"Faithful Elephants" By Yukio Tsuchiya

            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.