Chaplin was a man who sought to make the world a better place, for this reason he used all the opportunities to entertain and at the same time educate people on serious issues affecting the community. In the movies A Dog’s Life, it’s no exception to this fact. Besides being an entertaining piece of silent film, the message Chaplin puts across, is that there is more to life than having a conventional job. People spend a lot of money and time in search of what is regarded as a conventional job. People want to work in offices and put on suits; this has shown that there are many people waiting in job placement offices in search of jobs. Since the jobs are not as many, most of these people end up being disappointed, thus become sad and miss other things that life offers. Trap misses job vacancies, although he is sad, he gets the chance to meet Scraps, the dog that becomes his best friend.
The theme of friendship and love that is clear in the relationship between Tramp and Scraps. They have nothing in common apart from both being in difficult situations when they found each other, therefore, their loyalty to each other. People get too busy with their careers and forget what it means to have good friends and how to maintain friendship. Chaplin attempted to show that even in the lowest of moments something good could arise. Therefore, people should be open to whatever they get even if it is not necessarily what they wished for in the first place. The relationship between Tramp and Scraps is admirable, as they became best friends.
Tramp is a homeless person, but he portrays himself as being satisfied with the position he holds today. Tramp laughs, enjoys fun, and is in no way depressed by sleeping in the dump. He seems happy when entering the dance wagon and one would be tempted to think he is as rich as the other people in the wagon were. Only his dirty clothes and Scraps demonstrate his poverty.
Since the movie has no sound, one need to be keen to understand the message. Chaplin has managed to bring out the themes in the movie using different aesthetics. The main being that Chaplin makes it very comical thus; it is appealing to the audience, and captures the attention of viewers from the start to the end. This is important because it is a silent movie. Thus, it requires viewers’ attention in order to understand the movie. Tramp, Edna and Scraps seem engrossed in their roles, this brings out the best in their characters when they act. Musical cues and soundtracks assist in bringing out the intensity of different scenes thus adding to the appeal of the movie to the viewers.
The title, A Dog’s Life is symbolic, as it shows rich people look down on poor people as they think they live like dogs. It may be true in some way, as Tramp and Scraps fight and rummage for food together like two dogs. However, their life is full of happiness and freedom since Tramp and Scraps can live their life the way they want without being judged by others. There is always something to live for even when one finds himself or herself without a permanent job. Thus, the symbolism of the title is very clear when one watches the movie.