faithful elephants

           Faithful Elephants by Yukio Tsuchiya is a story about the death of three amazing elephants at the hands of war. When Tokyo is bombed an order is sent out that all dangerous zoo animals must be killed. Many animals died unnecessarily and it took a toll on the zoo keepers who loved and cared for them. In the end, war tends to have the greatest effect on people who are not involved.               

            The elephant trainers are effected by the war. The zoo keeper recounts to the narrator,' "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 desktop with his fist."   This illustrates the trainers despair at the elephants death. They feel powerless because they couldn't do anything about the elephants dying. At one point the keeper broke down and fed them to try to keep them alive and the fact that his efforts didn't stop the elephants from dying made it hurt more. The trainers have no part in the war but their lives have been effected because of the elephants. ' "The trainer could stand it no longer. 'Oh, Tonky! Oh, Wanly!' he wailed, and dashed to the food shed. He carried food and pails of water to them and threw it at their feet. 'Here!' he said, sobbing, and clung to their thin legs. 'Eat your food! Please drink. Drink your water!'" This shows how deeply he cares for Tonky and Wanly, and how much he wants them to live a little bit longer. ' "Above them, in the bright blue sky, the angry roar of enemy planes returned. Bombs began to drop on Tokyo once more. Still clinging to the elephants, the zoo keepers raised their fists to the sky and implored, 'Stop the war! Stop the war! Stop all wars!" ' The trainer blames the war for the elephants being killed, and the misery of everyone at the zoo. 

           War in never good and even though it is tough on the people in the war it can be hardest on civilians, for example, the keepers and even the elephants and all the animals that had to be slaughtered. This story illustrates that not all the horrors of war happen on the battle field, some happen in our own backyard.