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    A Gorilla in The Guestroom Gerald Durrell Themes 1 Inhumane Treatment Meted Out To Animals

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    manisha choudhary
    Gerald Durrell obtained a baby gorilla named N'Pongo for his zoo, in an effort to conserve rare wildlife species. He housed N'Pongo in his guest room and deeply cared for him, feeding him delicacies. Durrell loved N'Pongo's playful and childlike nature. To prevent loneliness, Durrell later obtained a female gorilla, Nandy, despite her initial antisocial behavior from past abuse. Durrell carefully monitored their health and ensured both gorillas received the best medical care when needed.

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    A Gorilla in The Guestroom Gerald Durrell Themes 1 Inhumane Treatment Meted Out To Animals

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    manisha choudhary
    104 views4 pages
    Gerald Durrell obtained a baby gorilla named N'Pongo for his zoo, in an effort to conserve rare wildlife species. He housed N'Pongo in his guest room and deeply cared for him, feeding him delicacies. Durrell loved N'Pongo's playful and childlike nature. To prevent loneliness, Durrell later obtained a female gorilla, Nandy, despite her initial antisocial behavior from past abuse. Durrell carefully monitored their health and ensured both gorillas received the best medical care when needed.

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    Gerald Durrell obtained a baby gorilla named N'Pongo for his zoo, in an effort to conserve rare wildlife species. He housed N'Pongo in his guest room and deeply cared for him, feeding him delicacies. Durrell loved N'Pongo's playful and childlike nature. To prevent loneliness, Durrell later obtained a female gorilla, Nandy, despite her initial antisocial behavior from past abuse. Durrell carefully monitored their health and ensured both gorillas received the best medical care when needed.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    104 views4 pages

    A Gorilla in The Guestroom Gerald Durrell Themes 1 Inhumane Treatment Meted Out To Animals

    Uploaded by

    manisha choudhary
    Gerald Durrell obtained a baby gorilla named N'Pongo for his zoo, in an effort to conserve rare wildlife species. He housed N'Pongo in his guest room and deeply cared for him, feeding him delicacies. Durrell loved N'Pongo's playful and childlike nature. To prevent loneliness, Durrell later obtained a female gorilla, Nandy, despite her initial antisocial behavior from past abuse. Durrell carefully monitored their health and ensured both gorillas received the best medical care when needed.

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    A GORILLA IN THE GUESTROOM

    Gerald Durrell
    THEMES
    1 INHUMANE TREATMENT METED OUT TO ANIMALS

    Gerald Durrell’s short story throws light on the inhumane treatment meted out to animals.

    Zoos a Mere Show-Place of Animals


    Zoos do not work towards the conservation of wildlife but act as a mere show-place of animals. They do
    not provide humane conditions for animals to exist. Most zoo enclosures are very small, quite different
    from the natural habitat of animals. Birds’ wings are clipped so that they cannot fly, aquatic animals
    often live without water, and many animals, which live in large herds or family groups, are kept alone, at
    most, in pairs.

    Focus on Popular Animals


    Zoos claim to protect species from extinction, which sounds like a noble cause, but zoo officials usually
    favour exotic or popular animals, which draw crowds and publicity, rather than threatened or
    endangered species. This is what Gerald Durrell also witnessed in the story and hence obtaining a baby
    gorilla, even for twelve hundred pounds was his top priority.

    Life in Captivity
    Animals are thus unfairly and sometimes cruelly treated by the humans for their own selfish reasons.
    They are confined and made prisoners. Captive animals are deprived of everything that is natural and
    important to them, and, as a result, they get bored and feel lonely and many even suffer from a
    condition called zoochosis.

    The animals feel tortured in captivity. The caged space snatches their freedom and thus as Gerald
    Durrell mentioned, a baby chimpanzee when ‘reincarcerated will naturally be filled with rage and will
    scream at the top of its voice’.

    N’Pongo in his Man-Made Environment


    Even though Durrell and his team took utmost care of N’Pongo, at the end he was shifted in an artificial
    environment and entertained the visitors. He was the darling of the zoo and every afternoon he would
    be brought out on to the lawn in front of his admirers. He would roll in the grass with a bored
    expression, or with a wicked gleam in his eyes.

    Durrell’s Zoo vs Other Zoos


    Also, unlike Durrell’s zoo, many zoos acquire the animals for exhibition. They make no effort to provide
    them with a mate, which in turn makes them morose and melancholy as Durrell personally observed in
    many zoos. Humans tend to be cruel to animals and this is also seen when Nandy, the female gorilla was
    brought to the zoo. Based on her earlier experiences with cruel humans, she turned anti-human. Right
    across the top of her skull was a scar which must have been caused when an overenthusiastic man hit
    her with a machete.

