“ ‘Poor creature. Poor creature,’ said the mother and turned away to get him some food,” reveals a change in her attitude toward Sounder. The mother has always looked out for her children much more than she has Sounder. She did not want another mouth to feed when she barely had any food for her children or herself. She changes once she sees the poor looking dog and how hurt he is. In her eyes, this could symbolize of her husband. How he could be hurt or worse. She takes pity on the badly hurt Sounder and gives him some of the leftover food. The mother is showing sympathy that she has not shown much throughout the book towards the dog. She also remembers how this dog had tried to save her husband's life, and how he went after the awful people