The Power of the Dog

Rope is a key symbol of death in the novel. Johnny Gordon uses rope to hang himself, and Phil dies of anthrax because of the poisoned hides he uses to braid his own rope. As a tool of suicide, the rope suggests the pulling and yanking of the individual out of this world. For Johnny Gordon, the rope is the inevitable conclusion of his seemingly doomed existence. In his case, the humiliation suffered at the hands of Phil is the final straw. After he hangs himself, it is Peter who handles and cuts the rope; thus, figuratively he conducts the final severing of his father from this world.

The rope that Phil braids and hopes to make a gift of for Peter is likewise the cause of his death. When Peter offers him the poisoned hide to finish the rope, he is carries out the opposite of what he did with his father. Rather than severing the rope and disconnecting the deceased, Peter literally gives Phil the material that will lead him out of this world. Whereas Johnny died by literal suicide, the poisoned rope and Phil’s subsequent death from anthrax represents his hubris with which he figuratively hangs himself.