Neither Wolf Nor Dog Sparknotes

Neither Wolf nor Dog is a very intellectual book that provides many different outlooks on hard-hitting topics. Dan is a very intelligent, wise Native American that takes Nerburn on a very long journey. In Neither Wolf nor Dog by Kent Nerburn, the separation Nerburn experiences from his home life is critical when he is trying to connect more with nature, understand Dan’s point of view, and get a better idea on how to write his book.
Nerburn experiences a sense of sadness when as he is separated from his home and family. While Nerburn is experiencing loneliness without his family, he is able to cope by connecting with the earth. As Nerburn was walking through Wounded Knee he said that “The earth was alive here but there was nothing living [ .

While Nerburn was with Dan he was really able to pull away from the social norms that occur in his life, and focus on Dan and his story. When Nerburn questioned why the yards were full of junk, Dan states that, “That was the Indian way. Use every part of the buffalo” (76). Instead of Nerburn having to go back and forth from his family to Dan’s, he can sit back and focus. This way he can absorb every detail that he needs to know, and interpret them for his book. The more time Dan spent there, the more he was able to understand how passionate Dan was, and how important it was that he portrayed some that in his book. Dan’s passion became very early in the book and began building as the story went on. As Dan lectured Nerburn he tells him what really happened “You took the land and you turned it into property. Now our mother is silent.” (51) If Nerburn were not completely isolated from his home life, he would not have been able to tell how the passion elevated as the story went on. It would have become very choppy, and undetectable leaving the story to become less meaningful. Since Nerburn was writing a story on Dan it was crucial that he was able to really got to know Dan. Nerburn needed the full experience if he was going to write a story for him, he needed to be able to connect with him on a deeper level. Right before Nerburn and Dan began to pray