English 102 Essay 1

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Title: The relationship between animals and humans as depicted in literary works

Animals and humans have lived together for centuries. It is a well-known fact that most of the time, animals are used for hunting and eating purposes. This was especially true in old times. But since the scenarios have changed, so did the outlook of humans towards animals. There is now a much stronger bond between the two. A bond that could be called a friendship.The relationship among both humans and animals has not gone unnoticed even by the authors of different books as well as movie writers. Most of the time, the positive aspect of the relationship is depicted instead of the traditional one. The authors have proceeded to depict this relationship in many forms. By examining the work that has been produced by the professionals, the focus of the relationship can be easily found. This is depicted in different forms that intrigue us.

The short story titled “Pelicans” is a great piece of example highlighting how humans perceive animals. It revolves around the story of a biologist, who dedicated his life to do research on pelicans. It involved going place to place and studying species after species. This relationship with the animals became evident when he willingly sacrificed his marriage to study the birds further. This became evident in the exchange he had with the fisherman. The biologist tells the fisherman, “I had a choice. To get married or take up a job as a biologist studying pelicans in Louisiana. She wouldn’t leave her family so I went south on my own.” When the fisherman asks if he regrets it, he replies “No CITATION Mid14 \l 1033 (Raymond and Keifetz). This shows the importance that the biologist gave to his job of studying animals. The most important thing with the relationship between the humans and animals is that it involves affection, love, and care. These points get highlighted exquisitely through the use of examples in fictional works. Writers tend to hide the relation among normal everyday events that wouldn’t even seem like it matters, but it truly does. Going back to the topic of fisherman and biologist. The fisherman explained that he hated pelicans and how he destroyed their nest and eggs. But the min climax came at the end when the fisherman describes how the pelicans helped him save his loved one. The fisherman stated, “I followed the pelicans as best I could just stared at the spot where I thought they’d disappeared and kept going, following them home” CITATION Mid14 \l 1033 (Raymond and Keifetz). The line depicts how animals may sometime take you out of troubles situations in the real world.

The plot beautifully depicts how important animals are to humans and how the perception of humans has changed regarding animals, overtime. One time they were foes and now they are friends. The environment where all the storytelling is taking place is in the natural habitat of the pelicans which further gives rise to bonding among the two. In general, every author tries to match the plot with the environment and the dialogues. The whole discussion among the fisherman and biologists somehow centered around pelicans.

Sometimes animals become a source of our fondest memories. This statement is beautifully depicted in the story “The Weight of Things Unsaid”. In an exchange of dialogues between the mother and her child, the child asks what the name of a new small turtle should be and the mother remarks “Benjamin” CITATION Mid14 \l 1033 (Raymond and Keifetz). Benjamin is the name of her unborn child that died during pregnancy. The relation that the author makes between a small baby turtle who is not strong enough to protect itself, and the unborn dead child is simply remarkable. How the mother immediately realizes that the turtle represents her child.

The story further progresses and explains the connection humans feel with turtles. The main character i.e. the mother shows her confusion at how the mother turtle behaves. She exclaims, “It’s just plain wrong that a mother turtle goes through the heat and hardship of laying eggs in the hottest summer, only to have them hatch when the weather turns cold” CITATION Mid14 \l 1033 (Raymond and Keifetz). She wonders why the mother turtle leaves her children to hatch. The story very beautifully summarizes how humans are able to find themselves in the life of animals. We question our actions and take lessons from animals on how they do things differently.

Humans have a tendency to see certain things in animals. How they live, behave, act in certain situations. These thoughts teach humans on how to act in different situations. Also, the literary works involving animals highlight the lengths that animals go to on the way to being a constant support to humans. An example of the dog, Hachiko, can be made that never gave up on its master even though his master died, he waited many years for his master to return. The real story was also depicted in a movie.

Humans and animals have a special bond that has increased with time. This becomes evident in the literary works of the author and how they show very delicate details in the form of this relationship. How a mother remembers her child due to an animal, and how a person changed his views when the animal helped him. It might not always be openly clear how a relation is being depicted, but if closely analyzed it can be very easily seen that there is more to what is present on the outside.

Works Cited

BIBLIOGRAPHY Raymond, Midge and Ray Keifetz. Among Animals: The Lives of Animals and Humans in Contemporary Short Fiction. 2014.

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