Why don't you read books where animal dies?

We watched Where the Red Fern Grows in school when I was younger. Probably too young. I've never been able to read that book and I will never watch that movie again.

I think intent matters most. I've read books where animals die and left me blubbering like a fool with my nose in a book. But, if the author has done the job right, I'm a blubbering fool for any relevant character death.

I've written about it but it makes me sad, sadder than when people die in books. I think it's because animals can't ask for help, often endure horrible treatment in silent agony and just take it. Our pets give unconditional affection and acceptance and like very small children, trust us to care for them and not hurt them. I will read books where animals die but if it's gruesome or about ome kind of abuse over a long period of time I always put the book down and never look at it again.

I do read books where animals die. So what's the point of the title of this thread?

caw

It depends on the death and the animal.

If its one of the characters' loving dog, who we've developed an emotional attachment to it, sure I don't want to see him die.

If its a cat, go for it. Be as cruel as you like.

Or a ferret.

maestrowork said:

Or a ferret.

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that's a given.

So what's the point of the title of this thread?

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To flush out a bunch of weak minded, misanthropic bunny huggers. Why do you hate people, blac? Caw.

DeleyanLee said:

It's not a matter of purity to me, it's the fact that I don't believe they can make a thought-out decision whether or not to sacrifice themselves or not.

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If that was in response to my comment, I didn't mean any kind of moral or ethical purity. Purity as in--this is what they are, they aren't mixed-up or made complex by shades of grey. Evil as a characterization can be a type of purity, too. So, I think we're actually agreeing.

And Maestro, shoot away! In hunting scenes, as someone else said, the animal isn't a character. I have never avoided a book because an animal dies. I certainly do consciously avoid them in film, mostly because of the public element of being upset in front of one or more people. That being said, I don't really read the types of books where animal characters die a lot.

Annnnd, I'm about to go write a scene where the villlain kills a lizard to establish his villainousness. Shoot away.

ishtar'sgate said:

I've written about it but it makes me sad, sadder than when people die in books. I think it's because animals can't ask for help, often endure horrible treatment in silent agony and just take it. Our pets give unconditional affection and acceptance and like very small children, trust us to care for them and not hurt them. I will read books where animals die but if it's gruesome or about ome kind of abuse over a long period of time I always put the book down and never look at it again.

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Best perspective ever, ishtar'sgate. Maybe instinctual?

maestrowork said:

Or a ferret.

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Roger J Carlson said:

that's a given.

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Did I mention I don't mind when people die, either?

Especially if they're wearing chocolate pants.

TerzaRima said:

Yep, that's right. I found Black Beauty and Red Fern much sadder and hard to read than the deaths of Beth March and Little Nell, which means I think a child has all the moral importance of a draft horse.

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The same with me. Perhaps with Beth we are expecting her to die and her family was doing their best to take care of her. While in Black Beauty the owners just didn't care how the horses were treated.

Shadow_Ferret said:

It depends on the death and the animal.

If its one of the characters' loving dog, who we've developed an emotional attachment to it, sure I don't want to see him die.

If its a cat, go for it. Be as cruel as you like.

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What about a ferret?

Shadow_Ferret said:

Did I mention I don't mind when people die, either?

Especially if they're wearing chocolate pants.

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Hehe. All in good fun. Oh look at Ray's chocolate pants!

TerzaRima said:

To flush out a bunch of weak minded, misanthropic bunny huggers. Why do you hate people, blac? Caw.

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I love you.

Mind, I wouldn't care if you died, but I still love you.

There's this curious binary notion people get about compassion. If you have it for one thing, you can't have it for another.

It might be apt to repost this:

Just about any discussion of animal cruelty/welfare eventually reaches this point:

PERSON A: Somebody stomped my kitten to death. Man, I'd like to get that guy in a room with a baseball bat and my mobster cousin, Eddie.

PERSON B: How can you be upset about this when the little children, they are starving?

PERSON A: Dude! He stomped my cat to death! I really miss Rumpleteezer, too.

PERSON B: You think animals are more important than people and you hate the little children. My God, the Internet is a vast and chilly place.

PERSON A: I MISS MY KITTY

PERSON B: BUT WHAT ABOUT THE CHILLLLDREN?

lucidzfl said:

I feel completely the opposite. Fuck children, the screaming little shits. But hurting a defenseless animal? Punishable by death.

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Roger J Carlson said:

I take it you're a vegan, then?

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I didn't know vegans beat their children. Jeez.



and also (I think this one is from GI Joe):

The Lonely One said:

I didn't know vegans beat their children. Jeez.

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But they don't eat them.

lucidzfl said:

I feel completely the opposite. Fuck children, the screaming little shits. But hurting a defenseless animal? Punishable by death.

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Gotta say, this sums up my opinion pretty well.

I think my hatred of animal pain/death in books or on screen also extends to not liking anything helpless being hurt. Small, defenseless infants as well as old, decrepit, helpless people also affect me though not the same way an animal does.

I just like animals better than I like people. I've never been deliberately hurt by an animal. Can't say the same about people.

ishtar'sgate said:

I've written about it but it makes me sad, sadder than when people die in books. I think it's because animals can't ask for help, often endure horrible treatment in silent agony and just take it. Our pets give unconditional affection and acceptance and like very small children, trust us to care for them and not hurt them. I will read books where animals die but if it's gruesome or about ome kind of abuse over a long period of time I always put the book down and never look at it again.

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I totally agree with almost all of this statement. However, I'll put the book down as soon as an animal dies or will deliberately skip the whole chapter.

Snowstorm said:

Best perspective ever, ishtar'sgate. Maybe instinctual?

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Probably.

katiemac said:

But gruesome animal deaths in fiction stick with me and bother me more than human deaths, I don't really know why. I won't necessarily stop reading the book, but I also won't pick something up that promises lots of puppy torture. That's just no fun.

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This is pretty much my stance too.

Fiction aside....one of the most touching stories that features the loss of a beloved 4-legger is one we all know, Marley and Me. I can't imagine not reading that book just because an animal died. It was a beautifully written story and while sad, also very uplifting. The Red Pony and Old Yeller. I think the impact is largely in part due to how well both were written - gripping.

ISHTAR: I agree with what you posted too. Well stated.


ETA: nevermind..........................

My book is all about a mean person trying to kill a horse.

trying is the key word. (-;

I can not and will not read fiction that brutalizes or murders animals or small children.

I can't, I won't.

I'm too tenderhearted and it affects me too much. It stays with me and I turn around and hate the author for it. I find it traumatic.

Cassiopeia said:

I can not and will not read fiction that brutalizes or murders animals or small children.

I can't, I won't.

I'm too tenderhearted and it affects me too much. It stays with me and I turn around and hate the author for it. I find it traumatic.

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What about when fathers are killed by their own hand because they're losers and his poor innocent children suffer losing a parent? Does reading that make you hate the writer? Do the blood birds bother you?