37 pages • 1 hour read
Thomas SavageThe Power of the Dog
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1967A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 10-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 10 Summary
The narrator begins this chapter with a very brief synopsis of how the US government mistreated Indigenous populations in the early 1900s. Among these Indigenous people was Edward Nappo, the son of the last chief. He and his wife live on the reservation with their young boy of about 11-12 years old. Edward tells his son stories about his grandfather and his proud heritage. Edward aspires to take his son some 200 miles to his ancestral land, which happens to be at the mountain always in view from the Burbank ranch. As the father and son pair finally near the base of the mountain, they are spotted by Phil. Phil swiftly orders the father to retreat and return to the reservation. The father offers a bribe to Phil, a box of gloves his wife made by hand. Phil, who does not wear gloves, refuses the bribe and more emphatically orders the father to leave. Humiliated in front of his son, the father obeys Phil’s directives and starts his return trip.
Back at the ranch, George and Rose discuss planting trees in the yard as a way of sprucing up the property. While Rose is out for a walk later, Peter approaches and after a brief conversation confronts her about her distrust and fear of Phil. Rose tries to brush it aside by saying that Phil is just peculiar and ultimately harmless, but the question pierces her.
Peter mentions to George that if fertilizer could be applied to the soil, they would be able to grow trees. He then mentions that blood is a good fertilizer and offers to transplant the soil near the butcher pen where the soil is abundant with blood. George is impressed by the offer and Peter’s wherewithal. Finally, George notices the father and son pair, and Rose mentions that she noticed them on their way toward the mountain. George recognizes the father as the son of the last chief then realizes that, most likely, Phil ordered the pair to return to their reservation. Rose impulsively runs out to meet the pair and tells Edward they are welcome to camp on the Burbank ranch property. When Phil returns, he runs into the father and son and becomes enraged. When Edward notifies Phil that Rose has given permission to stay, in addition to food, Phil makes a straight-line for home. He runs into George almost by accident, and the two have quick words: George defends Rose’s decision and implores Phil to have sympathy for Edward and his son. Unmoved, Phil responds by insulting George and suggesting that because he is fat and ugly, a pretty woman like Rose would only be with him because of his money.
Chapter 11 Summary
Rose forms a friendship with the hired girl, Lolo, although it is a rather shallow one. They discuss how the world is small, then Lola tells Rose the story of how her mother died. The doctor would not come see her because the family did not have the money to pay. Lola’s father always maintained that if the old doctor was still around, Lola’s mother would have lived. The old doctor in this case is Johnny Gordon. After this discussion, Rose catches a glimpse of George looking at himself in the mirror in a strange way, a sign that what Phil said to him has lingered and had the desired effect of making George question himself.
Rose begins to get mysterious headaches. She sees a doctor who tells her it is because she is not eating a proper breakfast. However, Rose intuitively knows that the headaches in some measure are related to the stress she feels because of Phil’s presence. To soothe some of the pain, Rose sneaks into George’s liquor cabinet and begins self-medicating with alcohol. She is afraid of being discovered and tries to replace the liquor with water until she eventually decides just to remove a whole bottle, which she thinks George might forget.
Rose tries to steel herself to the task of speaking with Phil and asking him why he does not like her. She knows that she must do this to reduce the suffocating stress that she feels. When she finally gets up the nerve to ask Phil why he does not like her, Phil coldly says that it is because she’s manipulating George and stealing his liquor.
During the time Rose is mustering her courage, Peter has taken to the odd practice of catching gophers and other vermin to skin them and presumably conduct biological experiments with. After Rose is coldly called out by Phil, the chapter ends with Peter in the bathroom, grooming himself and mouthing the word Phil into the mirror.
Chapter 12 Summary
It is nearing mid-summer, the beginning of the haying season. In this time of year, migrants come to work at the ranch. Led by Phil, they are tasked with cutting and baling hay. The narrator mentions a few of Phil’s qualities, specifically his loyalty to those he felt tried to live according to the values of discipline and determination, regardless of personal histories. Phil learns the skill of braiding from an old ex-incarcerated individual named Joe who every summer comes to work for Phil haying.
One evening, Phil is about to start braiding a rawhide rope. He sees a carriage driven by George pull up and notices that along with his brother is Rose and Peter. Phil is critical of Rose and what she is wearing, and he has a condescending attitude toward her that he keeps to himself. Noticing how Peter helps her out of the carriage, Phil sneers and invents a new nickname for Peter: Little Lord Fauntleroy. Phil observes Peter’s clothes, specifically his pure white tennis shoes, and as he joins the hired hands in the bunkhouses, he mocks Peter in front of them. Peter walks right in front of the tents where all the men are to go investigate a magpie nest. As he walks by, one of the men whistles at him a cat call of sorts. Unphased by this, when Peter returns to the house, he does not detour around the tents but walks back the exact way he went. This surprises and even impresses Phil. Phil begins to think that maybe he might not be so bad of a kid, and that he can teach him how to be more manly than he is. They begin a discussion in which Phil insists that Peter not call him Mr. Burbank; instead, he wants Peter to call him Phil. As the discussion takes place, Phil notices that Peter is interested in what Phil is doing and notices the strips of rawhide Phil uses to make a rope. Phil offers to give Peter the rope once he is finished with it. He warms up to Peter and even offers to teach him how to ride a horse.
Chapters 10-12 Analysis
The inclusion of the anecdote of the Indigenous man Edward Nappo and his young son is a vehicle for contrasting the true nature of Phil with that of Rose. Unsurprisingly, Phil has no compassion for the father and son. His racist attitude toward the pair is in line with what readers have come to expect from him; however, the incident also affords him the opportunity to once again show who is boss. Phil dominates only those he knows he can. In this case, his air of superiority is posturing. He realizes that Nappo has no other option than to back down and follow orders. Although he is armed, Nappo realizes what defiance will bring onto his son. To preserve himself and his son’s future, Nappo must turn back. Phil knows this and takes advantage of the power imbalance. By contrast, Rose sees in the pair echoes of Johnny and Peter. Knowing that Peter most likely saw him beaten only exacerbated Johnny’s humiliation. The end result was an annihilation of what meek spirit he had remaining to himself. Nappo experiences a similar sense of humiliation, but he is saved to a degree by Rose who offers him this redemption by allowing the pair to camp on the ranch. After receiving the offer to camp on the property, “the little boy looked at his father with haughty pride, and he fixed his cap” (191). Rose’s compassion preserves Edward’s reputation with his son.
Rose’s decline continues as she takes to consuming alcohol regularly. At first, she uses it as medicine to relieve her headaches, but then it becomes apparent that she is using it to deal with the stress caused by Phil. She realizes that she must act and confront Phil, and when she does, she is met with outright scorn. She does not receive any kind of liberation in facing her fear. Instead, the situation is compounded, and she feels herself a failure even more than before the confrontation. Her secret, that she has been drinking George’s booze, is also discovered, and she knows that Phil will use that as a weapon against her.
Toward the end of chapter 12, Phil’s opinion of Peter begins to change. When the ranch-hands whistle at Pete as he walks by them toward the magpie nest, Pete remains unphased. He returns the same way, right past the mockery as if he is impervious to it. This impresses Phil. Phil sees something of himself in Peter, and it is important to remember that Peter knows of Phil’s secret. Phil figures that the rope he is braiding is “the gift…the very means to begin wooing the kid away” (225). In befriending Peter and in taking him under his wing, Phil sees Rose’s ultimate defeat. And for Phil, defeat is not enough. Outright humiliation is the goal, a conquering of another’s spirit, and nothing would be more humiliating for Rose than for Phil to turn her son against her.
