To A Dead Elephant Poem Analysis

Elephants and human beings can be family or at least that is what “To a dead elephant” by David Livingstone suggests. It explores the familial relationship between a young boy and an elephant, as they grow up together. After many years together, the elephant dies and as a result the boy, now a grown man writes a poem attributed to his friend. Consequently, the poem or eulogy conveys a very important ecological message that animals and humans can co – exist peacefully. Before his death in 1996, Livingstone confessed to a journalist, the secret love he had for the African landscape.
Livingstone was born in Malaysia in 1932, lived in Ceylon for a while and finally moved to South Africa, Natal with his mother and sister. He attended Kearsney College …show more content…
The reader comes to the realisation that the elders’ fear progresses into lies. “Why did you leave me to the elders’ lies?” (line 13)This adds to the idea of years having passed in the poem. Moreover, this shows that because of fear the elders have to lie to maintain social order. In contrast, we see none of this dishonesty in the speaker’s “community”, neither do we see any stratification. As a consequence, it becomes clear that the speaker and the elephant live as equals, so it is as if it is a utopia. However, their relationship ends because of the elephants’ death. So, the speaker will have to go back to the village, where over time he will become indoctrinated. Thus, the speaker mourns for his friend and for himself. As a result, he sees their elders as a threat because he feels that without the elephant, he is more vulnerable to succumb to these …show more content…
According to the Oxford dictionary (2008), a eulogy is “a speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly.” For that reason, we see “Old Python Nose with the wind- rolling ears” (line 1) is actually a term of endearment for the deceased elephant. This becomes clear to the reader because the speaker considers the elephant a very part of his life, he considers him a friend. Furthermore, it becomes clear when we see that he is directly addressing the deceased elephant. Evidence of this is the use of the colon after “ears” (line 1).The clever use of language and literary devices results in the poem being read as a eulogy, because in stanza one, the speaker recounts his life with the elephant. Therefore, the effect created, is a mood that is ardent and slightly humorous. Humour is almost entirely created by, him saying “but all the same you robbed me of those sweet potatoes!”(Line 7) This suggests that the speaker has known the elephant for many years and lived together as if they were a village by