Dogsong

Part 2 of the book is broken into four journeys: a run north by Russel and his team, followed by a dream; another run and another dream; and so on until Russel competes his journey, both physically and metaphorically.

Russel leaves Oogruk on the sea ice and runs the dogs north for 18 straight hours, letting them find the way. They leave the tree line where Russel’s village is sheltered and run through progressively more barren and forlorn land under the northern lights. Russel appreciates the beauty of the ice and scrub, respecting “the mother of wind and the father of blue ice” (80), and marvels at the colorful dance of the northern lights. Eventually the dogs run out of energy and start to faulter, so Russel stops them and tries to get them to eat some meat. With building fear, he realizes that the dogs are too tired to eat, something he did not know was possible, and he thinks, “Without the dogs he was nothing” (82). Fear rages in him. He feels helpless and alone. Russel finds that he, too, is unable to eat, so he tries to calm down and rest.