In the short story “The Hundredth Dove” by Jane Yolen, the king gives his royal folwer Hugh the mission to catch 100 doves for his wedding. He caught 99 birds but the last dove had escaped from his net five times. When he finally caught the 100th dove, the dove pleaded with Hugh to let it go. The dove promised Hugh riches and endless love from the queen if released. Hugh is not persuaded by the dove’s pleading and snaps its neck. By killing, the dove he killed actually killed the queen.
The mode of literature for this story is a tragedy. This plotline starts with the world in conflict when the King and Queen disagree about killing of doves for the wedding. The rise to power in this story, is when Hugh catches his first load of birds, giving him the confidence to catch more. Hugh’s Tragic flaw is that he is a one-dimensional character that cannot think independently and only follows the king’s commands. He does not follow his heart when he is presented with the choice to free the dove or to capture it. The dove challenged Hugh to think independently and he could not handle the thought of not completing the king’s orders so he killed the dove. At the end of the story, there was never a wedding, and Hugh never hunted for birds again, symbolizing the death of his old life.
The decision not to let the dove go was the wrong decision, his narrow mindedness cost the king his marriage. Hugh’s inability to think independently and with his heart ended in tragedy.
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