Dog Sees God Play Character Analysis Example - Essay Example

This essay is the great character analysis exampleA character that is both sure and uncertain about himself at times, CB portrays the stereotypical teenager on the process of self-discovery and establishing his identity. He possesses an air of melancholy that surrounds him throughout the entirety of the play, which when mixed with his seemingly inherent good-nature, makes him one of the most well-adjusted characters in the play (the other being Van’s sister, sans the pyromania). It is highly probable that CB’s depressed mood goes way back even before his beloved canine’s death (due to rabies).

From his letter to his “Pen Pal” in the opening act, CB writes “Everyone else judges everything I say. And here you are: some anonymous person who never says ‘boo’”, he goes on to say how this frustrated him as a child. From this it can be concluded that the protagonist has felt frustrated and lonely from the beginning, because of people judging his actions and only finding comfort in his letters to someone who may or may not have truly existed. This loneliness however (mixed with his innate goodness) isn’t all that bad as it seemed to make CB sober in his thoughts.

He projected coherent and “rational” thoughts as compared to his peers who seemed to be peering at the world through their not-so-rose colored glasses. The Viper’s Nest. As stated earlier, CB is both sure and uncertain about his self and life in general most of the time. During the “Viper’s Nest” act, CB’s insecure and uncertain side is exposed in his dialogue with Beethoven. He opens up his long dialogue about his pet’s death and his thoughts about the afterlife (and everything else in between) with the line “this is really embarrassing”, hinting that he finds the thought of dwelling on his pet’s death (and letting it affect him more than it should) shameful.

It could also mean that he finds it embarrassing that something as “petty” as a dog’s death could elicit from him profound thoughts such as the existence of heaven or hell and life after death. Yet again it could also mean that he finds the act of confiding his thoughts to a social outcast embarrassing. Whatever the real explanation or interpretation that line could elicit from the audience, it does not change the fact that it shows how uncertain (and perhaps uncomfortable) CB is with his current situation and thoughts (Royal).

He also constantly turns to Beethoven to confirm his thoughts, as if asking the later to give direction to his aimless musings: “I mean, there’s always something going on up there, right?”, “I guess I was thinking, by burying him, that I’d have some closure or feel his presence there or something and I didn’t and that just freaked me out, so I don’t know.”, “have you ever had someone close to you die and you can’t stop thinking about them and what’s happened to them?”, “… that maybe you’re dead too” (Royal).

Despite being uncertain about a numerous of things CB shows that he has no problems identifying and admitting the fact that he has done something wrong, and also with being honest with his thoughts: “I’m sorry.”, “No, it’s okay. I deserved it”, “I’m sorry that we weren’t there for you” (Royal). Fire is Bad In this act CB shows the other side of his personality. In his dialogue with Van’s sister (Lucy), CB surprisingly (or maybe not) makes a stand for his thoughts and his actions.

He seemed to be on the path of slowly discovering and perhaps establishing his own identity. “Just because I did something that I wanted to do doesn’t make me a homo. I’ve smoked pot. Doesn’t mean I’m a pothead. I’ve drunk plenty of beer. Doesn’t make me a drunk. You set that little redheaded girl’