In the short story, “Faithful Elephants,” by
Yukio Tsuchiya, a war is going on in Japan and bombs are being dropped in the
city. At the Ueno zoo in Tokyo, the animals had to be killed because of the
war. The reoccurring theme in this story is that war not only affects the
soldiers on the battlefield, but also the innocent animals and people.
Three of the elephants at
the zoo, John, Tanky, and Wanly, were killed for the fear that their cages
would get bombed, and that they would get loose and roam around the city
streets of Tokyo. In the text it says, “By and by, it came time for the three
elephants to be killed. They began with John.” Also in the text it says, “Over
two weeks later, Tonky and Wanly were dead. Both died leaning against the bars
of their cage with their trunks stretched high in the air, still trying to do
their banzai trick for the people who once fed them.” The benign animals died
because of the bombs and the war, even though they did nothing and were
innocent.
The elephant trainer
was also affected because of the war. John, Tanky, and Wanly, the animals that
he cared about and trained were now dead. For example, in the text it says: “ ‘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 fist.” The war caused the elephant trainer to lose the elephants that
he really loved.
Likewise, the war had
an impact on the zoo keepers. For example, “The rest of the zoo keepers ran to the
elephants’ cage and stumbled in. They took hold of Tanky’s and Wanly’s thin
bodies, as if to shake them back to life. Everyone burst into tears, and
stroked the elephants’ legs and trunks in sorrow.” The zoo keepers were in
despair about the elephants’ death, but they were also angry. “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 war caused the zoo keepers to lose the elephants that they cared
about and were fond about.
In conclusion, war effects everyone, not just the people fighting in it. War is a terrible
thing and it can hurt innocent people both mentally and physically. Mentally,
because the elephant trainer and the zoo keepers lost the animals that they
loved, and physically because the animals were killed because of the war. I think
that this story not only shows this message, but also helps to show the reader
that war needs to stop, and that we need to find better solutions to fix our
problems.
