The dog Bull's-eye and Sikes

The dog Bull's-eye is Bill Sikes's constant companion, a white, shaggy animal whose face is scratched and torn in twenty different places, reflecting the violent life he shares with his master. The dog is introduced as a snarling, ill-tempered creature, skulking into a room after Sikes, and is immediately subjected to a kick that sends him to the other end of the room, a treatment to which he appears well-accustomed. This dynamic establishes the relationship as one of dominance and abuse, where the dog is both a tool of Sikes's intimidation and a recipient of his unbridled cruelty.

A Mirror of Violence and Intimidation

Bull's-eye functions as an extension of Sikes's own ferocity. When Sikes recaptures Oliver Twist, he uses the dog to enforce obedience, commanding, "Here, Bull's-eye, mind him, boy! Mind him!" The dog growls and licks his lips, eyeing Oliver as if eager to attack. Sikes approves, saying, "He's as willing as a Christian, strike me blind if he isn't!" This anthropomorphizing of the dog's aggression underscores how Sikes sees his own brutality reflected in the animal. The dog is also a participant in Sikes's criminal life, accompanying him on the burglary at Chertsey and serving as a guard. Yet the bond is not one of loyalty but of mutual, ingrained violence. Sikes kicks the dog for winking, and the dog, having "faults of temper in common with his owner," retaliates by biting Sikes's boot, leading to a vicious struggle where Sikes draws a clasp-knife and threatens to cut the dog's throat. This conflict reveals the relationship's foundation: a cycle of aggression where both parties are capable of turning on each other.

The Dog as a Symbol of Sikes's Guilt and Fear

After Sikes murders Nancy, the dog becomes a haunting presence, a living reminder of his crime. As Sikes attempts to flee, he notices blood on the dog's feet, a detail that forces him to cut out and burn stained pieces of his own clothing. The dog's very presence becomes a source of paranoia. When Sikes considers returning to London, he realizes that "if any description of him were out, it would not be forgotten that the dog was missing, and had probably gone with him. This might lead to his apprehension." In a desperate act to sever this link, Sikes resolves to drown the dog. He picks up a heavy stone and ties it to his handkerchief, but the animal, sensing his master's intent, cowers and refuses to approach. When Sikes calls, the dog advances, retreats, and then "scoured away at his hardest speed," abandoning his master. This abandonment marks a critical turning point: the dog, once an instrument of Sikes's will, now acts on its own instinct for self-preservation, leaving Sikes utterly alone in his guilt.

The Final Act: Loyalty and Death

Despite the abandonment, Bull's-eye's connection to Sikes proves inescapable. The dog, having run himself "faint," covered with mud, lame, and half-blind, finds his way to the hideout on Jacob's Island where Sikes is cornered. The dog's arrival alerts the gang to Sikes's presence, and when the mob closes in, the dog runs "backwards and forwards on the parapet with a dismal howl." In a final, tragic act, the dog "collecting himself for a spring, jumped for the dead man's shoulders. Missing his aim, he fell into the ditch, turning completely over as he went; and striking his head against a stone, dashed out his brains." This suicide-like leap, following Sikes's own accidental hanging, completes the symbiotic bond. The dog, unable to live without its master, dies in a grotesque echo of Sikes's own violent end, cementing their relationship as one of mutual destruction.