48 pages • 1 hour read
Phyllis Reynolds NaylorA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Next Saturday, Marty and Shiloh help Doc Murphy with chores again. They’re trying to avoid Judd, so they run quickly. Marty helps with yard work, but during a break, he confesses to Doc that he blackmailed Judd to get Shiloh. Now, Marty is wondering if blackmailing Judd was the right thing to do.
Doc explains that he has made mistakes with patients because it can be hard to tell right from wrong in every situation. For instance, Doc didn’t tell a hopeful couple that the husband couldn’t be cured, and the man’s wife was furious when she realized that he wasn’t being honest. On the other hand, when he was honest and told a different patient and that she couldn’t be cured, she gave up on her life of painting. Doc gives other examples, stating that what is right in one situation may be wrong in another.
That night, Marty worries about Judd’s worsening alcohol addiction and dangerous behavior, as Judd has picked fights, run over mailboxes, lost his dogs, and gone to work while intoxicated. Marty worries that Judd will shoot at his sisters next. Later, Marty wakes up to a strange crashing sound and then hears Shiloh’s howl.
Marty and his dad hurry with flashlights down the rural road. They find Shiloh sitting by the bridge and barking sounds, his tail between his legs. Marty makes sure that Shiloh is unharmed, then they keep searching. They find Judd’s truck underneath the bridge and realize that Judd hit the pothole, rolled his truck, and smashed into a tree.
Judd is unconscious and badly injured. Marty briefly wishes that Judd were dead, since then all their problems would go away, but he feels guilty for thinking this and realizes that he didn’t really mean it. Dad tries to help Judd out of the truck, but they need an emergency crew. On his dad’s instructions, Marty hurries home and calls Doc Murphy and an ambulance. When Marty returns to the accident scene, he helps Dad and Doc with Judd. The emergency responders arrive and take Judd to the hospital.
Marty and Dad return home and tell Ma and his sisters the news about Judd. After the commotion, Marty has trouble sleeping. He prays and asks God to heal Judd, but not to the point that he will be able to hunt again. The next day, Marty visits David’s house and tells him the whole story. When Dad picks him up, he shares that he visited Judd at the hospital. Judd doesn’t have any family or friends. Because he has numerous injuries, including a ruptured spleen, broken ribs, and a broken leg, it will take him a while to recover. Marty finally tells Dad his secrets: the deal with Judd to get Shiloh, and how Judd recently shot at him and Shiloh. Dad is upset that Marty didn’t tell him that Judd almost harmed him. He is shocked that Judd would try to hurt his son and tells Marty not to keep these important things secret anymore. However, Dad is so relieved that Marty is safe that he isn’t angry that Marty blackmailed Judd.
As Judd recovers, the community pitches in to help him. Some people take care of his dogs while others mow his lawn and take care of other chores. Later, Marty asks Doc about Judd’s background. Doc explains that Judd and his family were abused; Judd’s dad physically harmed him and his siblings. Judd was the youngest, and his siblings all moved away. After Judd’s dad died, Judd moved into his trailer. Marty believes that Judd should be kinder to his dogs, but Doc says that kindness must be learned, and no one ever showed Judd any kindness. Marty fears that Judd will come out of the hospital even meaner because the accident is more bad luck in his life.
Once Judd returns from the hospital, Marty and Dad visit him. Judd isn’t very responsive, but Marty knows that Judd needs to learn kindness. He resolves to keep trying to make a connection with Judd to prevent the man from hurting Shiloh or his family. Marty has more ideas to help Judd, such as leaving food on his porch. Other neighbors do the same. Judd doesn’t take the food at first, but then it vanishes from his porch. Marty compares Judd to a mean dog that only learns to trust when people invest time, patience, and empathy. He thinks that Judd’s decision to take the food is the first sign that he is learning to trust others.
Marty starts sending letters with the food they prepare. He writes to Judd about anything that Shiloh does—such as when he gets stung by bees or chases a mole. Finally, Marty writes about the night of Judd’s accident and explains that Shiloh saved his life. He describes how Shiloh whined and made noise so they would find Judd. Despite these efforts, Marty doesn’t hear anything back from Judd.
