"Spike"
...l Weigl’s family is uplifted briefly. Weigl referred to Spike as a whirlwind that had been released in their small gray apartment, making if feel bigger and brighter. Spikes’ presence alone took the family’s mind off of their grief and lack of material possessions. For only two brief paragraphs, Weigl’s tone changed from depressing to one of optimism. During Spike’s stay with the family, Weigl reported sometimes feeling free and brave. This was a bittersweet period of innocence prior to the melancholy in his life. The discussion of the two islands represents the struggle of loving and fearing his dog and learning to let go. When Spike lunges at the father’s throat Weigl writes of “a different kind of terror: the one where the father is mortal.” (1493) This realization is essential to maturing into an adult. After Spike was shot, Weigl loses all hope of happiness. “This is the end of things…Nothing can go on from this.” (1494) Weigl indicates his rise to manhood through the change from past to present tense. “I stand on the porch and let wash over me all the grief and fear of love that keeps blossoming, even now, inside me.”...