Story Review of Stray

The Story “Stray” by Cynthia Rylent, talks about a poor girl Doris. One day when Doris’s school was cancelled she was shoveling all the snow, and then an stray puppy came. She brought it inside the house, and her mom asked where it came from. Doris didn’t know, but she knew where it was going to go; it was going to stay with her, but her mom said no. Since her family was in poverty, her dad had to take it to the pound.  However,  the weather was bad, so he agreed to let it stay for the time being. They had a strict rule though. They had to keep it in the basement. They fed it the scraps, and then nine days after the dog arrived there was nice clear weather. Her dad was getting ready to drop off the dog, and Doris tried to plead to him, but he said no. Then she went inside and cried herself to sleep. When she woke up she was hungry so she dragged herself out of her bed. When she went to the kitchen she got milk and drank it, her dad then said to feed the dog. She was confused, then he said it again. She asked why he didn’t take the dog there. He said he did but it was the worst place he had ever seen. He said there is a stench there, and they keep the dog alive for six days. 

Poverty limits many choices in life, like if you can afford all the food you want or a good house. Poverty limits Doris’s family choices, like if they wanted to have food or toys. Doris could not have the dog, because of how impoverished they are, they cannot provide extra food for it. They can barely even provide food for themselves. Poverty limits a lot of choices in life, like having a pet, Doris wanted a dog. Even though they could barely afford a goldfish, Doris still tries to convince her parents. It also limited their food, because they can barely have food, they have to be conservative. For example a simple breakfast she can only have a cookie, not even toast or eggs. Even when the dog came, they could only feed it the scraps that they had. Poverty limits many choices between people like buying toys, pets, and food, they have to be careful with the choices they make because of poverty.

Everyone has a choice in life, even though you are in a tough situation like poverty, you still have choices you can make. Doris’s family are poor, and poverty limits their choices in life for food and toys, but they still have some choices in life. Even though they are poor they still take the dog, from their own kindness. They also chose to save the dog. Although they could have left it at the pound to die in six days, they decided to keep it. They also saved it because when they took it they did not leave it, but took it in as one of their own, and fed it without that much food, and even in the future when it grows, it will need more food, and so they still give it to the dog. Everybody has a choice in life, it doesn’t matter if we are rich or poor, because we always have choices.

Even when you are in poverty you should still be kind in life. Doris’s family was poor and did not own many things, like toys or pets. When they saw the puppy they did not want it. It was still not too late, because after her dad took it to the pound he saw how bad it was. He saw how it stenched and they only gave them six days to live, they still had the choice of kindness to take the dog back. They also had a choice of leaving it outside by itself to die, but they chose kindness and took pity on it, and let it stay with them, and they feed it scraps. Choices also depend on kindness, because even though Doris’s family is poor they still had the choice of taking the dog back out of kindness which they did. Choices are helped by kindness, because it shows who you are, because if you do something bad, like stealing, then it shows that you are a bad person. On the contrary, if you made the choice to do something kind, then you are a good person, and people will see you like that. Even though you are poor or rich, you can always make the right choices in life, of being kind. 

The story “Stray” written by Cynthia Rylent talks about a poor family with a girl named Doris. Doris sees a stray puppy and takes it in, her parents say they will take it to the pound, but Doris does not want to. Poverty limits choices in life, because you cannot have many options, like buying a toy you can’t because you are poor. But even though you are poor you still have choices in life, like to keep an animal you found that needs help, like the dog who needs a home. Kindness though can bring you many options like if you were to bring a poor dog home, even if you are poor. The story “Stray” is an amazing book talking about how even if you're in poverty, you can still make some right choices.