"Pink Dog" by Elizabeth Bishop

"Oh, never have I seen a dog so bare! Naked and pink, without a single hair..." Lines 4-5

       Bishop's poem is much more than a simple tribute to Carnival in Rio de Janerio. She uses the pink dog as a metaphor for a human. The speaker of the poem, speaking to the dog, is a metaphor for society and media influences. She repeatedly tells the dog how pathetic and strange it looks. Furthermore, she tries to frighten the dog, saying that beggars, cripples, idiots, and drunks are murdered for their social undoings. She says, "what would they do to sick, four-legged dogs?" in an attempt to frighten the dog into wearing something for carnival. She tells it to dress up nice, just as the media tells us to do certain things and act certain ways. In my opinion, there is a naked pink dog inside each and every one of us.