Innocence and Violence

In the poem, the speaker tells the beloved a story about power dynamics, hierarchies, and violence resulting from manipulated innocence. The central conflict in the embedded narrative is that a boy, after hearing a tall tale about a supposedly rabid neighborhood dog named Max, is driven in his terror to kill the dog. Despite the shocking violence in this act, the boy is not described as evil. For example, when he is introduced in the story, it is with the image of a child who picks berries and does not notice the juice staining his chin. Throughout the poem, he wanders through natural settings, experiences awe at what he sees, and physically seeks the comfort of an older brother and a stuffed animal. Though he remains unnamed, his character is outlined in innocence. The group of kids who spin the tall tale about Max...