History Literature / TheBookOfTheDunCow

* StealthPun: The Hens in Chauntecleer's Coop all seem to have been [[MeaningfulName named after precious stones.]] Chauntecleer recites the names of 8 of them as being "Beryl. Chalcedony. Chrysolite. Sardonix. Topaz. Jasper. Jacinth." and "Emerald." In the Bible, Revelation 21:19-20 reveals that the twelve sacred gemstones forming the layers of the wall around the Heavenly City are Jasper, Sapphire, Chalcedony, Emerald, Sardonyx, Sardius, Chrysolite, Beryl, Topaz, Chrysoprasus, Jacinth, and Amethyst. This is no mere coincidence, as Wangerin, being a pastor as well as a writer of Christian books, would have been very much aware of this. And here's where the sneaky pun comes in: The Hens were named after these layers because they themselves are layers (of eggs)!

* StealthPun: The Hens in Chauntecleer's Coop all seem to have been [[MeaningfulName named after precious stones.]] Chauntecleer recites the names of 8 of them as being "Beryl. Chalcedony. Chrysolte. Sardonix. Topaz. Jasper. Jacinth." and "Emerald." In the Bible, Revelation 21:19-20 reveals that the twelve sacred gemstones forming the layers of the wall around the Heavenly City are Jasper, Sapphire, Chalcedony, Emerald, Sardonyx, Sardius, Chrysolite, Beryl, Topaz, Chrysoprasus, Jacinth, and Amethyst. This is no mere coincidence, as Wangerin, being a pastor as well as a writer of Christian books, would have been very much aware of this. And here's where the sneaky pun comes in: The Hens were named after these layers because they themselves are layers (of eggs)!

* BigBad: Arguably, the worms that infect Chantecleer andspread to the other animals are the main villains in ''Lamentations'', but Eurus takes this role in ''Peace at the Last''.

* GeorgeLucasAlteredVersion: ''Lamentations'' alters the books' continuity significantly, introducing new characters (Selkirk and Ratatosk), cutting others (Chinook the Gray She-Wolf), even [[GenderFlip gender-flipping]] two (the male beetle Black Lazarus was changed into the female Lazara the Black Beetle while Notos becomes the female wolf Nota) and changing entire plot points. Most significantly, in the revised version Boreas survives, Chalcedony is murdered by Jasper, and Eurus is not blinded by Chauntecleer. The sequel follows the ''Lamentations'' version of events.

* RememberTheNewGuy: Some characters, like Selkirk, are unique to the new continuity and did not appear in ''The Book of Sorrows''.

** In ''The Book of Sorrows'', Jasper appears at the end with Chauntecleer's other animals to be with him, and her bad behavior is less intentionally malicious. In ''Lamentations'' she is forced to leave for her more severe crimes, including outright murdering Chalcedony, who survives in ''The Book of Sorrows''.

* TokenEvilTeammate: Jasper's bad behavior is worse in ''Lamentations'', and unlike ''The Book of Sorrows'' she is exiled from the Coop after trying to scavenge off the meat of a killed ewe, attempting to kill Pertinax the squirrel, and ambushing and killing Chalcedony out of spite. Eurus the wolf and his pack are even worse -- while Jasper [[spoiler:is ultimately forgiven]], he is not.

* StealthPun: The Hens in Chauntecleer's Coop all seem to have been named after precious stones. Chauntecleer recites the names of 8 of them as being "Beryl. Chalcedony. Chrysolte. Sardonix. Topaz. Jasper. Jacinth." and "Emerald." In the Bible, Revelation 21:19-20 reveals that the twelve sacred gemstones forming the layers of the wall around the Heavenly City are Jasper, Sapphire, Chalcedony, Emerald, Sardonyx, Sardius, Chrysolite, Beryl, Topaz, Chrysoprasus, Jacinth, and Amethyst. This is no mere coincidence, as Wangerin, being a pastor as well as a writer of Christian books, would have been very much aware of this. And here's where the sneaky pun comes in: The Hens were named after these layers because they themselves are layers (of eggs)!

* DeadGuyOnDisplay: [[spoiler:After killing Cockatrice, Chauntecleer severs his head and parades it in front of the animals, who go out to see the body.]]
* DeathOfAChild: [[spoiler:All of Chauntecleer's children are killed by basilisks.]]

%%* TheEeyore: Mundo Cani.

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Mundo Cani dives into the Earth, piercing Wyrm's eye and sealing both of them under the Netherworld Scar.]]

* AlwaysChaoticEvil: The basilisks.

* BattleCry:
--> '''John Wesley Weasel''': "Do and do and do! John Wesley will do for you!"

