The Pragmatic World

An elephant vanished together with its keeper. The news suddenly hit the whole town, because the enclosure worked well and there seemed to be nothing unusual. A lot of speculation about this impossible issue took up a certain part of newspapers. However, this waves disappeared quickly in a week and actually did not affect the society that much. The narrator made a living of selling refrigerator and toaster ovens and coffeemakers. He met a girl in a party of his company and talked with her about the unity of kitchen. Later they went to the lounge and talked about the elephant. Although the narrator thought it is not suitable, he told her what he had seen: on the last day when the elephant stayed there, the balance of the sizes of the elephant and its keeper seemed to have shrunk. Silence appeared in their conversations. Later their lives still went on respectively, and they never seen each other any more.

Short stories do not emphasize shaping the characters, but focus more on building issues and making readers think. In The Elephant Vanishes, we know little about the narrator, not even his name. What we only know is about the short-lived news, the short-lived relationship and the pragmatic world. The society seemed to care about the elephant, but actually no one did, except its keeper. All the discussions about whether to take ownership of the elephant were actually discussing about the benefits. Even in the ceremony, the elephant was just a necessary decoration. Only the old keeper and the elephant were keeping each other alive.

Short stories are full of symbols that reflect the real world. In my perspective, the elephant and its keeper represent the only warmth and caring in the society. They were the spiritual home of the society. After they vanished, the narrator seemed to lost something and became more pragmatic and also successful. Just like most people did, he lost himself in such a pragmatic world. Nowadays the world also prefers pragmatic people. But to be or not to be, that’s a question in everyone’s heart. What’s more, the narrator did not tell the police what he had seen, but told a girl he just met. It also shows the helplessness of a nobody who cannot even tell the truth he had seen.

No one can be God

In I bought a little city, just as the title says, the protagonist bought a city and became the most powerful person there. At first, he listened to citizens’ wish about their residence and tried to satisfy them, which made him “exercise his proprietorship so lightly”. Then he began to do more and enjoyed more. He shot six thousand dogs on the street and then published an editorial saying he was the vilest creature. One of the dog owners came to see him and agreed with him on the opinion that he’s black-hearted. Later the protagonist fell in love with Sam’s wife. Sam’s wife said she loved him a little bit but she could not leave his husband. So the protagonist was filled with emotion. He abused his power again and let a cop buy some chicken for him.

It is an absurdist short story, because the things happen look unreal. However, what the story wants to convey is absolutely real. “No one can be God.” God is the most powerful and perfect creature, who should treat everyone fair. But God itself is created by human’s imagination. No one is perfect enough to be God. Every people have its own selfishness. After all, no one can really feel others’ feelings. And what is more, there is no absolute fair in the world. Therefore, the power in a society should be separated to several parts. As long as each part is constrained by each other, the society can try its best to treat citizens fair.

The Apathy and Loneliness of the Society

The rain had lasted three days. There were so many dead crabs in the drenched courtyard. A newborn child had a temperature all night. Pelayo found there was a very old man with enormous and dirty wings lying on the beach. The people in the town had various ideas about who he is. “A neighbor woman who knows everything about life and death” said that he was an angel. Then he became a cash cow of Pelayo and his wife, for people to see and tease. Later, a spider woman diverted people’s curiosity, and the old man was forgotten by them gradually. Suffering the great pain and torment, the old man almost died in the winter. However, he regained the energy in the spring miraculously. And finally, he flew away.

A very old man with enomous wings shows the apathy and loneliness in people’s heart. Looking at the old man, no one was sympathetic, and no one seemed to care about his feelings. From the curiosity to the tease, then to the oblivion, the society was full of apathy.