“Faithful Elephants” by Yukio Tsuchiya

What do you think when you think of war? You think of dying, you think of things blowing up and you think of winning. Trust me I did too until I read “Faithful Elephants” by Yukio Tsuchiya. It is about the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, Japan during World War II. They had to kill the animals in the Zoo because they where afraid that when the U.S bombed then it would hit the zoo and the animals would run free in Tokyo.

I think that one of the points the author wants to make is that war effects everybody even animals. The author made me realize this by really emphasizing how the elephants, Tonky and Wanly, felt. Like when the zoo keepers stopped feeding the elephants they started doing the tricks that their trainers had taught them so they could be fed. That made me feel really sad. Another example is that when every time a zoo keeper walked by the elephants look at them with pleading eyes.

This story made me realized that war has large effect on animals which surprised me and this story helps us to realize this. So, when you' re reading this in the safety of your think about how it is not safe everywhere.