Faithful Elephants Reading Response

     Faithful Elephants: A True Story of Animals, People and War, by Yukio Tsuchiya, takes place during a time when Japan is in war. A zoo in Japan, namely Ueno Zoo, is taking the situation in a very negative way. The zoo keepers fear that bombs will strike the zoo, which will make the animals free and run away. As a result, they were "forced" to kill their three most talented elephants so that they don't escape. It is very ominous how one setting can lead to a smaller setting. If it weren't for Japan being at war, Ueno Zoo, and other settings and characters within the story wouldn't have been the way they are.
     For example, since Japan was at war, people in Ueno zoo became affected by it because now the zoo keepers think that a bomb will hit ueno zoo and then all of the animals would run away. The story clearly states "What would happen if bombs hit the zoo? If the cages were broken and dangerous animals escaped to run wild through the city, it would be terrible!" This supports the idea of how one major setting gives an impact on other settings. Furthermore, the zoo keepers then decide that "It came time for the three elephants to be killed," which shows that Japan being at war gives conflict to the characters as well. 
     Another example is when the elephants were found dead in another setting, the elephants cage. This happened after the zoo keepers forced the elephants to starve to death. The story stated "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." Now the elephants cage and the elephants have been affected by the zoo keepers because now they are dead since the zoo keepers thought that killing the animals instead of letting them run wild was a better choice. This shows that how Japan had a bad influence on Ueno zoo, the zoo keepers, the elephants, and the elephants age. 
     In conclusion, this story shows how one big setting can affect other characters and smaller settings that lies within the setting. Although I feel that the zoo keepers were overreacting on the situation, they were still scared of the dangers that could have occurred during the war that japan was fighting in.