LUKE BALDWIN VOW

1. Author: Morley Callaghan

Background:
- Edward Morley Callaghan (1903 - 1990) was a Canadian novelist, short story
writer, playwright, television and radio personality.
- Callaghan was born and raised in Toronto. He was educated at Riverdale
Collegiate Institute, the University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall Law School,
though he never practiced law. Instead, he embarked on a writing career, initially
working as a reporter for the Toronto Star where he befriended fellow journalist
Ernest Hemingway.
- In 1929 he spent some months in Paris, where he was part of the great gathering
of writers in Montparnasse that included Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound,
Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and James Joyce.
- Callaghan's novels and short stories are marked by undertones of Roman
Catholicism, often focusing on individuals whose essential characteristic is a
strong but often weakened sense of self. =>He was best known for his use of
realism and the treatment of moral problems in his fiction.
- Callaghan was awarded the Royal Society of Canada's Lorne Pierce Medal in
1960. In 1982 he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada.
Notable works:
- Strange Fugitive (1928): his first novel
- Luke Baldwin's Vow (1947), soon became a juvenile classic read in school
rooms around the world.
- The Loved and the Lost (1951) won the Governor General's Award.
- Other famous works: The Many Colored Coat (1960), A Passion in Rome
(1961), A Fine and Private Place (1975), A Time for Judas (1983), Our
Lady of the Snows (1985).
2. Setting
Each detail in the setting has some significance to the theme as well as to the
understanding of the story.
Location: Luke Baldwin’s uncle’s house on the stream by the sawmill
- A small rural sawmill community: in the village of England in the early
20th century. As we see, the rural area is the place where poor people were
living. That was the beginning of the industrialization. Uncle Henry was
one of the richest men in the village to have a sawmill and he has some
employees in this house.
- River (the stream of river): the house is by the river, the water brings some
sort of energy to our life.
- Pasture: there is a pasture on the bank of the river where Luke spent this
time with his dog every day. The color of the pasture is green and green is
the symbol of peace, energy and motivation.
Time:
- Summer vacation: summer is the hottest season in a year and summer is
also the second stage in one’s life. The summer here connects with the
boy’s development in his thinking, his personality.
3. Plot
Exposition: After Luke’s father dies, he lives with Uncle Henry and Aunt Helen.
His best friend is the eleven-year-old collie, Dan, a dog blind in one eye and with a
slight limp in his left hind leg. Luke got lonely and began to build an imaginary,
secret life for himself and his dog.
Luke is a boy of twelve or thirteen years old, and he has to live with his uncle and his aunt because his
father is seriously sick and he is dying. And before moving to live with his uncle and his aunt, he promised
to his father that he would try to be like his uncle because his uncle was a symbol of success. He was
admired by a lot of people in a village
Rising action: Uncle Henry says that Luke's dog is no longer earning its keep, and
they need to get rid of him, obviously Luke opposes. The rising action is when
Uncle Henry discusses ways to kill a dog.
- Uncle Henry asks Luke to ride his bike into town to buy cigars for him and
Sam Carter Carter.
- However, he had a bad feeling and turned around, heading back to the river.
- Luke saw Sam Carter and the collie in a rowboat where the water goes
deep. He notices the collie with a rope around his neck.
- Sam dropped the rope and stone that would soon be used to sink and drown
Dan.
- As soon as the millhand went out of sight, Luke dove into the water to save
his dog.
The rising action is that in the house with his aunt and uncle Luke is very lonely because he has no friends,
no one to share his feelings with and luckily, he has a dog. His name is Dan. He considers Dan his best
friend, so he shares all his feelings, his excitement and his sorrow with the dog, and the dog understands
him a lot. But one day, Henry discovered that the dog is blind in one eye and he is so weak now. He cannot
be used for hunting. He becomes so useless, but he eats a lot. For this reason, Uncle Henry would like to
get rid of the dog. One morning, he asked Luke to ride his bicycle to the center of town order to buy him
some cigars. When he is away, his uncle asked Mr Sam to drown the dog into the river. And you see that
the water, the stream of water is a so powerful. Luke is riding his bike to town, but he has a kind of feeling
that something bad is happening to his dog and he was really reluctant. And he was true.
Climax: The dog wasn’t breathing so Luke was obligated to perform CPR until all
the water drained from his lungs.
The climax comes when he decides to drown himself into the river, to jump into the river to save the dog.
He tried his best even though he cannot swim. He tried his best to save the dog by keeping the dog for a
long time in the sunshine to warm it up.
Falling action:
- Luke and Dan rest in a grassy area while Luke ponders what to do with him.
- Luke visits Mr. Kemp and asks him for advice.
- Mr. Kemp tells Luke to offer his uncle a proposition (pay uncle 75 cents/week to
keep Dan and help with his expenses). Luke will earn the money by working for
Mr. Kemp each day (rounding cows).