* SavageWolves: Played with. A wolf tormented and eventually killed [[spoiler:Chauntecleer's mother,]] but another is one of the animals who is part of the (failed) revolt against Cockatrice. Several more (Boreas, Eurus, Chinook, Favonius, and Notos) cause a great deal of trouble in ''The Book of Sorrows'', their machinations partially responsible for [[spoiler:Chauntecleer's descent into madness.]]

* SavageWolf: Eurus and his pack, especially Eurus himself and Rutt.
* TokenEvilTeammate: Jasper's bad behavior is worse in ''Lamentations'', and unlike ''The Book of Sorrows'' she is exiled from the Coop after trying to scavenge off the meat of a killed ewe, attempting to kill Pertinax the squirrel, and ambushing and killing Chalcedony out of spite. Eurus the wolf and his pack are even worse - while Jasper [[spoiler:is ultimately forgiven]], he is not.
* YouAreInCommandNow: Pertelote takes over the Coop animals' leadership [[spoiler:after Chauntecleer's death.]]

A sequel was written titled ''The Book of Sorrows'', which is [[KillEmAll about as cheerful]] [[DownerEnding as you expect]]. It was later [[GeorgeLucasAlteredVersion rewritten and reissued]] as ''The Book of the Dun Cow: Lamentations'' and followed by a third book, ''Peace at Last'', [[SequelGap published 23 years after the second book]].

* TheAtoner: Chauntecleer, after he called [[spoiler: Mundo Cani]] a traitor while delirious, right before [[spoiler: the dog sacrificed himself to seal Wyrm back in the Earth.]]

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Wyrm is defeated and Cockatrice is dead, but the Coop is destroyed, the good guys suffered heavy casualties, and Mundo Cani sealed himself up with Wyrm.]]

* [[ChekhovsGun Chekhov's Cockspurs]]: Chauntecleer mentions his battle spurs [[NamedWeapons Gaff and the Slasher]] when describing his DarkAndTroubledPast to his animals, and later puts them on [[spoiler: to battle Cockatrice.]]

* DarkAndTroubledPast: Pertelote, who was raped by Cockatrice when she lived across the river, and Chauntecleer, who was a thief and rogue until [[spoiler: an encounter with God]] compelled him [[HeelFaceTurn to become leader of the Coop.]]
* DeadGuyOnDisplay: [[spoiler: After killing Cockatrice, Chauntecleer severs his head and parades it in front of the animals, who go out to see the body.]]
* DeathOfAChild: [[spoiler: All of Chauntecleer's children are killed by basilisks.]]

** When he has been [[spoiler: impaled by Chauntecleer's battle spurs]], Cockatrice lunges at Chauntecleer one last time and [[spoiler: [[SelfDisposingVillain kills himself.]]]]

* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: [[spoiler: Mundo Cani stops Wyrm from escaping by blinding him with the Dun Cow's horn.]]

* DoNotTauntCthulhu: Subverted. [[spoiler: Taunting the BigBad works.]]

* TheEeyore: Mundo Cani.

* [[spoiler: GoForTheEye: Wyrm has one huge eye. Of course, that's the only weak point.]]
* GratuitousLatin: Wyrm and the Dun Cow both speak in Latin, "the language of the powers".
* GreenEyedMonster: Chauntecleer is jealous of Mundo Cani because the Dun Cow takes a special interest in him. [[spoiler: He finds out why too late.]]

** Senex, and almost all of the animals under Cockatrice's rule. Some of them eventually take a stand against him, but [[spoiler: his basilisks kill almost all of them]].

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Mundo Cani dives into the Earth, piercing Wyrm's eye and sealing both of them under the Netherworld Scar.]]

* HopeSpot: After an entire winter of heavy rain, Chauntecleer gets married and has kids. Then, there's one relatively fresh day of spring. Then, [[spoiler: basilisks kill Chauntecleer's children.]]
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: The death of [[spoiler: Cockatrice.]]
* InWhichATropeIsDescribed: the chapter titles.
* IShallTauntYou: [[spoiler: Mundo Cani]] gets Wyrm to look at him and expose his eye by insulting him, insinuating that Wyrm is too cowardly to face such a small opponent.
--> [[spoiler: '''Mundo Cani''']]: Oh, Wyrm! Great Wyrm-afraid to look at a nothing, a nose, a flea! Such evil, to split the earth, but from a Dog-a Dog to hide!"

* LastStand: What Chauntecleer sees [[spoiler: the final confrontation with Wyrm]] as.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Lord Russel after [[spoiler: he finds Beryl and Chauntecleer's children dead.]]

* OddFriendship: John Wesley Weasel and the Wee Widow Mouse. How attached to her he is becomes clear when [[spoiler: she is killed by a basilisk and he charges into battle to avenge her death.]]

* OurAngelsAreDifferent: The Dun Cow, a messenger from God to Chauntecleer, takes the shape of [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a dun-colored cow.]]

