A pit-bull, a dog that descended from the Old English Terrier and the Old English Bulldog, is a dog that combined the athleticism of a bulldog and the gameness of a terrier. They were used for dog-fighting, thus giving them a natural aggression. Pit bulls are outlawed in many places across the world, however, the question is, why?
In the resolution of the novel What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell, many of Gladwell’s best writing for the New Yorker was exposed. In Part three of the three part novel, the last chapters were about personality, character and intelligence. From the Most Likely to Succeed to Dangerous Minds the last chapters of this novel where full of those three characteristics (Personality, character and intelligence). However, what caught my eye was the last chapter, Troublemakers, or what Pit Bulls can teach us about crime.
One sunny winter afternoon, “Guy Clairoux picked up his two and a half year son, Jayden, from day care and walked him back to their home in the west of Ottawa. Jayden was straggling behind, and, as his father’s back was turned a pit bull jumped over a back- yard fence and lunged at Jayden,” (394). One pit-bull had had is mouth on Jaydens head. Jayden father “Punched the first dog in the head, until it dropped Jayden, and then he threw the boy towards his mother,” (394). A neighbor watched in terror and screamed for help, until a neighborhood boy came running with a hockey stick. In, the end, no one died or was severely injured, Lucky. However, the questions still remain, why are all pit-bulls restricted in places across the world? “When we say that pit-bulls are dangerous, we are making a generalization, just as insurance company’s use generalizations when they charge young men more for car insurance then the rest of us,” (396). They assume that young men will cause more damage, even though many young men are perfectly fine drivers. That is why pit bulls are banned. “Because we don’t which dog will bite someone,” (396). Just as in my rising action post, many dog owners can’t even dare to think that their cute, adorable dogs are dangerous and that is the reason that these kind of events happen.
In the end of the novel, I was very satisfied with the resolution. Pit bulls where banned in Ottawa, however, are all pit bulls dangerous? Of course not all. Many have proven to be some of the best dogs in the world, however, even though a small fraction are dangerous, they have caused a huge effect on the rest of the pit bull population. Again, “It’s always easier to ban a breed,” (410).
Featured Image found at this site
samuelpblogger 