And after that, he didn't dare to come home with the dog because he knows that his uncle will be very
angry with him because he didn't follow his uncle's guidance or intention. And he immediately thought of
Mr Kemp, who is considered a very sensitive, very sensible, very intelligent and very admirable person in
the village. And he came to Mr Kempt with all the incidents happening to him. And Mr Kemp understands
uncle Henry very well and he suggested that Luke would watch the cows for him. In return, Luke will
receive $0.75 a week. With that money, he would give to uncle Henry and uncle Henry will allow him to
keep the dog on the condition that he has money to give him every week.
Resolution:
- Uncle Henry agrees to Luke's proposition.
- Luke vows to always have money so he can protect what he values from all of the
practical people in the world.
In the resolution, he listened and he took advice from Mr Kemp. He came to uncle Henry with that
proposition, and to his surprise, Uncle Henry agreed to let him keep the dog.
4. Characters
● Uncle Henry :
- He’s the antagonist because he is opposed to Luke Balwin, He doesn't want Luke to keep the dog. Luke
wants to protect he dog who is the central character of the story.
- He is the manager of the sawmill with four male employees.
- People think that he is a powerful businessman who takes care of
everything around him in such a practical,sensible and easy way.( the
attitudes of the employees, his wife never argues with him, Luke tries to be
like him in the future, the decision about Dan-his old dog...)
- He is a typical person affected by materialism.
- However, he has a good heart, he respects Luke’s feelings. Even if the
author never described it on the surface, we still recognize that Uncle Henry
is a caring man.
- Overall. he is a complex character between what he does and what he might
feel.
For example, his practicality versus his harsh farm’s life, where everyone
needs to contribute something. His personality is formed by the
environment he’s living in , he runs a business so he doesn't let anything
“fool him”.
● Luke Baldwin
- Luke is 12 years old, orphaned and he has to live with his uncle Henry and
aunt Helen.
- He is the protagonist because he is the central character of the story.
- He is a dynamic character because when Dan gets hurt, it pushes Luke to
overcome his initial shyness and fight for his friend. This strengthens
Luke's character and fosters his independence.
- The story hints at Luke's internal struggles. He likely struggles with grief,
loneliness, and difficulty adjusting to his new life. Therefore, he is a round
character.
- Luke used to listen and watch Uncle Henry to learn everything from him
and Luke also admired his uncle very much. This shows that Luke is an
inquisitive person.
- He's probably dealing with unresolved grief for his parents and feels out of
place in his new surroundings. However, when he saw Dan's appearance,
Luke no longer seemed to feel lost but became more open and happy with
Dan. It proves that Luke adapts quite quickly.
- Luke is a brave and kind person, he uses all his inherent skills to save Dan
from drowning.
- Luke is a person who can take advantage of every opportunity. Even though
he knows it is unlikely to succeed, he still firmly makes an offer to Uncle
Henry to keep Dan here. This shows his determination to protect what's
important to him. His vow at the end of the story reflects his unwavering
loyalty and newfound strength.
● Dan - The old dog
- Dan is a dog, he is described as old, limping and blind, but he is very
affectionate.
- Dan is a flat and static character because we don't get detailed descriptions
of his inner thoughts, motivations, or complex personality traits.
- There's a strong bond between him and Luke, offering comfort and
companionship.
- The most prominent aspect of Dan's character seems to be his unwavering
loyalty.
- According to the story, Dan suffers silently. This portrays his stoic nature
and his unwillingness to burden Luke with his pain.
- Dan plays a role as a catalyst for the growth of Luke. Dan's injury becomes
a turning point in the story. This has helped Luke become braver, and able
to protect what he loves.
● Mr Kemp: He’s the neighbor with Uncle Henry and Luke, who live down the
road with his cows.Their connection seems to be that of neighbors, possibly with
some business dealings related to farm life.
- He plays a minor role in this story, potentially providing solutions for Luke
with his problems.
- He is a kind man, who could be seen as a kind gesture, when he is willing
to help the young people like Luke.
- He is a wise man, specifically in understand about others’ feelings ( he
offers Luke a job as a condition to save Dan)
--It is very difficult for us to decide whether Mr Kemp is the protagonist or antagonist, but he plays the
role of the catalyst in this story. He helps Luke and uncle Henry to bridge the gap between the two
characters and he gave advice to Luke. And finally, he was the secret.
5. Point of view
- The story is narrated from a third-person limited point of view, primarily
focusing on the perspective of the protagonist, Luke Baldwin. This means
that the narrator only knows the thoughts and feelings of Luke, providing
insight into his experiences, but does not have access to the inner thoughts
of other characters.
- The details in the story are created and describe through the narrator’s
words, helping readers clearly visualize the landscape and characters.
- The readers see the world through his eyes as he grapples with the moral
dilemma presented in the story: whether to keep a promise he made to his
dying father to take care of his dog or to abide by his mother's wishes and
get rid of the dog. The third-person limited point of view allows readers to
empathize with Luke and understand the internal conflict he faces.
6. Themes:
“Practicality is not always the best policy” In some ways, we need to be practical. But to some extent,
practicality is not always the wisest thing in life. We need to consider not only the benefits, the practical
values, but also the mental values.
