Blog Post

In the book I'm reading, Yes Please by Amy Poehler I learned a lot about her and saw parts of her that I hadn't seen before. Of course, she is still a hilarious and happy person and the book is funny, but there were also times in the book where she showed a more hidden side to her, or her sad experiences and memories. For example, she told a story from her childhood about when her best friend's mom died of cancer but she also told crazy, funny stories about that friend. Another example is when she talks about an SNL skit where without realizing it, she made fun of two real disabled twins. She wrote a lot about that and she felt bad about it for the rest of her life, but she also wrote about all the fun she had at SNL. Her book was a mix of sadness and happiness, which is like life, a mix of both, so I think this book showed her life in an accurate way.

Revision of “Faithful Elephants Reading Response"

Lulu Tenney 807

“Faithful Elephants: A True Story of Animals, People, and War” by Yukio Tsuchiya is about a war in Japan that forces the zookeepers at the Ueno Zoo to kill three loved elephants at the zoo: John, Tonky, and Wanly, so that if bombs were dropped on the zoo, the elephants couldn't escape and run wild and cause chaos. I believe that in this story, the cherry blossoms represent the different stages of the war and time passing. I believe the cherry blossoms are a reoccuring theme that appear throughout the different stages of war.

The cherry blossoms are mentioned for the first time in the first line, “the cherry blossoms are in full bloom at the Ueno Zoo. Their petals are falling in the soft breeze and sparkling in the sun.” This line is the start of the story, so it shows us right from the beginning, that the cherry blossoms are an important part of the story. The words "soft" and "sun" show a sense of calm and peace, and that all is well and makes me think that the war hasn't started yet. The cherry blossoms are described as being “in full bloom” which shows the start of the war because the cherry blossoms are fresh. The story is beginning, the cherry blossoms are just blooming, and the war is just about to start.

 Although the cherry blossoms aren’t specifically mentioned in the middle part of the book, another metaphor is introduced that is similar to the feeling and symbol of the cherry blossoms. It says, “Bombs were dropped on Tokyo everyday and night, like falling rain.” This comparison of bombs and rain are similar to the different comparisons to the cherry blossoms. This line shows the readers the middle of the war, or the climax of the story. This line also shows how devastating the war is and foreshadows that soon, something big will happen due to the war. It also tells the readers that many bombs were being dropped on Tokyo, and therefore, it is inevitable to escape the war, which shows that the zookeepers are going to need to kill the elephants.

The third time the cherry blossoms are mentioned, it says, “He was still patting the tombstone tenderly as the cherry blossoms fell on the grave, like snowflakes.” This is the last line, and it compares the cherry blossoms to snowflakes, which represents the end of the war and the story. Also, the snowflakes represent the death of the elephants and the mourning of the zookeepers. The snowflakes relate to winter and winter is a symbol for darkness, sadness, and death.

The first and last line of the story connect to each other. In the first line “the petals are falling in the soft breeze and sparkling in the sun” and the last line “the cherry blossoms fell on the grave, like snowflakes.” These lines show the beginning and end of the war and story. The images of cherry blossoms and rain reflect the idea of war, the passing of time, and the sadness of loss.
My original piece here! Scroll to read it