1. Symbols
1.1. The Elephants dying stand for the millions of lives sacrificed or abandoned for the safety, violence, and foolishness of others.
1.2. The falling blossoms are similar and symbolic to snowflakes. Sometimes, snowflakes are placed in plots and stories to represent beauty, tragedy, or more commonly, the unity between the two.
2. QUOTES
2.1. "Stop the war! Stop all wars!"
2.1.1. This quote explains the true tragedy of the zookeepers. They all scream at the skies, for the loss is too unbearable. This doesn't only stand for their loss and tragedy, but that of the many people who are lost in war.
3. Character bookmark
3.1. Do any of the characters display the trait of honesty?
3.1.1. Some characterrs showed honesty with thenselves when they decided to let the zookeeper feed the elephants. They knew it was the right thing, so they did not stop him.
3.2. I was surprised when the zookeeper fed the animals. It was so sudden, and the people seemed so set on keeping everyone safe with no concern for the animals, so it made it all the more of a surprise.
3.3. Describe a decision or choice made by one of the characters. Do you agree with this decision?
3.3.1. I agree with keeping the innocents safe, but I believe that there should be another way to do it, without killing the animals.
3.3.2. One character decided with a group to kill all of the animals so that they don"t escape from their cages when the bombs drop and kill the people in the next town.
3.4. Who is the protagonist of the book? How do you know?
3.4.1. The protagonist, or main character(s) of the book are the zookeepers, because the story is put through their views.
4. KEY WORDS
4.1. WAR
4.2. HUNGER
4.3. ELEPHANTS
4.4. BOMBS
5. THEME BOOKMARK: INHUMANITY
5.1. What does it mean to really understand others?
5.1.1. This means to be able to look at the world or a situation through their eyes and their perspective.
5.2. Do inhumanity and cruelty exist in the world today? What could each of us do to prevent it?
5.2.1. Inhumanity and cruelty do exist in the world today. There is still bullying, there are crimes like murdering and torture, baby girls or boys are killed by their own mother's hand for their genders, etc.
5.2.2. In order to prevent this, everyone can set the example of being nice to the people they don't like, even if the person is really annoying to them. That way, the youth can learn from this and we can work towards a nicer world.
5.3. Is inhumanity and creulty to others a theme in this book?
5.3.1. In the book, the animals of the zoo are treated unfairly because of fear of the war, even though there was no fear for the animal's lives. Eventually, all of the animals in the zoo died of poison given to them or hunger from not being given food.
5.4. Does anyone help the character(s) who is treated unkindly?
5.4.1. One of the zookeepers, tired and guilty of seeing his beloved elephants in the horrible state of hunger, ran to the food shed and fed the elephants.