A Dark Brown Dog

"A Child was standing on a street-corner. He leaned with one shoulder against a high board-fence and swayed the other to and fro, the while kicking carelessly at the gravel..." A Dark Brown Dog, by Stephen Crane, was probably written in the summer of 1893, but not made public until it was published in Cosmopolitan, March 1901, after the author's death. The story is said to be an allegory about the Jim Crow South during Reconstruction, with the dog representing the newly emancipated slaves. This a powerful and well written tale of sorrow. The story—whose interpretation may vary depending on one's perspective—can operate on at least two levels. On the one hand, as a straightforward story about a dog, a child and crushing cruelty. However, it may also be interpreted as an allegorical social criticism after the American Civil War. Either way, it's a powerful, poignant story that may reveal the nerves and sinews present underneath the skin of the human condition. Stephen Crane (1871-1900) was an American novelist, poet, and journalist, best known for the novel 'The Red Badge of Courage' (1895). That work introduced the reading world to Crane's striking prose, a mix of impressionism, naturalism and symbolism. He died at age 28 in Badenweiler, Baden, Germany.