Reading Response on "Faithful Elephants" by Yukio Tsuchiya!!!

Underneath the peaceful cherry blossom tree, lies a memorial with a dark story to tell. In “Faithful Elephants,” by Yukio Tsuchiya, three main settings are used as symbols to represent the theme. “Faithful Elephants” is a short story that takes place in a zoo, during a time when Japan is plagued by war. The Japanese army requires all zoo animals to be killed, and the zoo employees have a very hard time killing the elephants. Three important settings in this story are the warm, sunny cherry blossom petals at the beginning, the elephants’ cage in the middle, and the dark, cold cherry blossom petals at the end. Yukio Tsuchiya uses symbolic settings in this story, to show how even the smallest things can connect to and/or influence our overall feelings/emotions, and eventually connect to the main idea or theme of a piece of literature.

First of all, the cherry blossoms at the beginning of the story are important because they symbolize peace. The text says, “Their petals are falling in the soft breeze and sparkling in the sun.” These petals elegantly descend over the memorial for the dead animals, and show peace towards the lifeless beings. This symbolic setting connects to the theme of war, because the petals show the eerie peace after a long, long war. These beautiful, warm cherry blossom petals show peace towards the dead animals and their memorial.

Second of all, the elephants’ cage is also an important setting. The cage symbolizes gloom, restraint, and hopelessness. In the text, it is mentioned that, “Whenever a keeper walked by their cage, they would stand up, tottering, as if to beg, ‘Give us something to eat. Please, give us water!’…The once big, strong elephants had become a sad shape.” The keepers cannot do anything to help, for it is against the law to allow them to live. This symbolic setting is used to represent the theme of war, because the cages represent the gloom and lack of hope that war brings, showing the dark shadow war casts over its path. The dark cages are another important setting used to symbolize the theme of war.

Lastly, the cold cherry blossom petals, falling on the memorial at the end of the story, are another important setting. It is said in the text, “He was still patting the tombstone tenderly as the cherry blossoms fell on the grave, like snowflakes.” This picture is dark and cold, yet in some ways, sweet. When we think of cherry blossoms, we think of warmth, beauty, and peace. However, Yukio Tsuchiya uses them to represent an unsettling, gloomy, and dark end of his story. The use of cherry blossom petals also connects to the beginning of the piece, although the tone in which the two are presented is quite contrasting. The symbolic setting of the cold cherry blossom petals in the end is used to represent the theme of war by showing that in the end, all must pay the cold dark price that is war.

Overall, Yukio Tsuchiya uses many important, symbolic settings (such as the warm petals at the beginning, the elephants’ cages in the middle, and the dark petals at the end) as tools to connect to the overall theme/main idea of his work. In our lives, as readers, we can use these symbolic settings to better understand the theme of pieces of literature that we read.