The Art of Racing in the Rain

by

Garth Stein

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Racing in the Rain makes teaching easy.
Television Symbol Icon

While Enzo has always believed his soul to be more human than those of other dogs, he begins to cultivate what he believes is a more human outlook on life once he's introduced to the idea of watching television by himself. Thanks to the variety of channels that Denny leaves on for Enzo, from the Weather Channel to the Discovery Channel, Enzo uses television to learn how to be human. Television fosters Enzo's love for the dramatic and storytelling. He consistently offers up lists of his favorite actors and movies, many of which are famous for a relationship of some sort to racing or cars. Further, Enzo cultivates his humanity and love of storytelling even more when Zoë is old enough to watch Sesame Street and Enzo is able to teach himself to read. Later in the novel, Enzo uses the television shows he's seen to reconstruct his own dramatic retelling of Denny's court case. In this way, Enzo sees television not just as entertainment, but as something emphatically human—something to learn from, to study, and then to expand upon and use as reference material as he tells his own stories.

Television Quotes in The Art of Racing in the Rain

The The Art of Racing in the Rain quotes below all refer to the symbol of Television. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
What It Means to Be Human Theme Icon
).
Chapter 1 Quotes

After the 1993 Grand Prix, the best thing I've ever seen on TV is a documentary that explained everything to me, made it all clear, told the whole truth: when a dog is finished living his lifetimes as a dog, his next incarnation will be as a man.

Related Characters: Enzo (speaker)
Related Symbols: Television, Ayrton Senna
Page Number: 2
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 18 Quotes

Not all dogs return as men, they say; only those who are ready.
I am ready.

Related Characters: Enzo (speaker)
Related Symbols: Television
Page Number: 98
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 56 Quotes

But sometimes the truth is hidden in a hall of mirrors. Sometimes we believe we are viewing the real thing, when in fact we are viewing a facsimile, a distortion. As I listen to this trial, I am reminded of the climactic scene of a James Bond film, The Man with the Golden Gun. James Bond escaped his hall of mirrors by breaking the glass, shattering the illusions, until only the true villain stood before him. We, too, must shatter the mirrors. We must look into ourselves and root out the distortions until that thing which we know in our hearts is perfect and true, stands before us. Only then will justice be served.

Related Characters: Enzo (speaker)
Related Symbols: Television
Page Number: 301
Explanation and Analysis:
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Television Symbol Timeline in The Art of Racing in the Rain

The timeline below shows where the symbol Television appears in The Art of Racing in the Rain. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
What It Means to Be Human Theme Icon
Language and Storytelling Theme Icon
Illness and Death Theme Icon
Destiny and Spirituality Theme Icon
...kept alive. Enzo says this is because of the second-best thing he ever saw on television—a documentary on Mongolia, which said that when a dog is finished being a dog, he... (full context)
Language and Storytelling Theme Icon
Love and Family Theme Icon
Destiny and Spirituality Theme Icon
After Enzo's bath, Denny sets Enzo up in front of the TV, and asks if he'd like to watch a tape. Enzo replies he would, but Denny... (full context)
Chapter 5
What It Means to Be Human Theme Icon
...loves the Al Pacino remake of Scarface, although it is incomparable to the excellent Godfather movies. (full context)
What It Means to Be Human Theme Icon
Language and Storytelling Theme Icon
Destiny and Spirituality Theme Icon
Enzo says he watches too much TV. Denny turns it on in the morning when he leaves, and warns Enzo not to... (full context)
What It Means to Be Human Theme Icon
Language and Storytelling Theme Icon
Enzo's theory is that primates are not the closest relatives to humans, as those on TV believe, but dogs are. His first case-in-point is a dog’s dew claw, which he believes... (full context)
Chapter 6
Language and Storytelling Theme Icon
Love and Family Theme Icon
Destiny and Spirituality Theme Icon
...of four drivers each spending six hours driving, and this particular race is broadcast on television. The coincidence that Denny got this opportunity the same year he became a father changes... (full context)
Chapter 7
Language and Storytelling Theme Icon
One day, Denny checks the weather on the television in the morning and forgets to turn the TV off. Enzo is enthralled with the... (full context)
What It Means to Be Human Theme Icon
Language and Storytelling Theme Icon
Love and Family Theme Icon
Enzo says that he watched plenty of TV prior to this moment, but only when others were already watching. He even taught himself... (full context)
Chapter 8
Language and Storytelling Theme Icon
Love and Family Theme Icon
Destiny and Spirituality Theme Icon
One summer weekend, Denny and Enzo sit down in front of the TV to study a tape of an enduro race that Denny drove in Portland a few... (full context)
Language and Storytelling Theme Icon
Love and Family Theme Icon
Destiny and Spirituality Theme Icon
...there is still a great deal of distance between them. Enzo gets up from the TV and lays down by the refrigerator in the kitchen to be with Eve, manifesting something. (full context)
Chapter 12
What It Means to Be Human Theme Icon
Language and Storytelling Theme Icon
Illness and Death Theme Icon
...their owner's face after he or she fell asleep. Enzo says you see it on TV regularly, where the dog's mind just finally snapped. Enzo, however, says he's found ways around... (full context)
Chapter 14
Love and Family Theme Icon
Illness and Death Theme Icon
...her to her parents, Denny takes the bandages, and he tells Zoë to go watch TV or play, and then closes the door. (full context)
Chapter 18
What It Means to Be Human Theme Icon
Language and Storytelling Theme Icon
Illness and Death Theme Icon
Destiny and Spirituality Theme Icon
...can run as long as he'd like to. Enzo says he learned this from a program on the National Geographic Channel, and he believes it is true. He says that not... (full context)
Chapter 31
Love and Family Theme Icon
Destiny and Spirituality Theme Icon
...As he gathers his things, Mark tells Denny that watching him win a race on TV the previous year was sweet. Denny smiles, and Mark tells him to take care of... (full context)
Chapter 33
What It Means to Be Human Theme Icon
Language and Storytelling Theme Icon
Love and Family Theme Icon
Destiny and Spirituality Theme Icon
...procedures he's aware of thanks to watching Law and Order and its many spinoffs on TV, as well as The Rockford Files, Columbo, The Verdict, and 12 Angry Men. Finally, he... (full context)
Chapter 35
What It Means to Be Human Theme Icon
Language and Storytelling Theme Icon
Love and Family Theme Icon
...now Denny will quit fighting and turn into a pathetic drunken character from a bad television drama. Enzo leaves and curls up in Zoë's room to be far away from Denny. (full context)
Chapter 44
Language and Storytelling Theme Icon
Love and Family Theme Icon
Destiny and Spirituality Theme Icon
...a small apartment across the city, with carpet that smells of chemicals and no cable TV. Enzo says he tries to make the best of it and squeezes himself into the... (full context)
Chapter 56
Language and Storytelling Theme Icon
Love and Family Theme Icon
...she notices Enzo, He wonders what's going on and wishes for an intervention from a movie star to make everything right again. (full context)
What It Means to Be Human Theme Icon
Language and Storytelling Theme Icon
Destiny and Spirituality Theme Icon
...in all of us, hidden in a hall of mirrors. He mentions a James Bond film in which Bond shatters mirrors to reveal the villain, and Enzo continues that we also... (full context)
Chapter 58
What It Means to Be Human Theme Icon
Language and Storytelling Theme Icon
Love and Family Theme Icon
Illness and Death Theme Icon
Destiny and Spirituality Theme Icon
Enzo says he saw a documentary on Mongolia, which said that a dog will be reincarnated as a man. Enzo says... (full context)