No More Dead Dogs

“When my dad was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam, he once rescued eight Navy SEALs who were stranded behind enemy lines. He flew back using only his left hand, because the right one had taken a bullet. With the chopper on fire, and running on an empty tank and just gas fumes, he managed to outmaneuver a squadron of MiG fighters and make it safely home to base. That was my favorite story when I was small. It was also a total pack of lies.”

These are the opening lines of No More Dead Dogs. Here, Wallace recounts one of the many untrue stories his dad used to tell, which ultimately led to Wallace’s unwillingness to lie. This story shows how easily a good story can fool someone. As a kid, Wallace would have been amazed by this tale of war and bravery, and he would have wanted to believe his dad was a hero. The fact that this story is a lie shows how the people we love can disappoint us, both by lying and by not being who we think they are.

“Dear Julia Roberts, You are My favorite actress. Were you involved in drama when you were in seventh grade? If yes, was it tough to be a serious actress in middle School? It Sure is for me. Sometimes I think I’m the only one working while everyone else is goofing off or flirting. Am I being unreasonable here? Have you ever flirted with a guy while making one of your movies? Don’t feel bad if the answer is yes. you can do whatever you want because you’re so famous. but student actors should have to concentrate harder, right?”

This first letter to Julia Roberts introduces Rachel’s character—the serious type who wants to be an actress and doesn’t necessarily believe in having fun while working. She assumes that once a person is suitably famous, they can do whatever they want and that no one will question them. These letters show Rachel’s growth throughout the story.

“There was no feeling quite like the first day of rehearsal. To take simple words on paper and bring them to life was a fantastic challenge. It was like the birth of a new baby (I’m only guessing here). Of course, you can’t have a performance on the first day. You have a staged reading. We all gathered in a circle with our scripts and went through the entire play with each actor saying his (or her) lines. Okay, some of the cast was fooling around a little. There was a lot of laughing when Leticia Ogden choked on her gum, and when Vito Brundia read ‘What can this dog do?’ as ‘What is this, dog-doo?’ Even Mr. Fogelman had a pretty good laugh at Vito’s expense. That’s part of the fun of drama.”

Here, Rachel describes the first day of rehearsal. The audience of a play sees the put-together version that’s the result of weeks or even months of rehearsal. The audience doesn’t see the work and mistakes (some amusing) that go into getting a performance ready.