Small as an Elephant

The most important symbol in the novel, elephants are a symbol for Jack’s position in the world, as the novel’s title signals, and each chapter begins with a assertion about elephants, such as their powerful memories of one another or the notion that they’re “like people, only more so” (1). Jack is an expert when it comes to elephants. Elephants are his favorite thing in the world. He knows all about what they like, how they live, and their amazing characteristics that indicate they have deeper thoughts and more complex personalities than most people realize. Jack is constantly connected to the idea of elephants. He imagines himself as one, dreams of being one, and sees elephants in the clouds and rocks around him. He takes a plastic toy elephant from a store, and it becomes like a friend and a reminder of something positive in his life: “His left hand folded around the little elephant in his pocket. It gave him comfort. It gave him courage” (135). Jack and his mother used to bond over elephants, but in recent years it has been more of a source of conflict. Their most recent argument was over Jack’s desire to meet Lydia the elephant and his mother’s refusal to support captivity.