Jack London’s “Moon-Face”

       “Moon-Face” is about an unnamed narrator who becomes obsessed with a man named John Claverhouse, also referred to by the narrator as Moon-Face.  The narrator hates Claverhouse, but doesn’t know why.  Throughout the story, the narrator hatches up schemes to ruin Claverhouse’s life – he burns down his barn, burns up his crops, kills his dog, et cetera.  Claverhouse still manages to keep smiling and laughing, though, pushing the narrator over the edge into a murderous rage.

          The narrator decides that he will kill Claverhouse.  His plan is simple – he will buy a puppy and train it to fetch anything that is thrown into the distance.  He does this until it seems the dog has perfected its duty.  When the narrator presents Claverhouse with the dog, the hated man smiles and laughs and thanks his unknown adversary.  The narrator then waits for Claverhouse to go down to the pond where he illegally fishes for trout.  When Claverhouse lights a stick of dynamite and throws it into the pond, the dog quickly fetches after it and successfully retrieves it.  The dog then chases Claverhouse as he runs away.  The stick of dynamite explodes, killing Claverhouse and his new, furry friend. 

          The narrator is never caught, which is possibly the reason why he chooses to stay unnamed.