is most likely looking forward to another wilderness experience to expand his newly found hobby. But John, on the other hand, would most likely disagree because of what happened with the bear. His views on Charley probably will start to change from then on.