Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Setting
A Dog's Purpose is a story about your average American boy and his not-so-average American dog. (Sorry, girls and cats. You'll have to find a different book.) To keep the story relatable, Cameron d...
Narrator Point of View
A Dog's Purpose is told by a dog. The text isn't 300 pages of "bow wow," "yip yip," and butt sniffing. This dog has the vocabulary of a college philosophy student ruminating on death and rebirth. I...
What's Up With the Title?
See Spot. See Spot run. See Spot have an existential crisis and wonder what the point of his never-ending existence is. As the title suggests, this is a book about a dog finding his purpose. This p...
What's Up With the Epigraph?
Bailey serves as a loyal companion to Ethan until he dies. Before he fades away, with Ethan at his side, he knows he's fulfilled his purpose.He's wrong. He's totally reincarnated once more, which t...
What's Up With the Ending?
At the end of A Dog's Purpose, the dog's purpose is revealed to be the role of wingman for his human companion, Ethan. The book veers into Must Love Dogs romantic comedy territory as the dog follow...
Tough-o-Meter
Reading A Dog's Purpose is easier than teaching a dog of any age tricks. The book's cover features the subtitle "A Novel for Humans," which means that you don't need to speak dog to understand it,...