"The dog Taro was strong and healthy, but not content with being a dog." (pg. 22) Taro was shown as a very complex character in the novel, The Samurai's Tale, by Erik Christian Haugaard. Taro was never satisfied with being who he was and, therefore, was always changing and rising in status. Haugaard purposely introduced Taro as a child who had no experience in living in the outside world. When Taro lost his family, he began to develop and gain characteristics that were very valuable to him throughout the rest of the novel. Taro gained great amounts of resilience, independence and loyalty, all of which helped him overcome the many hardships he encountered throughout his journey towards becoming a samurai.

One of the qualities that helped Harutomo overcome all of his obstacles throughout the book, was his enormous resilience. When Taro's house was invaded by soldiers, he acted calm...