"Get a Seeing-Eyed Dog" Reflection

It was the beginning of Thanksgiving break and I finally had made it on board my flight to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Beforehand, I spent a good hour creeping on people from behind my magazine.  I find the airport a prime place for people watching, and let’s be honest, we all do it. Carrying a giant black backpack and pushing my luggage down the suffocating aisle, I felt rather embarrassed for causing such a nuisance. About to topple over while attempting to shove my giant suitcase in the petit compartment, several hands hurried to prevent a catastrophe about to ensue. After crawling to my window seat and stepping on a woman’s foot, I made it to my seat thankfully with no causalities. Usually I try to sleep because flights are quality snoozing time, but excitement of family, friends, and the beautiful smorgasbord of turkey and pie overtook me. Instead, I reached for my literature book and commenced reading, “Get a Seeing-Eyed Dog.” Reading this on the airplane was an interesting experience due to the bumps and the rather annoying, talkative bunch behind me. Despite this, I really enjoyed the short story. I was so perplexed with the relationship between the couple. The man seemed to be in love with his wife, yet he was conspiring a plan for her to leave because he didn’t want to destroy her life. I couldn’t help but wonder was it because he wanted her to be free or was there a deeper meaning, perhaps because she couldn’t take care of him incredibly well? Because I am a romantic at heart, I went with the former thought, and took it as the ultimate form of sacrifice. I looked around the plane and gazed at the couples surrounding me. And then I thought more about Hemingway and his ambiguous writing style. While I would like to think this of the injured man, I realized there is more to the story, like any relationship. As much as she would probably want to be with him, they both know that patience will ware thin. Both of the people in this relationship are living a life full of lies, pretending that everything is ok. The man, trying his best not to hurt her while the woman plays the role of a nurse.  The image of a seeing eyed dog is fascinating because a dog would be able to help the man without the burdens of a relationship.