Arvin Russell’s burial of his dog Jack’s remains

Arvin Russell’s burial of his dog Jack’s remains brings grief, filial understanding, and a final act of care together at the clearing where Willard Russell had once prayed. Arvin gathers Jack’s scattered remains, lays them to rest beneath the dog’s cross, and later places the Luger pistol in the same grave before leaving the place for good.

The Clearing and Its Memories

When Arvin returns to the clearing, much of it has grown over, but the prayer log and five of the crosses Willard raised still stand; four others lie on the ground. Jack’s remains are still attached to the first cross his father had erected. The sight prompts Arvin to reconsider Willard’s conduct during Charlotte Russell’s illness: he recognizes that his father had wanted desperately to keep her alive and had needed to go where she went. He also understands Willard’s earlier suggestion that Arvin stay with Emma Russell as an indirect way of saying goodbye. This changed understanding of his father shapes the care with which Arvin approaches Jack’s remains.

Gathering and Burying Jack’s Remains

Arvin kneels at Jack’s cross and clears away leaves. He finds the dog’s skull, collar, and a small clump of hair caught in the leather, then gathers the bones he can find nearby and removes the brittle remains still attached to the cross. With a branch and his hands, he digs a grave at its foot, about a foot deep, and carefully arranges the remains inside. The burial is deliberate rather than hurried: Arvin tends to Jack as a companion deserving care, restoring the remains to the earth instead of leaving them displayed on the cross.

Before praying at the log, Arvin hangs a painting of the crucifixion on one of the cross’s nails and sets the Luger pistol beside him. It is the first time he has prayed since Charlotte’s death. Unable to keep his thoughts on God, he imagines his parents looking down on him and asks for guidance. The return to the clearing thus joins the burial of Jack with Arvin’s renewed, uncertain engagement with the faith and family memories associated with the place.

The Grave and Arvin’s Departure

After Lee Bodecker dies, Arvin decides that he cannot return to his former life. He goes to the grave he has dug for Jack, lays the Luger pistol beside the animal’s bones, covers the grave, and conceals it with leaves and branches. The gun’s placement links Jack’s burial to the violent events that have brought Arvin back to the clearing, while hiding the grave leaves no visible marker of that final act.

Arvin takes the crucifixion painting with him, thinking that his father would have liked him to keep it, and leaves the clearing along the deer path. He expects never to see the place again, or probably Emma Russell or Earskell Russell. Jack’s burial is therefore both a specific expression of mourning and part of Arvin’s departure from the childhood landscape that holds his family’s losses.