An Analysis of Dog Characters in Children's Literature

Abstract

This research article aims to analyze dog characters in Children's literature, namely Four-Legged Memoirs from the Heart of a Homeless One, The Lovely Hunter, and Temple Dogs. The researcher conducted qualitative research and documentary research, using the literary analysis method as the framework of the study, and followed four main research procedures: 1. collecting and surveying information on concepts, theories, and related research in order to establish an academic foundation; 2.studying and understanding the content of the three youth literary works in which the protagonists are dogs; 3.conducting an in-depth data analysis, including the analysis of the types and distinctive characteristics of dog characters, character creation strategies, character presentation strategies, and the roles and functions of the characters within the stories; and 4. organizing and summarizing the findings, preparing them as a research report, and presenting the analytical results systematically in a descriptive-analytical form.

The research findings on dog characters are divided into four aspects: 1. Regarding the types and characteristics of characters, the important characters are found to be of two types: protagonists and supporting characters. They possess eight distinctive characteristics: 1) gratitude, loyalty, and faithfulness to their human owners; 2) kindness, compassion, and true friendship; 3) intelligence, prudence, and wit; 4) courage, endurance, perseverance, and a fighting spirit; 5) sacrifice and leadership; 6) optimism, imagination, and love of nature; 7) understanding of life and moral awareness; and 8) hunting instincts and a desire to win. 2. Regarding character creation strategies, four methods are found: 1) creating characters according to their roles in the plot; 2) creating realistic characters; 3) creating idealized characters; and 4) creating characters as the center of the story. 3. Regarding character presentation strategies, the characters are presented both directly and indirectly. 4. Regarding the roles of dog characters, they are related to humans as members of families and communities. All of this shows that dog characters possess human-like qualities and have emotions and inner lives because the methods used to create and present the characters are appropriate and coherent. These methods creatively present the life stories of stray dogs. The roles and relationships, both positive and negative, reflect friendship, emotional attachment, and distressing problems.