Tapka

I'd like to start off by saying I did in fact enjoy this story. It was predictable; as I read I called the reactions of the Doctor and Rita and Misha play by play and about two pages into the story I knew the dog, Tapka, was going to hit by a car. Despite how predictable the story was I wanted to keep reading it; it flowed. I identified with the pride Mark takes in caring for Tapka and his childish love for her. I liked the image of wearing a shoe lace with the important keys on it as a necklace for a first grader. It was a specific image that made the story more believable. I also identified with Mark's repulsion at Jana calling Tapka 'Shithead'. Someone could call me 'Shithead' and it wouldn't bother me; if someone were to call my horse 'shithead' I would be angry (I'm the only one allowed to call her shithead). It was also a little funny because in the first grade I may have known the word shithead but I might not have realized what it meant or how to use it. This first grader and second grader, via Mark's emotional distress about calling Tapka the derogatory term prove their mastery of the word. When first reading I thought they used it because they had heard it but they seem to know what it actually means.