50 pages • 1 hour read
W. Bruce CameronA Dog's Purpose
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2010A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Birth
Birth is a motif in A Dog’s Purpose that supports the theme of Purpose in Life and How It Dictates Certain Actions. Bailey is born four times in the novel. From the second birth on, Bailey remembers his past lives and the experiences he had in them. These births are a renewal of life, but they are also another chance for Bailey to continue pursuing his purpose. Each life offers Bailey a lesson that he employs in service of his purpose—which turns out to be reuniting with beloved owner Ethan and bringing happiness to both him and his loved ones.
The first birth is the most exciting for Bailey because he has no previous memories and everything he learns he is learning for the first time. In this first life, Bailey relies more on his siblings and mother than in later lives. In his second life, Bailey is confused by his return but is still inexperienced enough to see the world as a new and exciting place. This Bailey is still something of a blank slate, eager to experience everything life has to offer. The third birth brings Bailey to a place where he has already lived a full life and is wise, able to call upon his previous lessons to manipulate his way into the role of search-and-rescue dog to a degree. It is after the fourth birth when Bailey shows frustration with the repetitive process of his life and worries that he will never completely fulfill his purpose to the point where he will be allowed to move on to the next level of existence.
Front-Seat Dog
Early in his first life, Bailey becomes aware of motor vehicles and how some dogs ride in the back while others ride in the front. For Bailey, being a front-seat dog is a reward, proof of being a good dog. Bailey rides in vehicles many times during his lives, but there are only a few times when he becomes a front-seat dog. The first time is when he is rescued by Ethan’s mother (from being an irresponsible man’s front-seat dog) and taken to meet Ethan for the first time, a significant moment that leads to the most important relationship in Bailey’s many lives. The second time(s) is while visiting the farm that belongs to Ethan’s grandparents; Bailey sits in the front during drives into town for Grandpa’s haircuts. The third time(s) is when Ethan takes on the responsibility of a paper route during the later years of Bailey’s second life.
In Bailey’s third life, he’s placed in a cage each time he travels in a vehicle with his new owner, Jakob. Bailey is heartbroken by this, wondering if he’s done something wrong because he links riding in the front of a vehicle with being a good dog. The one time Jakob allows Bailey to ride in the front is on the day they set out to rescue a girl kidnapped from a mall. This moment is significant not only because Bailey is proud to be “good enough” to ride in the front but also because it is the last time he and Jakob are partnered together (due to Jakob ultimately being injured). Bailey’s final moments of being a front-seat dog take place during his elderly years with Maya and Al, at the end of his third life. Bailey again sees this as a reward for being a good dog, and it cements for him the idea that he has fulfilled his purpose by rescuing people.
The Flip
During Ethan’s early chapters, he sees a group of children playing frisbee with a dog and gets the idea to use an old football to create a device he calls the flip. Although the flip never becomes the successful toy Ethan hoped it would, it becomes symbolic of Ethan and Bailey’s relationship. Each time Ethan works on the flip, he takes Bailey out to play fetch; Bailey never notices Ethan’s disappointment in the failure of the toy, as he is too enthused with their playing.
At the end of the novel, Bailey returns to the farm and smells Ethan inside, but when the door opens, it is an old man standing there. Bailey understands that this man is Ethan, but he confirms this fact when he finds the flip in a closet of the house. When Ethan has a stroke and appears to recognize the dog he’s been calling Buddy is actually Bailey, Bailey retrieves the flip to further prove to Ethan that he is Bailey—that he remembers their previous life together. In this way, the flip becomes a tangible piece of the relationship they shared during Bailey’s second life.
