The last dog
Plot stages:
Exposition
* The story happens inside and outside the dome in the future. * Characters: * Brock – pod fellows – scientists – Brog * Background: * The story is about a boy called Brog who lived in a dome and is isolated from the external world. He got information about the outside world from novels and ancient fictions.
Rising Action * Conflict becomes more complicated when Brock went out of the dome and explored what’s outside in the external world. He was surprised to find a young do next to its dead mother. He decides to take the dog to the dome and named it Brog.
Climax:
* Back in the dome, scientists perform several tests and experiments on Brog. They decided that Brog is the last dog on Earth and they planned to clone it. Brock overhears them and refuses to let that happen.
Falling Action: * To save Brog from being cloned, Brock pretended to have a disease. He has to convince them that he is very ill. He decided to provoke Brog that she will bite him and transmit the disease. It works as scientists decided that Brock and Brog are very dangerous. The released them to the outside world.
Resolution:
* Overjoyed to be free, Brock and Brog left the dome. They decided to run away with a great hope to find other humans and dogs. He discovered that the outside world isn’t dangerous at all as the scientists claim. Questions and answers:
1-What is meant by science fiction?
It means a mix between scientific information and the creative imagination of the writer.
2-What is meant by flashback? Give an example from the story.
Flashback means to remember some events from the past or when an event from the past interrupts the order of events. When Brock went outside the dome, he remembered his pod fellows as they were laughing at him after he decided to go outside the dome. This also happened when Brock remembered the novels he had read and knew that food eaten outside is called a picnic.
3-What was the effect of novels upon Brock?
Reading novels and ancient fictions made Brock interested to explore the outside world.
4-What is meant by canis familiaris ?
It’s the scientific name for a “dog”.
5-What did the computer at the dome detect when Brock returned back?
He detected something warm-blooded which was not on the list. It thought that it is a robopet, but Brock corrected that robopets are bloodless. He explained that this was a real dog.
6-Compare and contrast between Brock and his pod fellows. Both of them were born in a laboratory. Both of them have no mother and instead a pod master and a computer take care of them. Both of them lived inside the dome all their life. Brock liked to go outside the dome while his pod fellows were afraid to go outside the dome. Broke spent his time reading ancient fictions and novels while his pod fellows like to play games on computers.
7-What is the main theme in the last dog?
The main theme in the story is the real meaning of friendship and the importance of family. Brock didn’t have family or friends. When he found the dog, he discovered the importance of having a companion which gave him a flood of emotions.
8-Why did Brock decide to return to the dome?
Brock decided to go back to the dome again to save food for Brog. He had developed emotions towards Brog and decided not to leave it alone in the outside world. It shows that Brock recognized the importance of companionship and he valued to be with another living thing.
9-What did Brock feel outside the dome?
First, he felt loneliness when he passed by the ancient wrecked building. Second, he felt excitement when he was about to reach the mountain. Third, he felt Pleasure when he ate his meal near the brook.
10-What is the difference between life inside and outside the dome?
11-What was the reaction of Brock when he saw the little dog?
12-
Comment on the following quotations:
1-“Brock didn’t know of anyone who left the dome”
It is said by the writer when Brock was thinking of going outside the dome. He was treated by his pod fellows as a deviant. People inside the dome didn’t think of going outside the dome as they thought that the outside world is too dangerous. Brock was interested in going outside the dome as an effect of reading ancient fictions and novels. This shows that Brock was totally different form his pod fellows.
2-“He was alone for the first time in his life”
It is said by the writer when Brock went outside the dome. The scanner told him that he felt alone. He asked himself why didn’t he take one of his pod fellows or a robopet with him, but he remembered that his pod fellows thought he was a deviant. Moreover, he didn’t like robopets. It shows the lack of emotions inside the dome. It shows the theme of “the importance of friendship”.
3-“Canis familiaris is extinct”
It said by the computer to Brock when he returned back to the dome with the dog. The computer at the gate didn’t recognize the dog and thought it was a robopet. Brock corrected the robopets are bloodless. This shows that people inside the dome with their technological system were isolated from the outside world and were imprisoned beyond their wrong beliefs and fear. It shows that all the beliefs of people inside the dome were wrong. It shows the theme of “ the importance of friendship”.