"Faithful Elephants, " by Yukio Tsuchiya

The brief passage, "Faithful Elephants, " tells the true story of animal slaughter at Ueno Zoo in Japan during World War 2 due to orders of the Japanese military.  This text shows the far-reaching effects of war.  In this case, war is effecting both the animals and their trainers at the Ueno Zoo.  By showing us a side of war usually disregarded, "Faithful Elephants," exposes the struggles and hardships we deal with directly in the face of war.

The most obvious toll the war takes in the story is placed upon the elephants, when they are ordered to be killed. In my opinion, Yukio Tsuchiya, the author, utilized the heart breaking story of the elephants starvation as a way to show the monstrosities of war.  For example, "The elephants became thinner and thinner, weaker and weaker... Their small loving eyes began to look like round rubber balls in their drooping, shrunken faces."  These word paint a horrid picture in the readers mind.  Yes, a picture of the elephants, but also the war, the bombs dropping in the background.  Another piece of evidence is shown when the elephants finally meet their end.  "Zookeepers took hold of Tonky and Wanly's bodies, as if to shake them back to life.. Zookeepers raised their fists to the sky and implored 'Stop the war! Stop the war! Stop all wars!' " This is about the point in the story when the author's intentions and opinions become quite clear.  Stop the war.  Stop the war.  Stop all wars.

In "Faithful Elephants," Yukio Tsuchiya shows the far-reaching effects of war not only by telling the story of the elephants, but of their trainers as well.  For example, when the elephants are on the brink of starvation and beg for food, the trainer is so desperate and cares so much for the elephants that he feels the need to ease their pain.  He directly defies orders and brings them their food.  "Eat your food! Please drink.  Drink your water!" War is causing the trainer to do something so against his principles, not to mention his moral being.  When the trainer brings the elephants food, no one, not even the head zookeeper objects.  "Everyone was hoping and praying that if the elephants could survive only one more day, the war might be over and the elephants would be saved."  War was forcing them too, to commit an act so against anything they could have ever imagined.

In conclusion, the true story, "Faithful Elephants," challenges readers to consider the tragic and extensive effects of war.  This text has certainly effected me with its devastating plotline, but it has also inspired me with its hopeful ending.  While war is a horrid thing, the elephant's deaths symbolize the courage and strife of those trying to put an end to the violence.  And with this dedication, this devotion, I believe we will be successful.

A Long Walk to Water, by Linda Sue Park- Summer Reading

This summer I read a book titled A Long Walk to Water, by Linda Sue Park. This short novel is about a young boy, Salva, living in Sudan during a war in 1985, and a girl, Nya, also living in Sudan but in 2008.  Salva and Nya's paths intercross in a strange and miraculous way. I loved this book because of the way the author uses simple words to weave a fantastic story. While I can't really relate to this book because my life is so different from Salva's, the author's word made me feel as if I was right there next to Salva as he struggled through the burning desert, and behind Nya as she made her long daily trek to the pond to get water.

The characters of A Long Walk to Water are what really makes the story special. My favorite character in the book was Salva.  I felt that he really was a strong being, and I could really observe his growth from a young scared little boy, to a impulsive adolescent, to a brave man.  Salva's story begins in Sudan in 1985 when his village gets bombed.   Salva manages to escape and joins a group of refugees heading for a camp in Ethiopia.  The conditions of their travel are difficult- there is next to no food or water, and the danger of wild animals is always iminant.  "No one in the group had eaten anything for two days.  Their water was nearly gone. Only the vision of leaving the desert kept them moving through the heat and dust."Salva endures all of this and manages to make it to the camp in Ethiopia.  From there he is sent to the United States to restart his life.  But there is a part of him he knows that will never quite forget his old village and family back in Sudan.

Salva's story is intermingled with that of Nya, a girl living in the same village in Sudan in 2008.  Every day, Nya has to make the long and exhausting journey to the pond (the village water source) to retrieve water for her family.  Slowly the pond water starts getting depleted. The villagers worry what will happen when there is no more water, until one day when two men show up with a plan to make a new well for the villagers.  "Change is coming...I can feel it.  What will become of us, our village?"

Though the character's stories may seem wildly different at first inspection, they are actually quite similar.  They are both about the hardships Salva and Nya had to overcome to get to a better place.  Salva had to make his way across the unforgiving desert, and Nya had to travel great distances to the pond to help her family.  Overall, I think the characters were both able to do this because they had hope of a better future.  This hope is what rewarded them.  Salva managed to start his new life, and Nya's village ended up getting a new well, as well as a school to educate the children.  The author, Linda Sue Park reinforces the similarities of the characters stories by having them cross in the end.  As a reader, I found this part to be truly inspiring.

The book, A Long Walk to Water is a simply written book with a deep and hopeful message; that even in a terrible situation, determined survivors are able to, against all odds, find the future they were dreaming of.