Faithful Elephants

"Japan was at war." Slowly the war was getting worse and worse. There were bombs dropping every day, all day coming from all over. "Faithful Elephants" by Yukio Tsuchiya tells the story of three elephants who died a very tragic death due to a war that was going on in Japan. The zookeeper had a very strong connection with the elephants. Because the zookeeper was so sympathetic, it impacted the elephants in many ways.  Although he tried to save the elephants they still died and he was very sad in the end of the story. This proves that the zookeeper had a strong connection with John, Tonky and Wanly. 

          The zookeeper loved the elephants,and therefore, he didn't want them to have a painful death. "John loves potatoes, so the elephant keepers mixed poison potatoes with the good ones." This shows that by putting the poison inside of the potatoes, John won't feel any pain and he wont have to suffer. The zookeepers knew what John liked and therefore tried to hide the fact that there was poison in the elephants food. Another example of the zookeepers love for the elephants is that they tried to inject the poison into the elephants food so that he wouldn't have to suffer. The zookeeper had such a strong connection with the elephants that he didn't want them to suffer or have a painful death. 

          When the zookeeper found out that the elephants were going to have to starve to death he was not very happy. He did not want them to have an agonizing death."The elephant keepers stopped feeding Tonky and Wanly...as days passed, the elephants became thinner and thinner, weaker and weaker... the trainer could stand it no longer." This proves that the zookeeper was very heart broken that he had to starve the elephants. When he passed their cage, the elephants would walk up to the front of the cage and it would be as if they were pleading for food and water. It was a very emotional moment for the zookeeper. Also, one day when the zookeeper walked pass the cage, and he could stand it no longer so he decided to go and give the elephants some food and water. This showed that the zookeeper felt terrible for the elephants, and instead of following through with starving the elephants, he fed them. This shows that The zookeeper was not happy about starving the elephants.

          As much as the zookeeper loved the elephants, they did unfortunately die due to starvation. In the end the zookeeper was very sad. "Everyone burst into tears, then stroked the elephants' legs and trunks in sorrow." This shows that the zookeepers were very sorrowful about the elephants death. Tonky, John and Wanly were a symbol of hope, and their death was very tragic. This explained why the zookeeper was sympathetic at the end of the story.

          All in all the zookeeper didn't want the elephants to have a painstaking death. He really loved the elephants, and as genuine as he was, the war ended and the elephants still died.