* PyrrhicVictory: The animals win the battle against Cockatrice and the basilisks, but [[spoiler: they suffer heavy losses and Chauntecleer goes into a HeroicBSOD as a result of it.]]
* TheQuisling: A toad, simply known as [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep Toad]], willingly works for Cockatrice, but is eventually RewardedAsATraitorDeserves when the basilisks [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness kill him anyway.]]
* RageAgainstTheHeavens: Chauntecleer after [[spoiler: the death of his sons]].

* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Chauntecleer doesn't fight in the first battle, but uses his crowing to disorient the basilisks. Later, he [[spoiler: fights and kills Cockatrice]] on his own. Senex, although old and impotent, tries to embody this trope, but it doesn't end well.

* SanitySlippage: Chauntecleer in ''The Book of Sorrows'', thanks to the Fimbulwinter wolves and the worms from [[spoiler: Wyrm's corpse]].
* SavageWolves: Played with. A wolf tormented and eventually killed [[spoiler: Chauntecleer's mother]], but another is one of the animals who is part of the (failed) revolt against Cockatrice. Several more (Boreas, Eurus, Chinook, Favonius, and Notos) cause a great deal of trouble in ''The Book of Sorrows'', their machinations partially responsible for [[spoiler: Chauntecleer's descent into madness.]]

* ShooOutTheClowns: The dim-witted Wild Turkeys, whose foolish behavior is initially PlayedForLaughs, are [[spoiler: all killed en masse by the basilisks, even before the war begins.]]

* TooDumbToLive: All of the Wild Turkeys. [[spoiler: In fact, all of them do die before the first battle.]]
* TookALevelInBadAss: Mundo Cani, who at first seems to be a self-hating whiner, is one of Chauntecleer's most faithful allies, saves John Wesley Weasel from Cockatrice, and last of all takes on [[spoiler: Wyrm himself]], with nothing but the horn of the Dun Cow. [[spoiler: And wins.]]

* UnstoppableRage: John Wesley Weasel during the the attack on the basilisks [[spoiler: after the death of the Wee Widow Mouse]].

* TheWarHasJustBegun: After [[spoiler: the basilisks are driven away and Cockatrice is killed, Wyrm reminds the animals that he is still there, temporarily driving the already exhausted Chauntecleer into delirium and giving Wyrm an escape route in the process.]]

** Later, after several months of constant rain and snow, the sky finally clears up and we're treated to a lighthearted chapter wherin Chauntecleer's three sons try to amuse themselves with games, as their overprotective nurse Beryl tries to keep them out of trouble. [[spoiler: And then we cut to the fox Lord Russel discovering their and Beryl's dead bodies.]]

* AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: [[spoiler: Pertelote and all of the Coop's animals]] at the end of ''Peace at the Last''.

* TheAtoner: Selkirk is very sorry for what he did to Ratatosk, and [[spoiler: is implicitly forgiven, since he's seen in the afterlife at the end.]]

* CleverCrows: Kangi Sapa the raven.

* DeathEqualsRedemption: [[spoiler: Jasper is allowed into the afterlife, restored to her kinder self, and is forgiven by Pertelote.]]
* [[spoiler:DownerEnding]]: [[spoiler: While the animals are reunited in the afterlife, almost all of the named characters are dead and the spreading HatePlague has corrupted the world beyond any repair.]]

* EveryoneComesBackFantasyPartyEnding: [[spoiler: In the afterlife, Pertelote and the Meek are reunited with all of the good animals who died in the earlier books, including Chauntecleer and Mundo Cani.]]

* GivenNameReveal: The Bird With No Tongue gets her voice back [[spoiler:in the afterlife]] and reveals that her real name is [[spoiler:Least]].

* [[spoiler: KillEmAll]]: [[spoiler:The Meek (the animals led by Pertelote) are killed, although their implied reunion with Chauntecleer and the other animals in the afterlife may soften the blow.]]

* {{Retcon}}: Several:

** Eurus and Jasper were also infected by Chauntecleer's maggots, which implicitly spread evil into the world. In ''The Book of Sorrows'', only Chauntecleer was affected by them [[spoiler:and he killed them all with his suicide]].

* TokenEvilTeammate: Jasper's bad behavior is worse in ''Lamentations'', and unlike ''The Book of Sorrows'' she is exiled from the Coop after trying to scavenge off the meat of a killed ewe, attempting to kill Pertinax the squirrel, and ambushing and killing Chalcedony out of spite. Eurus the wolf and his pack are even worse - while Jasper [[spoiler: is ultimately forgiven]], he is not.
* YouAreInCommandNow: Pertelote takes over the Coop animals' leadership [[spoiler: after Chauntecleer's death]].