Sandhya Iyer’s Reviews > The Dogs of Winter > Status Update

When I was reading my novel, I found an example of indirect characterization. This was effective because it makes Mishka's determination for the dogs a key factor in the book. It states that "...the dogs and I ran up and down streets, darting in and out of traffic, and across the still, frozen plazas. We checked the doorways and heat grates I knew adim favored. We ran and ran until my snot and tears were frozen..."

One appeal I found in my book today was pathos. Mishka enjoyed the "..delicious warmth of it! My head was warm and my ears warm for the first time in weeks. I wiggled my toes in my burlap sacks. They were warm too." (Pyron 97). This line in the book was effective because it emphasized Mishka's high appreciation for any simple thing he receives. The audience might feel pity for Mishka knowing the conditions he's in.

Some questions my book has prompted me to ask are:

1) How is Mishka going to take care of 4 dogs when he doesn't even have food for himself?
2) Is Viktor going to continue trying to get money from Mishka by sneaking on the train?
3) Does the orphanage not seem to care about Mishka's disappearance?

The best part of my reading today was the main character, Mishka, finally decided to give up on the group of "friends" in the orphanage and venture alone. Mishka still talks to Pasha, but he doesn't want to get hurt by Rudy, another kid at the orphanage that takes violence seriously.

One word I was unfamiliar with while reading was "plume." The phrase in the book it was stated in was "..and I watched the plume of my breath.." After researching, I figured out this meant an arrangement or display of feathers. Since the character's house was cold and shivering, I chose this because it was a good description to express the weather conditions in the house.