Faithful Elephants

         In the story “Faithful Elephants” there is a war going on which is making the Ueno Zoo kill some of their larger animals. The author wants the reader to know how war can affect anyone and everyone in different ways. They mainly describe how it affects the zoo staff and the animals.

           The war is affecting the zoo staff in different ways. For example when they were starving Tonky and Wanly one zookeeper loved them dearly “All this while, the elephants trainer loved them as if they were his own children. He could only pace in front of the cage and moan, 'you poor pitiful elephants!” This shows how much some people respected the animals and didnt want to starve them. Another trainer reacted “the trainer could not stand it any longer 'oh Tonky, oh Wanly!' he wailed and dashed to the wood shed. He carried food and pails of water and threw it at their feet.” This shows how many zookeepers although felt similarly about killing the animals, they reacted in different ways.

           The war is affecting the animals (mainly the larger ones) because they have to be put down. For example when they tried killing the first elephant they had many failed attempts then resorted to starving him. In he text it says “one after another when this did not work, the keepers reluctantly decided to starve him to death. Poor john died 17 days later.” Another example of how the war is affecting the animals is when they did the bonsai trick. “ Squeezing out what little strength they had left, Tonky and Wanly made their appeal.” This shows how they were in pain and desperate for food or water.

              In conclusion, war can affect many people in different ways and you can really see that in the way that people act and react.