A young child loses both of his parents in a fatal accident, and is forced to live with a dominant uncle who not only manages his business, but manages his family too. How would you go about living? You would probably like a friend. This is the exact setup in the story Luke Baldwin's Vow. Luke finds a friend in life that is priceless; a dog whom he relies on deeply. Luke vowed to his dying father that he would try to learn things from his uncle, but rather, Uncle Henry manages to learn throughout the story from Luke that some things in life are priceless.
During the story Uncle Henry decides that Dan, the Dog, is useless since he does not contribute to him.
"…he just eats and sleeps and gets in the way." Luke knew that Dan benefited his life. It does not seem as though Uncle Henry understood that. Luke knew that his dog was worth more than money, even though Uncle Henry didn't see it that way. This is a terrible and tragic point of the story.
Although the mode seems tragic, the ending turns out to be romantic. This is because Luke got to keep Dan. Some words were mentioned that were symbolic such as "dream, luxuries, and gentle". These are all characteristics of the dog. To Luke, it was a dream to him that he had a friend, someone who was gentle, and made life feel like a luxury-at least when they were together.
No matter who you are, you will always have something that means nothing to others but everything to you. These things in life are truly priceless, which is the lesson learned in the story Luke Baldwin's Vow. To some people it seems as though Uncle Henry was cruel, but together Luke and his uncle learned from each other. Luke Baldwin's vow to his father was achieved.
