Sheep

The final section of the novel brings Jack full circle and helps him to complete The Search for Identity and Purpose. In Jack’s interactions with Luke, Hobbs implies that the dog has finally learned and grown enough to be able to help others rather than being the one who needs help. Jack sees his younger self in Luke, and this comparison forms a bond between boy and dog. Because Jack comes along just when Luke needs some support, this scene emphasizes that life can bring change at the most unexpected times. The sense of coming full circle is intensified when Luke gives Jack the name that the dog likes the most, bestowing upon him the best form of identity he could have as both a companion and a caretaker. Because Jack’s name is not a typical dog name, this detail suggests that Luke sees Jack as an equal and a full-fledged person—far more than just a pet or an animal. Likewise, Jack perceives a kindred spirit in Luke and has known enough people to be able to accurately judge a human’s character. Just as Jack has been lost, Luke desperately needs someone to help him find his destiny, purpose, and home. When Jack and Luke end up finding these things together, they both begin a new life that exemplifies all of The Intangible Aspects of Home that they have both been missing—love, safety, acceptance, and purpose. In the process, Jack shifts his focus to caring for Luke, and in doing so, he also finds a nobler version of his long-sought purpose.

This same sense of purpose is also demonstrated by the older woman in Chapter 13, who symbolizes the positive role that adults can play in a child’s life. The woman lives in a cluttered home and is not wealthy, but she still spends her time searching for clothes to donate to those in need. Like Jack, this woman dedicates herself to helping others; instead of herding sheep, she rounds up useful items and donates her time, showing that there are different ways to nudge people toward their purpose in life. The woman’s kindness is also revealed in her efforts to help Luke with his reading, and although she does not have the most comfortable life, her presence proves pivotal to Luke’s life, as she provides him with a willing role model when he has very few such figures in his life.

The serious themes of these final chapters are laced with a tone of wry humor as Hobbs uses Jack’s canine perspective to draw ironic comparisons between the animal world and the human world. For example, Jack initially mistakes the Good Shepherd Home for Boys for a farm, but he soon realizes that it is more akin to a “pound” for human boys. While this comparison is ostensibly a humorous one, it implicitly introduces a range of heavy topics, especially given Jack’s own experience at a dog pound earlier in the novel. Just as Jack waited desperately at the pound for his next chapter to arrive, hoping against hope that the person who adopted him would be kind rather than cruel, Luke’s situation at the orphanage is proven to be identical in many ways. Luke is now caught in limbo, waiting for the right people to adopt him so that he can move on with his life, and despite his youth, he is already well acquainted with the truth that not all people are equally reliable or kind. Perceiving the similarity of circumstances between dog and boy, Jack realizes that Luke needs his help to find the right people to provide him with both the tangible and The Intangible Aspects of Home. Significantly, as he becomes caught up in this new purpose, Jack spontaneously invents a new way to herd. Instead of rounding up sheep or keeping other animals on task, Jack herds Luke toward his future, using his knowledge of circus tricks to bring Luke and his new parents together.

It is also important to note that in the climactic scene of the novel, it is Jack’s knowledge of circus tricks that ultimately causes Luke to be adopted. Thus, the skills that Jack learned during one of the most traumatic chapters of his life provide him with the precise tools he needs to improve his own prospects. In this plot twist, Hobbs delivers the profound message that even life’s most difficult challenges can become unexpected benefits. Although Jack nearly lost his life and purpose with the circus, this does not prevent him from using the lessons he learned there to help Luke when the boy needs it. While this does not change or negate Jack’s harsh experience beneath Billy’s whip, it does offer a bit of justice, for Jack uses something he learned under duress to improve his life. In this way, Jack breaks free of any remaining hold that Billy and the circus might have over him. This is made clear by Jack’s dream in Chapter 15. For the first time since the Goat Man’s death, Jack dreams of him, and this scene suggests that Jack is finally at peace with his past and his present. Jack dreams of the Goat Man when he has finally found his destiny and his home, and the quasi-mystical exchange shows that Jack can now reflect on his life from a place of greater understanding and wisdom. As in life, the Goat Man in Jack’s dream knows exactly what to say and sees the situation for what it is; his final statement clarifies The Search for Identity and Purpose that has consumed Jack. Realizing that his true purpose is to help someone, Jack learns to expand his definition of herding to include the act of providing guidance and support to those he loves.