Cracker

“Cracker felt Willie’s unhappiness and whined.”

Cracker is revealed to be an intuitive dog who cares deeply for her owner’s well-being. This refers to the theme of Companionship and Loyalty. It also alludes to Cracker’s lifesaving role in Vietnam, where she—motivated by love and loyalty—saves Rick and the lives of countless other servicemen by successfully identifying snipers and traps.

“She bit a fellow who brought her food in, just because he annoyed her. She felt furious with everybody, even the people who just walked in front of her cage.”

Cracker’s aggression is revealed here, creating a starting point for her dynamic character arc. This also foreshadows Rick’s challenges in training Cracker, who is strong and obstinate. Once Rick earns Cracker’s trust and love, she becomes a great partner. Her aggression also foreshadows her viciously attacking enemy soldiers in Vietnam, saving Rick’s life.

“He did overhear his father saying once that his sister had a calling, whereas Rick was a ‘good, strong, well-mannered boy.’”

Rick is frustrated by his family’s assumption that he is destined for a humble life of little achievement. He feels that his father’s characterization of him is condescending and believes that he is capable of more than everyone believes he is. The war in Vietnam provides an opportunity for Rick to prove himself.

“You’re a generalist, Richard. Some people, like your sister, are born to be specialists.”

Rick is hurt and offended when he is labeled as a generalist in contrast to his intelligent sister. He interprets this as a thinly veiled insult. He longs to disprove this reputation and prove that he can be a capable specialist. He finds his calling as a dog handler with Cracker. The language of “specialist” and “generalist” is referred to throughout the text, becoming a motif.

“Saving that boy’s life was the one resounding success of Rick’s life.”

Rick derives meaning and purpose from having saved a child from the path of an oncoming bus. This leads Rick to believe that he will thrive in dangerous and life-threatening situations where he can defend others, which inspires him to enlist.

“Bruno heeled perfectly at Cody’s side.”

Bruno and Cody are characterized as the most talented and capable dog team. When Rick sees his friend excelling, he is reminded of the feeling he got when he was compared to his sister—he feels a sense of inadequacy. Cody and Bruno’s easy superiority motivates Rick to work harder with Cracker. Once again, Rick’s desire to prove himself capable is his main motivator to achieve. Ambition for Greatness is signaled as an important theme here, and Cody and Bruno are established as Rick and Cracker’s foils. This characterization shifts when Rick and Cracker become a better team.

“‘Run to the tree!’ She ran to the tree. ‘Good girl!’ Then he directed her to run among a whole bunch of trees. Then they heeled, sat, lay down, and did every single thing they’d been working on for weeks.”

Rick has an important breakthrough with Cracker when he visits her one night. Without the pressure of the training session, Rick directs and praises Cracker more genuinely, fostering a better connection between them and positioning Cracker to want to obey him. This is a turning point in terms of Rick and Cracker’s training as well as their relationship.

“Since that night running among the trees, he had started taking Cracker with him everywhere.”

Rick’s genuine affection for Cracker is apparent in his desire to spend time with her. This genuine and loving relationship positively affects their training, as Cracker is intrinsically motivated to please Rick. This creates a positive feedback loop whereby Rick and Cracker grow closer and become more skilled as a team.

“Cracker’s favorite part of her new life was when they all started going out into the field and finding men hiding in bushes, guns buried in holes, and anything that smelled or sounded wrong.”

Cracker’s genuine love for her work is apparent in her description of field training. Her excitement and aptitude for identifying things that smell or sound wrong foreshadow her success in Vietnam, where she saves countless men by identifying trip wires, punji pits, and snipers.

“But sometimes […] the students they seemed to like less were occasionally their favorites underneath it all.”

When Rick complains about how harsh U-Haul is on him, Twenty perceptively suggests that sometimes, teachers or instructors are the harshest on the students in whom they have the greatest belief. U-Haul intuits that Rick and Cracker have the potential to be great, and he pushes them toward this. U-Haul’s respect for Rick and Cracker is later revealed in the Cambodia mission when Rick learns that U-Haul recommended them for this prestigious job.

“Cracker had not only sniffed out the booby trap she was supposed to, but the sergeant had let her go for an entire hour, finding trap after trap and a couple of hidden men. She even sniffed out a man hiding underwater.”

Cracker’s training reveals her to be a talented dog with an unerring ability to smell and sense targets. This foreshadows Cracker’s success in Vietnam, such as in the Cambodia jailbreak, in which she correctly identifies a long series of various traps, saving the lives of the team.

“Cracker had given him a strong alert, and he’d moved past her because he hadn’t seen anything.”

Rick is angry at himself for failing to heed Cracker’s warning that there is a tripwire ahead. Fortunately, it is just a training exercise, so there is no gunpowder. Rick and Cracker do not win the award for the best team at training, likely because of this mistake, but it proves to be an important lesson for Rick. This scene foreshadows Cracker’s decisive sit (signaling a trap) in the hot zone in Vietnam when Rick is leading 150 men. Although Rick can see nothing at this time, he remembers this incident in training and trusts Cracker completely, leading to the correct identification and elimination of the punji pit. This incident also solidifies Rick’s trust in Cracker. He learns to rely on her rather than second-guess her. This trust is what will make them the best team in Vietnam.

