Faithful Elephants, by Yokio Tsuchiya

     The short story Faithful Elephants, by Yokio Tsuchiya teaches us that even the right decision can have bad attributes. Tokyo Japan was being bombed, and it was unclear what to do with the animals, (particularly the elephants) in the Ueno Zoo. After thinking long and hard, the elephant trainer decided that it would be best to kill the elephants. 

    Even the right decision can have bad attributes, and example of this is when the trainer is trying to kill the elephants. Over time the trainer had grown attached to the elephants, so he wanted to kill  them in the least painful way possible. The elephant John loved potatoes, so the trainer gave him poisoned potatoes, but John refused to eat them. As a last resort, the trainer had to let him starve. This shows that trying not to harm John, was more difficult than expected. 

     Even the right decision can have bad attributes. It turned out that starving the elephants was the fastest, and most simple way to kill the elephants, so the zoo workers stopped feeding Tonky and Wanly. The trainers felt so bad for the elephants, "Seeing his beloved elephants dying this way, the elephant trainer felt as if his heart would break." because of this he tried to stay away from their cages, so he wouldn't have to see their suffering. When he couldn't take it any more, "he carried food, and pails of water to them, and threw it at their feet". This shows that even though their deaths are for everyone's safety,it was still extremely difficult to uphold.

     I conclusion decisions are hard when protecting other people means harming who you love. In life people have to make sacrifices, and if you are content that what you are doing is right, it is important to stick with it.

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

          One of the books I read over the summer was A Long Walk To Water, by: Linda Sue Park. The book consists of two separate stories of children in Africa. Salva's story starts in the 80's, and makes it's way up to meet Nya who lives in present day.
          I think that Linda Sue Park portrayed the feelings, and actions of all the characters very well, she based it on a true story, and was actually helped by Salva! Salva looses his family for many years, when the area around his school is being bombed during the war, and he is told to run to stay safe. After making friends with others who had run, he gets the opportunity to move in with an American family in Upstate New York. That was probably my favorite part of the book, because his reactions to technology, the amount of food, and many more things that were completely new to him were written really well.
          In conclusion A Long Walk To Water, by: Linda Sue Park is a very good book. In the beginning and middle of the book the characters and plot are very interesting, and entertaining, but in the end, I realized how many things I and people around me take for granted. I think its nice how a true story was capable of teaching us such a deep and important life lesson.