"Faithfull Elephants" by Yukio Tsuchiya

“Faithfull Elephants” by Yukio Tsuchiya

                The story “Faithfull Elephants” by Yukio Tsuchiya is a tragic story about what comes along war. In the story, World War II caused the zoo keepers at the Ueno Zoo to kill all the animals. Including three very symbolic elephants named John, Tonky, and Wanly. Yukio Tsuchiya uses John in the story to symbolize strength.

                John was a big sign of strength in the story because no matter how many times and ways they tried to kill him, he wouldn’t die. For example, they tried to kill him by poisoning his food. This didn’t work. The text says “He ate the good potatoes, but each time he brought a poisoned potato to his mouth, he threw it to the ground…” This shows strength because John is showing that he can last longer than that and that he won’t go down so quickly.

                Another reason John symbolizes strength is because when the zoo keepers found that trying to poison John with potatoes was impossible, they tried to inject poison into him. This really represents strength and toughness because the text says: “…John’s skin was so tough that the big needles broke off with a loud snap one after another.” This shows that instead of the needles killing John, john is killing the needles.

                The final reason John symbolize strength is because the author used forceful onomonopia to make john seem more strong. For example, when the zoo keepers tried to kill him with needles, they went “snap!” and when he threw the potatoes to the ground, they went “kerplunk!” this shows strength because the loud noises really emphasize strength and power over the war.

                The story “Faithfull Elephants” by Yukio Tsuchiya displays through animals how in a situation that may seem like is has no bright side, there is a sign of strength to keep you going. That sign of strength may even be in the thing that seems to be bringing you down.