“It was actually a pile of caskets lined up four high with flags draped over them.”

Rick mistakenly thinks that a pile of caskets is a stage. His pre-combat naivete is revealed in this assumption. The caskets symbolize the number of casualties experienced by troops and civilians during this war and allude to Rick’s looming experiences of horrific injuries and deaths.

“Rick gawped as the convoy rode through Saigon. He’d never seen such chaos.”

Kadohata uses imagery to conjure the overwhelming experience of Vietnam for Rick; it is worlds away from Wisconsin. The city is depicted as a chaotic jumble of civilians and soldiers, filled with unfamiliar noises, smells, and sights.

“Her ears flickered once, but just at the newness of the situation. Rick wondered whether that flicker was enough for him to stop the 150 guys behind him. He decided not, and they trudged on for a few more minutes. Cracker raised her head and turned it more south than east. Her ears stood up straight. That was a definite alert.”

Kadohata illustrates the nuanced and intimate understanding that Rick must have of Cracker’s every movement to correctly interpret her behavior. Rick carefully interprets the flicks of Cracker’s ears, needing to decide whether to stop the men or not. Rick and Cracker’s success as a team is illustrated in Rick’s correct interpretation of Cracker’s signals; she is indeed signaling the presence of enemy snipers, as is revealed when they begin firing soon after.

“She abruptly sat, almost as if Rick had commanded her to do so. Rick felt so shocked, he retched. He hurried to her but made sure not to pass her.”

Rick remembers the lesson he learned in training: not to pass Cracker when she makes a decisive signal. Cracker is signaling a punji pit filled with sharpened spears. The importance of Rick trusting Cracker completely is clear in this situation. War and Conflict, in particular the high-pressure nature of this war, is explored in this tense scene, where Rick vomits from stress.

“Your sergeant said you’re the best there is.”

Rick learns that U-Haul recommended him for the illustrious job in Cambodia with the Special Forces unit. This is an important moment for Rick, who retains the chip on his shoulder from being labeled as a generalist bound for mediocrity. He learns that U-Haul believes that he and Cracker are the best team. Rick and Cracker’s success in this mission confirms U-Haul’s belief in them and helps Rick dispel his insecurities and achieve his dream of being a respected specialist.

“Rick tried shooting at a guard and missed wildly. Then something savage filled him, and he aimed at another guard’s head and saw the man’s head explode.”

Kadohata describes the stress and chaos of being in active combat through Rick’s desperation and wild determination. Furthermore, the violence and brutality of warfare are illustrated in the description of the man’s head exploding.

“Rick could hear Twenty-Twenty crying out, ‘is she alive? Is she alive?’ The blood from Tristie’s limp body oozed out from her chest.”

Once again, the theme of War and Conflict is explored through violent combat. Imagery of blood and desperate cries create an impression of mayhem and distress, particularly for Twenty, who lies injured as his beloved Tristie bleeds to death nearby. War and Conflict clash with Companionship and Loyalty as the man and dog are separated by death.

“Something about the triumph of the Special Forces mission mixed with the horror of seeing blood spurting from Tristie made Rick think he might be losing his mind. He cried out to nobody in particular, ‘What the HELL is going on?’”

Rick’s confusion, distress, and disorientation illustrate the chaotic and violent nature of active combat. Furthermore, Kadohata emphasizes the absolute emotional and sensory overload experienced by soldiers, who undergo dizzying successes and devastating losses in close temporal proximity. War is depicted as inconceivable and overwhelming.

“‘You’re gonna make it, man. Quit whinin’!’ Rick let his eyes fall just briefly on where Twenty’s arm should be.”

Once again, War and Conflict are explored, in particular the randomness and violence of conflict. Twenty loses his arm, reminding readers of the injuries that many survivors lived with for the rest of their lives.

“He wrote his parents. His sister. His sister’s dissertation chair. Twenty-Twenty. His congressman. The nurses’ congressmen. Everyone he could think of. How was that for applying himself? How was that for being a specialist? A dog-finding specialist.”

Rick’s Ambition for Greatness continues to function as a recurring theme; his successes are always interpreted by him as disproving the naysayers in his life who deem him a “generalist” rather than a “specialist.” He finds his specialty in Cracker: in working with her and in advocating for her to be found and saved. Companionship and Loyalty are also present in Rick and Cracker’s mutual desire to be reunited.

“Cody knelt down and held Bruno to him, Cody’s body heaving.”

Through Cody’s distress, Kadohata critiques the Army’s classification of dogs as surplus equipment. As an older dog, Bruno is not brought back to America, which breaks Cody’s heart. In her Author’s Note, Kadohata explains that the trauma suffered by veteran handlers resulted in the institution of the No Military Working Dog Left Behind policy for subsequent wars involving military dogs, which insists on the safe return of live and healthy dogs to America.