Shiloh

“Don’t have to mark a dog to hurt him, I’m thinking.” 

Marty shows his empathic nature and an astute understanding of the nature of abuse. Even though Shiloh is not visibly injured, Marty knows by the beagle’s behavior that Shiloh has not been treated kindly. Judd yells at and withholds food from his dogs; both are forms of cruelty that do not leave visible marks. Marty’s distinct narrative voice is also noticeable in this quote in his use of the present tense and his Appalachian dialect. 

“It’s his concern, Marty, not yours. It’s not your dog. You keep to your own business.” 

In Dad’s attempt to get Marty to forget about Shiloh, he shows his acceptance of the community’s culture of privacy and non-intervention. This norm, although it protects independence, can lead to the concealment of wrongs. Marty is willing to break this norm for Shiloh. 

“My dream sort of leaks out like water in a paper bag.”

Marty’s simile shows how he uses figurative language to reflect his world. It also reveals Marty’s awareness of the depressing reality that his family will not have the money to send him to veterinary school—poverty restrains Marty’s dreams. 

“Up here in the hills you hardly ever get down to business right off. First you say your howdys and then you talk about anything else but what you come for, and finally, when the mosquitoes start to bite, you say what’s on your mind. But you always edge into it, not to offend.” 

The Appalachian culture has its own accepted social mores. Here, Marty explains that people around Friendly do not open a conversation with direct talk about their concerns, which could be considered rude. This quote helps establish a unique sense of setting in readers’ minds.

“Thinking how I’d disappointed him, whistling like I meant something that first time, gettin’ him to come to me, then taking him on back to Judd Travers to be kicked all over again.” 

Marty feels guilty about returning Shiloh to a situation where the beagle will continue to be abused. The incident arouses Marty’s sense of injustice, which will motivate him further to save Shiloh.

“Never name any of my dogs. Dogs one, two, three, and four is all. When I want ‘em, I whistle; when I don’t, I give ‘em a kick. ‘Git,’ ‘Scram,’ ‘Out,’ and ‘Dammit’; that’s my dogs’ names.” 

Judd reveals his mean personality and his lack of empathy. Unlike Marty, Judd does not see animals as individuals to be loved and cherished, but as objects that must obey his commands. 

“I don’t want just any dog. I want Shiloh, because he needs me. Needs me bad.” 

Marty feels a sense of personal responsibility to Shiloh because Marty knows that Shiloh is being abused. Shiloh has no one else to help him. Marty believes that he can help the beagle, and this desire, born out of love, responsibility, and anger at injustice, triggers Marty’s actions. 

“But I’m making one to Shiloh that I will, God strike me dead.” 

Promise-breaking is a form of lying. In this quote, Marty breaks his promise to Judd to make a higher promise to Shiloh—to keep the beagle safe. Marty wrestles with making a moral choice and determines that the value of a life is worth committing the sin of lying.

“If Jesus is anything like the story cards from Sunday school make him out to be, he ain’t the kind to want a thin, little beagle to be hurt.” 

Marty was raised in the Christian faith. Here, he decides which is the most Christian path to follow: protecting Shiloh or telling the truth. He resolves his ethical dilemma by orienting scripture to his own personal ethos. Marty’s love and compassion for animals aligns with the compassionate teachings and personality of Jesus. This quote helps the reader understand Marty’s inner beliefs and motivation.

“Funny how one lie leads to another and before you know it, your whole life can be a lie.” 

Lies, even those for a good cause, take their toll on Marty. He must lie to cover up lies, and he grows more and more anxious about being discovered. 

“I figure a dog’s the same as a kid. You don’t treat a kid right, he’ll run off first chance he gets, too.”

Marty equates animal welfare with child welfare several times in the novel. Marty understands that both pets and kids are dependent on their owners or parents: neither has much of a voice in their care. Marty’s comment is a veiled suggestion to Judd to treat his dogs better. This quote also reveals Marty’s belief in treating others with kindness. 

“Nobody ever felt sorry for me, and I never felt sorry for nobody else. Sorry’s something I can do without.”

Judd shows that his lack of empathy towards others—including animals—likely comes from the fact that no one helped him when he was abused. This quote also reflects Judd’s prickly personality and his unique way of aligning with the community’s norm of minding one’s business.

“If I was to go to heaven and look down to see Shiloh left below, head on his paws, I’d run away from heaven sure.” 

Marty internalizes his Grandma Preston’s interpretation of the Bible, which includes the belief that animals do not go to heaven. In Marty’s willingness to forgo heaven for Shiloh, he shows his love for the dog, and his personal belief in what is right.

“Funny thing is, you’ve got yourself a dog, you sometimes feel like you don’t need anyone else.” 

Marty admits to being lonely at times, and Shiloh’s unconditional love helps fill that emotional void. This quote reflects the novel’s theme of love and loyalty. Despite his statement, Marty shows that he does need the support of his family and his friend, David.

“He only paid money for him. I’m the one who loves him.”

This statement reveals one facet of Marty’s ethical beliefs and illustrates the novel’s theme of moral ambiguity. Marty deserves Shiloh because he loves the beagle. Ownership, to Marty, involves a morally and emotionally greater charge than simply purchasing a life. Marty’s concept of ownership differs from that of the law. 

“I never kept a secret from your dad in the fourteen years we’ve been married.” 

Ma knows that the foundation of trust in a relationship is telling truth: Secrets erode trust and cause suspicion. Marty learns this lesson when he sees the trouble his secret causes between Ma and Dad, and between himself and his dad.

“But it’s not all so black and white as Dad makes it out to be, neither.” 

Marty disagrees with his dad’s absolute, fixed version of morality. As he wrestles with a series of ethical dilemmas, Marty learns that morality is not so rigid. Marty matures as his understanding of “what’s right” expands.

“I want you to do what’s right.” 

Dad takes a moment to reflect when Marty asks him what is right. In Dad’s eyes, the right thing to do is to follow the law. Marty shows independence of thought by rejecting Dad’s instructions and following his personal ethos.

“There’s got to be a first time.” 

Although he risks his family’s trust and their reputation in the community, Marty takes a step toward enacting social change by taking the moral high ground and rescuing Shiloh from abuse.

“I begin to see now I’m no better than Judd Travers—willing to look the other way to get something I want. But the something is Shiloh.”

Marty recognizes that by blackmailing Judd and breaking the game regulations by not reporting Judd’s illegal kill, he is using the same unscrupulous tactics as Judd. Marty excuses his behaviors because he believes they are for a higher cause: saving Shiloh. This reasoning illustrates scalar consequentialism.

“But Judd’s out to teach me a lesson, and I’m out to teach him one.” 

Marty shows Judd that, despite his lies, Marty has integrity. Marty’s love for Shiloh and sense of personal responsibility fuel his perseverance and impress Judd.

“‘So we got ourselves a new member of the family,’ he tells me, and that’s about the nicest thing I heard said in this house in my life.” 

Marty is overjoyed that his family can finally include Shiloh in their lives and that they share the same love Marty feels for the beagle. Shiloh fulfills his part of the family responsibilities by providing love and laughter. 

“I don’t know how we done it, but somehow we learned to get along.” 

Despite their dissimilarities, Marty and Judd put aside their animosity and learn more about each other. Marty discovers that Judd, for all his insecurity, has a kernel of kindness deep inside, and Judd respects Marty’s fierce determination.