    2 CONSERVATION OF WILDLIFE
    Conservation is the practice of protecting wild plant and animal species and their habitats. The goal of
    wildlife is to ensure that nature will be around for future generations to enjoy and also to recognize the
    importance of wildlife for humans.

    Gerald’s Aim: It was a genuine effort on Durrell’s part to establish his zoo as a place that ‘must cease to
    be a mere show-place of animals and start to contribute towards the conservation of wildlife’.

    Durrell’s Selfless efforts: He believed it necessary to replace common animals with rare and threatened
    species. Therefore, as soon as he got a call from an animal dealer offering a baby gorilla for twelve
    hundred pounds, he could not say no. Obtaining the gorilla was his top priority. Despite his wife’s
    annoyance and lack of money, Durrell managed to arrange the money so that the baby gorilla could
    enter his zoo.

    Conserving the Wildlife on the Foundation of Love: Bringing N’Pongo home was Durrell’s first step in
    conserving wildlife. Durrell and his family loved N’Pongo from the very first day he entered their life.
    Since his cage was not yet ready, N’Pongo was allowed to reside in their guest room. He was admired
    and taken care of. He was served many delicacies. Durrell’s mother was so impressed with N’Pongo’s
    exemplary behaviour that she tried to persuade Durrell to keep N’Pongo in their house permanently.

    Obtaining a Mate for N’Pongo: In order to conserve and save wildlife, it is important that the inmates
    of the zoo should be able to breed. To prevent N’Pongo from being morose and melancholy without a
    company of his species, a female gorilla Nandy was brought and kept in the same cage as N’Pongo’s. The
    two gorillas were temperamentally different from each other but seemed to adore each other.

    Concern for Animas’ Health: In Durrell’s zoo, animals were given utmost love and care. They were given
    proper attention. The author was anxious about the health and wellbeing of both N’Pongo and Nandy.
    He set up an elaborate communication system to monitor their wellbeing. He was deeply concerned
    when he learned of N’Pongo’s first real illness. He consulted vets and physicians and gave him the best
    medical aid which finally resulted in steady improvement in N’Pongo’s health.

    3 LOVE FOR ANIMALS


    Love for animals is another theme reflected in the story. Through the characters of N’Pongo and Nandy,
    Durrell has depicted the special bond that can be formed between animals and humans. The love for
    animals thus can bring these two diverse species together.

    N’Pongo’s entry into Durrell’s life was childlike. While laying back in Durrell’s arms, N’Pongo studied him
    carefully with twinkling eyes. Like a child, he lifted his ‘forefinger and investigated his beard’.
    Durrell also loved him from the very first day. He tickled his ribs and N’Pongo giggled hoarsely. They
    engaged playfully with each other.

    Durrell’s Understanding Of N’Pongo’s Needs: Durrell decided to keep N’Pongo in his guest room as the
    Gerald, his mother and wife as well as the staff were captivated by N’Pongo’s exemplary behaviour.
    Durrell’s mother tried to persuade her son to keep the baby gorilla in their house permanently. Durrell
    also understood that N’Pongo was only a baby and hence could not be expected to assume civilized
    behaviour. Durrell and his family did not punish N’Pongo for leaving behind traces of his presence in
    their guest room.

    Durrell was even sympathetic towards Nandy, the female gorilla. He understood that her anti-social
    attitude was the result of the inhumane treatment meted out to her sometime before.

    Durrell loved N’Pongo’s and Nandy’s childlike behaviour and admired and cared for them like his own
    children.

    Durrell’s Concern for their Health: Durrell considered the gorillas rare and valuable. He was always
    anxious about their health and well-being and therefore installed a magnificent communication
    apparatus in the zoo. When he learnt about N’Pongo’s deteriorating health, he gave him the best
    medical aid. With his wife Jacquie, he went to buy food that would arouse N’Pongo’s interest in food.
    Durrell loved him so much that he even thought of cancelling his visit to France. Only when N’Pongo
    showed signs of improvement, did Durrell leave for France. While in France, Durrell was in constant
    touch with his family and staff to enquire about N’Pongo’s health. He felt quite relieved when he
    returned from France to find N’Pongo back in good health.

    CHARACTERISATION
    N’Pongo
    N’Pongo’s Physical Appearance
    N’Pongo’s Childlike Nature
    N’Pongo’s Courteous Manner
    N’Pongo’s Grace
    N’Pongo’s Playfulness
    N’Pongo’s Fondness for fruits
    Nandy
    Nandy’s Physical Appearance
    Anti-Social
    Self-respecting
    Understanding and Watchful
    Narrator
    Concern for Wildlife Conservation
    A Loving and Sympathetic Guardian
    Cautious
    Understanding
    Vigilant

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