Independent Reading: Marley and Me. Entry 3

Summary (Chapter 21-29 [P.207-289])

            Through a chance opportunity, John is presented with a position as a managing editor of Organic Gardening and a proposition of moving north to Pennsylvania. While he is comfortable in the warm climate of Boca Raton, he misses experiencing changing seasons, rolling hills and open land and desires a simpler life. Through this change, Marley and the kids experience their first winter, and play around in the open snow. However, it became increasingly more evident that Marley was feeling the effects of his age. Marley lounged more often, became less adept in hearing and grew less nimble with his limbs, but he never seemed to shake off his puppy-like spirit. Nonetheless, it inevitably came to his time and he was buried in the backyard of the house under the cherry trees.

            Marley’s death brings sadness upon the family, but they are comforted in knowing that he passed away peacefully. Yet, the family still immensely misses Marley to the point that John writes a farewell column to Marley in the Philadelphia Inquirer. While composing the column, John reflects on his past years with Marley and discovers what he’s learned because of Marley. After publishing his column, John receives a wide feedback of condolences and support from other animal lovers. John and Jenny feel relief in sharing their feelings with others and the novel ends with the couple discovering a newspaper ad for a dog that looks and is described just like Marley.

Analytical Paragraph

            One of the main themes demonstrated in Marley and Me is that life does not have to be perfect to fully enjoy it. In the prologue, John describes his childhood days with his first dog, which was a perfect companion to him and became the standard that he judged other dogs by. Even despite this standard, John had adopted Marley, who was far from an ideal dog. Yet, John still found a fully complete happiness with his family and the memories created in the time that they spent. Even after Marley had died, John had realised that Marley taught him about the simple joys in life that are ever-present. Through Marley’s unbridled exuberance to tackle life with all he has, John learned about what really matters in life.

Personal Response

            By knowing what an author feels like while writing his/her story, we can gain a better understand about the meaning of the story from reading it. With the endnote from the author and an interview with the author himself at the back of the novel, I found myself re-reading the story and discovering another meaning from what I read before. Marley and Me is certainly a universal book that everyone can discover a meaning in. Whether you’re a dog owner, or a non-dog owner, there is a timeless, heart-warming tale to discover in Marley and Me.