- Courage and determination:
+ Luke is a young boy but has courage and determination to raise his dog -
Dan. Despite encountering many difficulties and obstacles, Luke did not
give up and showed love and responsibility towards Dan. This shows
Luke's determination and courage, and this theme emphasizes the
importance of not giving up in life.
- Things that are priceless to one person may be valuable to another:
+ The dog was initially considered useless and unusable by Henry. However,
after spending time with the dog, Luke saw the value in caring for and
nurturing him, and the dog became an important part of his life.
And in this case, we can see clearly that to Uncle Henry, the dog is worthless and it should not be got rid
of. However, to Luke, it is an irreplaceable part of his life. It is the source of energy in his life.
- Friendship:
+ One of the main ideas in the story is that friendship has no boundaries.
Luke and Dan become close friends despite being different species, breeds,
and languages. This special relationship shows that friendship can form and
become strong based on mutual understanding and sincere feelings,
regardless of external differences.
In the third theme “We need not only bread but roses in our lives.” Bread here refers to materialism and
roses refer to mental desires, the mental life that we need to pursue in our life.
And finally, “Friendship has no boundary.” There is no limitation between a person and a dog and a person
can make friends with a dog easily and the dog is a kind of the best companion that Luke ever has had in
his life. Empathy is a step closer to true friendship. Empathy means understanding. The dog understands
Luke and Luke understands him and they can have a good relationship with each other.
7. Symbolism
We can see some symbols here.
➢ The first vow that Luke made to his dying father. He promised his father that he
would try to be like his uncle because in his eyes his uncle is an idol. He needs to
follow his uncle everywhere. In the sentences at the begin of the story“ He did not
forget that he had promised his dying father, he would try to learn things from his
uncle, so he used to watch him very carefully”; This vow is repeated at the end of
the story “he had already learned some of things about his uncle that his father
wanted him to learn”,
➢ The second vow is the vow that he made at the end of the story “he vowed to
himself fervently that he would always have some money on hand, no matter what
became of him, so that he would be able to protect all that was truly valuable from
the practical people in the world”. He needs to have money. He would try his best
to have money to protect what he wants in his life. The second vow here
symbolizes practicality. he is no longer an innocent boy. The materialism has affected him one way or
another. The words of this time
mark Luke's maturity in his way of thinking.
➢ 75 cents:75 cents appears four times in the story when Mr. Kemp makes an offer
to Luke, and at Luke makes an offer to Uncle Henry. This is the amount of money,
not one pound but 75 cents. And you can see that 75 cents is three-quarters of a
pound. When Luke hears the sound of 75 cents, he may think that 75 is a big
number, a large amount of money that he can earn. He needs another quarter as
much as he needs some more time to fully experience life to become fully
developed or mature.
➢ The dog: The dog here is the symbol of friendship and loyalty. Dogs have been
friends of people for a very long time. They are always loyal. Despite being an old
and slow dog, Dan captures Luke's heart, highlighting the idea that love goes
beyond appearances. Dan and Luke played together, Dan soothed Luke's
loneliness and Luke shared secrets with Dan that he couldn't tell his uncle and
aunt. => This shows the beautiful friendship of Luke and Dan as well as the
friendship of humans and dogs. Dan's imperfect left leg could symbolize the
trauma he suffered during his dedication to Uncle Henry when Dan was a guard or
hunting dog in the past, thereby showing Dan's loyalty.
➢ The Transactions:
● The transaction between Luke and Mr Kemp: “I give you seventy-five cents a
week. Would you get the cớ for me every night?”
● The transaction between Luke and Uncle Henry: “ I know Dan ín’t worth his keep
to you. I guess he isn’t worth anything but me. So I’ll pay you seventy-five cents a
week for his keep”.( Luke will pay Uncle Henry 75 cents per week for keeping
Dan)
All these are used to refer to the fact that Luke is fully aware of the changes in his
maturity and his development.
8. Style and tone
- This is a coming of age story because there is a conflict between two
generations in the story, the younger generation (Luke Baldwin) and the older
generation (Uncle Henry). And finally, after both of them went through the events
in the story, Luke and Uncle Henry both understood each other and grew from
each other's perspective. Luke learned from his uncle that he needed to be more
sensitive and wiser to get what he wanted and protect the people he loved. Uncle
Henry learned the lesson from Luke that money and material things are not enough
to make people happy, but we also need friends and relatives around us.
- The tone in this story is casual and narrative but sometimes it is intense, urgent
and desperate. It is conveyed through the characters’ actions, reactions:
“Luke cried out wildly.”
“Carter was startled.”
“Luke sobbed.”
“You can’t be dead, Dan! You can’t, you can’t!”
- The language used in this story is not only very specific, simple, accessible to the
reader but also still rich in description. He also did not use much figurative
language.
- Repetition of Phrases like “wonderful dog” are repeated to emphasize Luke’s
affection for Dan and his importance in Luke's life.
- The author describes the characters and their actions directly through dialogue
between characters, helping to reveal the characters' personalities, thoughts and
attitudes as well as advance the plot.