Reading Response: "Faithful Elephants" By Yukio Tsuchiya

     The short story, "Faithful Elephants, illustrates a very important lesson. The book teaches the reader that war affects everyone and everything negatively. During WW2, Japan was being heavily bombed and the government feared that the cages at the Ueno Zoo would break. They also feared that if the cages broke all the animals would run loose onto the streets and hurt ordinary civilians. In order to prevent such catastrophe, the Japanese army ordered that all big animals be poisoned at once. So one-by-one all the animals at the zoo were being put down. After the animals were killed. It was time to kill the beloved elephants John, Tonky, and Wonly. With the death of the three animals, Yukio Tsuchiyo implants an image of how a war can ruin the lives of innocent people and their loved ones,

     The first example where we see the lesson being taught is when the elephants die. The author describes how the elephants were getting skinnier and skinnier by day. She explains that they where being starved to death because they couldn't be killed any other way. The elephants are begging for food but the zookeepers, who were supposed to be their friends, could only watch with sorrow. At a last attempt to survive, Tonky and Wanly raised their bodies and did the Banzai trick in hope of receiving something to eat and drink. At that moment the one of the zookeepers couldn't take it anymore, he dashed for some food and water and then begged the elephants to eat. But at that time the damage was already done. As the elephants ended died, they died in pain and hunger instead of a quite and peaceful death. This scene shows that a war can effect everything on and off the bloody battlefields.

     Later on in the book, after the elephants die, the zookeepers are in distraught. "' The elephants are dead! They're dead!' screamed the elephant trainer as he ran into the office. He buried his head in his arms and cried, beating the desk top with his head in his arms and cried, beating the desk top with his fist.'" This quote shows that even though the trainers weren't physically effected by the war, a part of them also died with the elephants. These zookeepers trained and raised the elephants like their own children. So it was like having to kill your own kids. This just goes to show the devastating side effects that a war can bring.

     The main idea in this book is that war effects everyone and everything negatively. The author portrays this by showing the pain of the elephants and the grief of the  zookeepers. This short story reminds the reader of what happens when we fail to control our anger.