The Mysteries of the Dark: Riding the Doghouse - Critical Essay

Introduction

Where is my son? Panting like a dog, Scotter's father is awaked from a deep sleep wondering why the truck is silent; the radio silent and to make matters worse he cannot detect his twelve year old boy. 'Riding the doghouse,' a story of mysterious events about an individual begins with flashbacks from a young man called Scotter. His memories are comprised of the moment he was on the road with his father who was a truck driver. On the road, he came across on the guy named Midnight while he was with his father at the gas station (DeVita 77). Randy DeVits, the author, applies different tones to make the audience have different emotional feelings. The author expresses by adding sad feelings to attract the mind of the audience when the narrator added difficult moments just as one begins to read. For instance, the man he met told him that he always observed his father while sleeping in the track by also showing him a photo. Besides stalking his father, midnight was also a simple character because he has never hurt his father but was just scared of him. This essay elaborates more about 'Riding the Doghouse' by several elements of the story such as metaphors, conflict and the organizational structure to attract the mind of the reader by making them understand the hidden message.

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Randy DeVita, the author of 'Riding the Dog House,' organized the story in order by opening up with the scenario where a father wakes up in the middle of the night in search of his son. The story also goes ahead and recalls the relationship between the trucker and the father after an incident of riding together with him (DeVita 73). Here, the narrator creates an image for the audience by making them imagine why the father was looking for his son. The setup is also mysterious because scary things take place during the night and here we see that it was in the middle of the night. 'Riding the dog house' is a story that has a variety of subjects.

Not only is it considered as a scary fable but as a supernatural story of growing between a young boy and the father. The story is also a debatable narration that shows several ways how the story can be narrated. However, since it may be possible to figure out everything in 'riding the doghouse' story, it is a crafted story that respites from old people's stories. The story is also considered as one of the best-crafted stories on America because of how it is structured. The next question one may ask is, how old is this boy? While this was a frequent trip, the conversation between the truck driver and the father makes the boy have tension. The use of pathos is used here because it reveals how Scoter felt in his heart after the father cautioned him.

Scotter who is the protagonist is used throughout the paper because all he wanted was to save his father from getting into a dangerous situation. As much as Scotter acts like the hero, he is also the one that caused these problems after ignoring the words of his father pertaining touching anything in the track specifically the CB radio. The story is set up in the old times where truck drivers used to communicate using the CB radio. In today's world, the technology has facilitated and fastened the mode of communication by using mobile phones and GPS tracking. The story also shows how the boy compares his father who is a truck driver with his friend father who goes to work daily by carrying a briefcase while wearing a suit. Even though the boy mentioned this to the father, he was restricted by his father not to touch anything if he is not on track. Here Scotter's character can be related to that of the aspects of teenagers as seen in today's society where they love experiencing things even if they are cautioned. However, the boy later breaks the rules of the father and gets himself on the CB (DeVita 77).

He did this to ensure that he engaged himself in a conversation with 'Midnight' but later realizes that he put himself into trouble especially to his father because of the connection he made. While the author takes the readers back to the present, a sense of emotion was seen when the father looked at his son to show understanding and caring that comes from the experiences given from different perspectives that came from the past. The main story itself is composed of flashback of a child that never listened to the instruction by using the CB radio and mistakenly contacted another track or that as a stalker. In other words, this is a foretold story the boy (who is grown up) narrating what he remembered. A few weeks later a threatening letter was written to his father from an anonymous person.

The story ends by reflecting the adult life of the boy by foreshadowing the start of the story and how the kid changed many channels even after been told not to touch anything in the track (DeVita 83). Through the story, the author uses the 1st plural perspective to achieve the overall sense of a city through the characters of the town than the people that leave there (DeVita 83). He does this by using several numbered sections to create the episodes of noise and silence. The author also uses the primary character by highlighting the two stages he faced. For instance, the boy asked his father why he does not have a similar job as the father to his friend (rebel). He also had certain stages that he and his father were at a distance (loner). At a truck stop one evening, the loser stage develops when the father does the opposite of what he was asked by the father (a rebel act). It was until then when he realized they were in danger (DeVita 83). The theme of morality is used here where the boy sees another track but on the driver's seat to show that what he could afford to see was the tip of a cigarette.

The point of view the author created was a menacing and eerie atmosphere inside the cab when the Scotter and midnight had a conversation on the CB radio (DeVita 74). This happens after he describes how Scotter felt like when midnight's voice filled the cab where he felt as if venom poisoned his senses. These senses reveal how stresses Scotter was feeling. These were also seen by the use of poison and venom to show that they were harmful things. Here we also see that the author sued a low tone to express sadness especially when he remembers the words of his father and how he never listened.

Midnight a character used by the author is used as a metaphor for death. The name itself means the end of day or life. For instance, midnight even tells Scotter that he likes following his father just the way death follows people. He also says that "one of these days I will find your father," (DeVita 75). He even added that even if he closes his eyes, he will still manage to see Scotter's father. Also, he also said that "he only has a few miles before..." (DeVita 76). In other words, this statement means that in life there is so much time to achieve things. Conflict is used in this story to show how the relationship between the son and the father is changing. This is seen when the son explains to his father that since Doug's father is not smoking, he should not smoke as well. What Scottie is trying to criticise is that his father should consider changing and look like a respected man. The dad responded, "So I should not smoke do I look like Doug's father?" (DeVita 75). Scottie said that he does not look like him, but all he wanted was his father to have a rebellious character. The story is also broadened by the author to show how the boy acts like a grown man who can look after his preschool while there is a thunderstorm. It is also a mysterious story because as a young boy he goes through a lot of scary things. This then brings an argument as to whether 'Riding the Doghouse' is a horror movie.

The idea of making Midnight as the mysterious man seen taking pictures everywhere he went and sending to Scotter's father shows how he was a potentially dangerous individual. While explaining the view to Scotter, he also said that "I took this photo when your father was sleeping outside the Grand Rapids since it was a hot day and he was snoring" (DeVita 77). The idea where Scotters father was snoring is an irony because one can only imagine been taken a photo while sleeping. When people sleep, they usually have different faces; some show funny faces, some angry and some weird faces. Midnight also added that as much as it looked terrible, every engine still has so many miles to cover. In real life, when one gets such information, they are bound to protect their fathers to avoid anything wrong taking place.

Conclusion

'Riding the Doghouse' as elaborated is a spooky story of a mysterious movement. The story also begins by revealing a young boy and how he remembered his past after seeing one of the trucks and how his father had a spy who had no good intentions. For instance, the organization starts by opening up the scenario where a father wakes up in the middle of the night in search of his son. The relationship between the two is seen to be very tight because the father could not stay away from the son. Several styles are also used by the author to create suspension to the audience especially when he created a menacing and eerie atmosphere inside the cab when the Scotter and midnight had a conversation on the CB radio. Even after been warned, Scotter never listened but instead used the CB radio and ended up contacting Midnight, another truck driver who liked stalking his father.

Works Cited

DeVita, Randy. "Riding the Dog House." West Branch, pp. 75-84., doi:10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.t072057.