The Loaded Dog Literary Elements

Historical Fiction

Australian bush, late 1800s to early 1900s

Third person point of view, omniscient

Mostly humorous, interspersed with moments of tension

Andy, Dave, Jim, and their retriever (Protagonists); Yellow mongrel cattle-dog (Antagonist)

Andy, Dave, and Jim are miners who leave their cartridge unattended, and their retriever picks it up in its mouth. He playfully chases the three miners, who are terrified because the cartridge could explode at any moment.

A hostile cattle-dog scares the retriever into dropping the cartridge. The cattle-dog's curiosity leads it very close to the cartridge, which then explodes and kills it.

The cattle-dog is drawn out of the hotel kitchen by the retriever (despite numerous attempts to achieve the same end by other miners). The retriever's foolishness turns into fear, indicating a shift in the tone and direction of the plot.

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The retriever is presented as foolish and silly, indicating that there may be some connection between the dangerous nature of explosives and mining and the dog's stupidity and aloofness.

The retriever is introduced as sloppy; the cattle-dog is presented as vicious; the creek is presented as weak.

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The bush is presented as hostile and anathema to the difficulties that the bushmen face.