One day, Marty and his dad decide to visit Judd again, and this time, they bring Shiloh along. Shiloh loves car rides, but he gets scared when they approach Judd’s house. Marty cradles Shiloh. Because his dog is shaking, Marty wishes that he could explain that he will never give Shiloh back to Judd. He carries Shiloh to Judd’s house. When Judd sees them with Shiloh, he lets them in for a visit. Marty and Dad ask how he’s healing. Judd confirms that Shiloh is the one who found him, which means he read Marty’s letters. Judd reaches over and strokes Shiloh, and Shiloh slowly relaxes. Marty can tell that Judd is getting some much-needed comfort from Shiloh. At Judd’s unexpected kindness, Shiloh licks his hand for the first time.
In this section, the weight of Marty’s secrets compels him to ask Doc’s help with the issue of Discerning Right from Wrong, hoping for a clear-cut response. However, Doc’s answer teaches the boy that real-life situations are hardly ever clear-cut, delivering a valuable lesson and a new perspective on Marty’s troubles. Doc states:
[I]t seems to me, Marty, that you thought it over and did what you thought was best. […] Some folks […] think they know what’s right for every occasion. They say there’s a right and wrong for everything. Well, it’s good if things work out that way, but sometimes they don’t (89).
Doc’s answers and personal stories about treating his patients give Marty a fresh angle on his problems and help him to understand that there is not always an objectively “correct” choice for many of life’s dilemmas; instead, people can only do what they believe is best. Since even adults wrestle with morality, Marty realizes that he isn’t alone in his quest to do the right thing. After this epiphany with Doc, he strives to do his best to define right and wrong and act as decently as he can.
The story’s climax of Judd getting in an accident and its fallout underscores the goodness of animals and tests Marty’s morality. On the night of Judd’s car accident, Marty is compelled to get up and investigate not because of the crashing sound, but because of Shiloh’s obvious distress, and this aspect of the story highlights the boy’s focus on The Ethical Treatment of Animals. Fueled by love and concern for his dog, Marty takes action, and without Shiloh, he and his father never would have made it to the accident in time to save Judd. This series of events implies that Shiloh is a hero for saving someone who wronged him, and in Marty’s mind, his dog’s actions serve as an object lesson for how he should behave toward Judd in the future. In this moment, Marty’s own morality and empathy is tested because he initially wishes that Judd is dead, then takes back this thought with regret and guilt. Seeing Shiloh save someone who abused him inspires Marty to rethink his own thoughts and actions, and instead of wishing harm on Judd, he prays for Judd to be healed. Marty’s shifting thoughts are authentic for his age and add depth to his character development, for he overcomes a series of obstacles that challenge his ethical code and compel him to improve his moral compass.
After Judd’s accident, Naylor’s denouement focuses on the theme of Compassion and the Road to Redemption, especially as numerous neighbors help Judd despite his past offenses against the community. Because the rural community is very tight-knit, people learn right away about Judd’s accident, and although no one is very fond of the man, the community still comes together to help him. For instance, Marty’s dad picks up Judd from the hospital, and some neighbors care for his dogs, while others mow his lawn and leave food on his porch. Naylor uses these examples to emphasize the importance of helping people in need, despite their past transgressions. In Marty’s estimation, Judd behaves just like his dogs; Judd and his dogs are all hurt and need to be treated with kindness so that they will learn how to be kind to others instead of causing harm. As Marty thinks of Judd’s dogs “all snarlin’ and snapping, trying to keep themselves from being hurt” (112), he observes, “And now that we got Judd all shut up in his trailer, I’m thinking how slowly, a little bit at a time, we got to teach him kindness” (112). Marty’s internal thoughts reveal his growing maturity, for he overcomes his instinctive distrust and dislike of the volatile Judd and implements concrete plans to gain the man’s trust and forbearance. Utilizing the same principles he learned from John Collins about taming vicious dogs, he puts his mind to taming Judd in a similar fashion, showing him compassion to help him heal on a deeper level. Because of Marty’s determination and honest letters, Judd slowly changes for the better. When Marty overcomes his fear of Judd and tells him honestly that Shiloh saved him, he is rewarded to see Judd acting kindly toward Shiloh.
By Phyllis Reynolds Naylor