Spring Assessment 2011

Passion of Commitment

All of us, who are committed to anything in life, know what components are needed to prove commitment. “The Hundredth Dove” is about Hugh, a fowler, who is put through tests to show his commitment to the king and his word. It is also about obedience, passion and sacrifice. These are the three main characteristics that all people committed to something must have. Especially when your own heart desires to go against a command made out to you.

When Hugh kills the white dove with his own bare hands it shows that Hugh really cares about his order. He is tempted to free the white dove, as it cooed sweet words like a soft melody hanging in a delicate breeze. Rewards of its freedom are mentioned but yet Hugh gathers his loyalty and completes his task. This shows that Hugh’s commitment to the king because it symbolizes sacrifice. Hugh was committed enough to sacrifice his own happiness, love and fortune for his order by the king. This was a great part of the story. It almost surprised me that Hugh killed the dove. I had supposed that this part of the story would be similar to “Snow White,” that Hugh would somehow fake killing the dove, succeed with his job, and then everybody would live happily ever after. Had that happened it would have been disappointing. Nonetheless, Hugh did kill the white dove and succeed in his job. It was a twist to the happy story, that’s why I liked this part of the story.

Another of my favorite parts of this story was when the author, Jane Yolen, described how Hugh took good care of his hunting equipment. This represented that he had a passion of his job. Since, he was so passionate, him being assigned a very important task for the king, made him work harder to achieve his goal. Another thing that made him passionate, in my opinion, was Lady Columbia, the Queen- to- Be. At first sight Hugh had been taken prisoner by Lady Columbia’s grace. This put a slight turn to the story. Had he not been spell-bound by the lady’s grace, he may have let the dove free, there may have been a wedding, Hugh may have stayed a hunter, and the end would have been a “Happily Ever After.” But, nonetheless, Hugh was enchanted by beauty, and that put a turn on events. Something different always takes me by surprise, that’s why I liked this part of the story.

Even though, passion was the main point I liked throughout the whole story, I still enjoyed most of it. But, the things I disliked were that Yolen took too long to get the message over. When you check the length of the introduction of characters, you may notice that over half the short story was just naming characters. Had I wrote this story I may have reduced some of the introductions of characters. Also, the ending of the story, was a little confusing. This would confuse any reader and may even turn the reader away from Yolen’s publications. I know it did to me.

To me this story proved passion, sacrifice, and obedience are things I should have for something I am committed to. Also, the symbolisms of these characteristics were shown thoroughly by the author. Its how the old saying goes: “Desire is the key to motivation, but its determination and commitment that lets you reach your unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek.” (Unknown)