Friday, July 3, 2009 Marmaduke Analyzed

After years of being dominated, Phil one day realized that he could intimidate Marmaduke with a hammer.

Once again Phil tries to justify his subservience to his dog. Here we see that Phil, having added some strange cupola to Marmaduke's doghouse, is trying to convince his neighbor that it was a necessity.

Still wielding the hammer (although the mess of the construction seems to have been cleaned up long ago), Phil says that Marmaduke needed an attic as his basement was full. We are not told exactly what it is that Marmaduke's basement is full of. However, as his so called "attic" is barely big enough for Marmaduke's head, we can assume that the basement is full of the big dog's rump. On the other hand, unless Phil installed a bathroom in the doghouse, the basement may be full of something else. If this is the case, Phil might consider it easier to move the excess to the "attic" rather than cleaning it up. This could explain the presence of the bucket, as well as the shocked look on Marmaduke's face.

The message here seems to be with the silent neighbor, always looking over the Winslow's fence. He seems to be telling us not to shun our neighbors, even if they appear to be retarded morons, for they can provide us with countless hours of entertainment.