stickeen essay 
Mayra Triana
Professor Lisa Smith
English 115-73
March 4, 2014
Stickeen
In the excerpt “Stickeen” by John Muir, he creates an adventure between a man and dog. He creates this by putting Stickeen and himself in an exciting and unusual obstacle. He also does this by describing every aspect in his journey with Stickeen and how they overcame the suspense of death that benefited their relationship into making it stronger. Muir’s mission is to explore the icy region of southeastern Alaska which may conclude that it is going to be an adventure for Muir as well as for the readers in the sense that neither of them know what Muir is going to come across on this mission. Right in the beginning, the story gets interesting when a crew member decides to bring his dog along the journey. Muir wasn’t convinced that it was such a good idea as he states, “Such a little helpless creature will only be in the way.” Since Stickeen was only a small black dog, Muir believed that he would have no chance in surviving the adventure that only God at the moment knew they were going to face. This scene builds up curiosity for the reader because now we are wondering if the poor helpless dog is going to survive throughout the mission. Muir and crew members as well as Stickeen, land at the salmon stream. This is where Muir discovers that Stickeen never fails to be ready for any adventure due to him following the person who went out to hunt. The author claims, “For strange reason to say, though I never carried a gun he always followed me, forsaking the hunter and even his master to share my wanderings.” This is where readers see the relationship between a man and a dog begin to thrive. Stickeen would leave his own master to follow Muir as he values nature in his wandering no matter how wild the weather may be. Muir loved going on adventures and during these adventures he would praise nature and even through a storm he would be able to recognize the beauty of it. For example, “What a psalm the
Professor Lisa Smith
English 115-73
March 4, 2014
Stickeen
In the excerpt “Stickeen” by John Muir, he creates an adventure between a man and dog. He creates this by putting Stickeen and himself in an exciting and unusual obstacle. He also does this by describing every aspect in his journey with Stickeen and how they overcame the suspense of death that benefited their relationship into making it stronger. Muir’s mission is to explore the icy region of southeastern Alaska which may conclude that it is going to be an adventure for Muir as well as for the readers in the sense that neither of them know what Muir is going to come across on this mission. Right in the beginning, the story gets interesting when a crew member decides to bring his dog along the journey. Muir wasn’t convinced that it was such a good idea as he states, “Such a little helpless creature will only be in the way.” Since Stickeen was only a small black dog, Muir believed that he would have no chance in surviving the adventure that only God at the moment knew they were going to face. This scene builds up curiosity for the reader because now we are wondering if the poor helpless dog is going to survive throughout the mission. Muir and crew members as well as Stickeen, land at the salmon stream. This is where Muir discovers that Stickeen never fails to be ready for any adventure due to him following the person who went out to hunt. The author claims, “For strange reason to say, though I never carried a gun he always followed me, forsaking the hunter and even his master to share my wanderings.” This is where readers see the relationship between a man and a dog begin to thrive. Stickeen would leave his own master to follow Muir as he values nature in his wandering no matter how wild the weather may be. Muir loved going on adventures and during these adventures he would praise nature and even through a storm he would be able to recognize the beauty of it. For example, “What a psalm the