87 pages • 2 hours read
Roland SmithElephant Run
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2007A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
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Burmese Independence and Colonization
The boiling tension at the center of the novel stems from the Burmese desire to achieve independence, which plays a central role in the Freestone’s fear about the safety of their plantation, the invasion of Japanese soldiers in Burma, and Burmese and Kachin rebellion against Japanese forces.
Many characters are defined by their relation to the fight for Burmese independence. For example, Nang and Magwe are on opposite ends of the spectrum—Nang supports Jackson and the British, and Magwe supports Japanese invasion, which he believes will lead to decolonization. Jackson has a unique role in this fight; though he is British and a foreign landowner, he talks frequently of the fact that eventually he will have to “give Burma back to the Burmese” (313). He advocates for Burmese independence in parliament, and Nang vouches for his efforts, saying, “What you may not know is that Mr. Freestone also believes Burma should be an independent country, governed by its own people. He has been quietly working on this for many years” (18).
Colonization plays through its vicious cycle in the novel. Japan claims to want “Asia for Asians,” but soon after they arrived, “[i]t was clear the [slogan was intended] for Asians of Japanese descent [...]” (171). Brutal British dictators are replaced by brutal Japanese dictators, and the Burmese are still hungry, still working for little or no wages, and still lack power and agency. It is a pivotal moment in the idea of colonization and power when Magwe, a Japanese conspirator, changes sides. His realization that no world power will help his people gain control of their own nation causes him to rebel and join guerilla fighters, who eventually do win the war for Burma.
War and Violence
The elevation of Buddhist philosophy highlights the strong anti-violence narrative throughout the novel. Buddhism acts as an antidote for the horrors going on around the world in 1941, beginning with the bombings in Germany and ending with the slaughter of prisoners of war via starvation and disease in the jungles outside Hawks’ Nest. Overlying this narrative of violence is the idea of the senselessness of war—not only is the conflict brutal, but Smith is arguing that the brutality Nick and other characters experience is all in vain.
The first moment of true brutality occurs upon Nick’s return to Hawk’s Nest after the Japanese invasion:
Hanging above the porch was a huge Japanese flag, its red sun fluttering in the warm breeze. Beneath it were two dead bodies. Nang and Captain Josephs. Nang had been horribly beaten and was barely recognizable. Captain Josephs had been decapitated (109).
After witnessing this horrible spectacle, Nick vomits. His physical response to the violence is met with an equally strong emotional response to each act of violence from Colonel Nagayoshi and the other soldiers; Nick even winces when Colonel Nagayoshi hits his enemy Bukong with his own cane. Though Bukong had beaten Nick with that same cane, Nick speaks with empathy: “He knew how that cane felt” (186).
Sexual violence is also alluded to in the novel, as Bukong preys upon Mya once her father and aunt have passed away. Mya tells Hilltop: “I’m afraid. Three times this week someone has tried to get into my room” (137). Violence against women, particularly young women, is something that the more mature characters in the novel are frank about and desperate to avoid: “It hadn’t occurred to [Nick] that [Mya] might be in danger from the Japanese because of her good looks” (88).
The way out of violence is through peace and mercy. As Hilltop says to Sonji when he begs for his help to rescue Jackson, “The soul does not have a nationality” (287). Sonji reflects to his friend near the end of the novel about the atrocities his people committed, saying, “I wonder if we will ever be forgiven” (288).
Family
Without the desire for Nick to free his father from the POW camp, there would be no plot—the dangers that Nick is willing to undergo to save his family keep the story moving and become the emotional backbone of the novel.
Nick frequently mentions his “Freestone blood,” an inherited temper that also indicates his connection to the many generations of Freestone men who have dealt with difficulty and fought for their lives. Nick finds solace in his father’s comment about the Freestone heart that beats in his chest: “This island is your great-grandfather’s heart and it beats in both of us” (92). In moments of strife, he returns to that image of the Sergeant Major’s heart beating in his father’s chest and in his own. It reminds him of the generations of his family who have survived before and of his eternal connection to his own living father.
Nick also receives several family heirlooms, most notably the knife that the Sergeant Major carved from ivory. Jackson says to his son, “You’ll use [the knife] like all Freestone’s have used it” (24). These heirlooms also become a symbol of heritage, family connection, and the power of family to overcome great difficulty. As Nick becomes more skilled at carving with the knife, he also becomes a stronger and more resilient person—more in line with the lineage of men who came before him.
Family is such a powerful force in the novel that it can also put characters in danger and keep them imprisoned. Nick and Mya put their lives at risk to rescue their family members from the prisoner of war camp. As Kya Lei says to Nick and Mya, “Colonel Nagayoshi promised to punish you if Indaw tried to escape. It’s their family members that keep the mahouts there, not the guards” (253). The desire to keep family safe is so strong that it keeps Indaw imprisoned by the Japanese military. Fortunately, it is also strong enough that it drives the rescue of Indaw and Jackson and ultimately saves their lives.
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