Animals In The Shop example essay topic

Humans are a truly imperfect species that have struggled to evolve due to conflicts among peoples and races. Many people argue that we are the highest in the chain of evolution, as we are, but there are still so many personality faults that evolution has failed to filter out. Just because our species has survived thus far, does not mean we have overcome the difficulty of coexisting with one another. In his short story, Menagerie, a Child's Fable, Charles Johnson shows us precisely what humans have been unsuccessful in conquering, as well as how we have attempted to cope with these faults. He uses different characters and their actions within the story to paint a clear picture of just how horrific our world is. Mr. Tilford, the pet shop owner in Johnson's story, holds everything together, keeping his animals in cages and everything under control.

He is a religious / governmental symbol for what has held our world together despite the anomalistic nature of the human race. One day, Mr. Tilford ceases to come to work, for reasons unknown to the reader. Despite his absence, the animals try to coexist, which turns out to be impossible. In this story Johnson gives the animals voices and human like personalities with certain archetypes. This personification of the animals creates a situation that allows the reader to see the imperfections that are present in the human world. It shows the faults in civilization, the evil within humans, and the problems the world encounters as civilizations try to evolve.

These representations of what happens in the world show the importance of having religion or government to keep people in order. Without this control Johnson's world begins to collapse into a cruel and ruthless place. Different characters in the story represent the different causes of this pandemonium in the world. The monkey, who is physically the most evolved, is driven by evil and selfish needs. With his exceptional intelligence and cleverness he is able to successfully undermine the shop. The weak, like the fish, the birds and the rabbit, are the victims of evil and are unable fend themselves against its cruel tactics.

Another character is Berkeley, the watchdog, representing the good, wishes to maintain integrity by the use of "the power" (750) he has, but lacks the intelligence and strategy to do it effectively. All these characters contribute to the decay of the pet shop. The Monkey is the catalyst behind the destruction; he is able to overcome Berkeley's strength through his superior intelligence and in turn undermine the pet shop. He is selfish and cares for no one other than himself. In the beginning, when everything is under control with all the animals locked in their cages, it is the Monkey who coaxes Berkeley into letting the animals out. He tricks Berkeley by fooling him with the idea that, "if you let us out, we can pool our resources.

I can open the feed bags" (747). The monkey's simple ideas sound logical to Berkeley's inferior reasoning and thus gets the results the monkey needed. All the monkey really wants is to get out of his cage, and once he is out he does no think to help anyone else survive. So once the monkey is free, he can strategically destroy the pet shop, because he is the most evolved.

He then tells everyone that Tilford is dead, which causes more pandemonium than there already is. By making the animals think they have lost their security, the monkey implants fear into the animals, so that they will look to other places for safety. From this, groups start to form, such as "the mammals, who, lead by the monkey, [distrusts] anyone odd enough to be born in an egg, and [dismiss] them as lowlifes on the evolutionary scale" (748). The evil in the monkey spreads to other animals to the point they are unconsciously doing evil acts for him. Even so, others do evil acts on purpose, which is seen when the Siamese cat rapes the poor rabbit.

The pet shop is headed towards its end and the most helpless animals will suffer the most. The animals most affected by the evil are the most innocent, like the fish, the rabbit, and non-mammals, who cannot protect themselves. As soon as groups formed, the mammals, "were shoving down everything-bird food, dog biscuits, and even the wafers reserved for the fish" (748). If animals are not strong enough they cannot eat, and the fish could not even get to the food". The fish, though the gentlest of creatures, caused undertow by demanding day-and-night protection, claiming they were handicapped in the competition for food" (749). If it weren't for Berkeley initially forcing the monkey to feed the fish, they would have died a lot sooner.

As for the rabbit, she becomes a rape victim as soon as the Siamese gets alone with her. The weak animals will not last long if they don't have protection. Berkeley, despite his strength, power, and good intent, is unable to maintain the well being of the shop because he does not have leadership ability. No matter how much he tries to maintain the safety and happiness of the animals, they are ultimately doomed due to the evil that is present. He obviously has control in the beginning by being the only one who is un-caged, and he also is the most powerful, in that he has "the biggest paw" (750). Berkeley's original job is to fend off intruders and with his being so physically powerful, the reader assumes he will be able to control the other animals in the shop.

However, this proves to be false. Although "he took his work seriously" (745), hoping for the best for all the animals, while at the same time trying his best to keep the shop in order, he still is not successful because he is, "Not the smartest" (745). He is good at heart and cares about his own well being last, but as the saying goes, nice guys finish last. It is as though Berkeley's strength comes hand in hand with his stupidity; although he has one characteristic that provides him with success, he has another one that brings him down. This is seen at the beginning of the story while attempting to help the animals, "against his better judgment, the watchdog rose to his hind legs and, praying this was the right thing, forced open the cage" (747). This decision will prove to be his fall.

The only reason he went against his instinct is because he wants what is best for the animals. Berkeley knew, "that he had the upper hand in the Pet Shoppe, the power" (750), but he did not know how to use it in a strategic, intelligent manner. He successfully carries out orders given to him, but he has no concept of time or the way things might play out, therefore he is not fit to hold control. Because he is too understanding, "He'd never looked upon himself as a leader, preferring to attribute his distaste for decision to a rare ability to see all sides" (749), Berkeley is unable to see the consequences of following through with what he is asked.

Once the cages are open, the shop is totally chaotic; it is every animal for himself. As from Berkeley's perspective, "The corrosion grew day by day. Cracks, then fissures began to appear, it seemed to Berkeley, everywhere, and in places he least expected, them" (749). He tries to help everyone, but there is too much chaos. He has no way of keeping everyone orderly and "as much as he hated to admit it, his only advantage, if he hoped to hold the line, his only trump, if he truly wanted to keep them afloat was the fact he outweighed them all" (750). No matter how much he wants to help the others, he has no way of getting them to listen.

His hopes are torn apart by the monkey's evil plans, something that he was not expecting " (a natural error since no one told him violence was entertainment for some) " (745). His plan to help the animals who are in trouble does not work because the problems get progressively worse, from the fish not getting fed, to the rabbit getting raped, and eventually the monkey finding the gun. Once more he fails to see the logical side to the situation; that his strength can be outsmarted. The monkey's "arrogance that made Berkeley weak in the knees" (750), shows again, but in a situation that Berkeley is not strong enough to defend against; "there was no power balance now. He'd been outplayed" (751). As much as Berkeley cares for everyone, his plans of helping them are no match for the monkey's evil tactics.

After being shot by the monkey, he looks back, thinking, "we could have endured, we have enough in common-for Christ's sake we " re all animals". (751) His optimism and hoped that they could all get along is an idea that proves to bring them down. The tortoise doesn't represent a cause of the chaos in the story, yet is used to show Johnson's view on the crisis. The tortoise is able to see the events in the pet shop from a whole different view from the other animals.

He gained wisdom from his experience in the outside world when he escaped, where he saw what really was in the world and, "returned mysteriously on his own, his eyes strangely unfocused, as if he'd seen the end of the world, or a vision of the world to come" (747). He had seen a vision of what was to come, a world without Mr. Tilford, how it would be without an almighty power to control them. And now, as soon as Mr. Tilford is out of the picture, he knows the shop is going to turn into bedlam. He knows that the animals will defeat themselves. Therefore he stays in his cage in order to stay away from it all. He really is not a participant in the story and Johnson uses this to convey the messages within the pet shop's conflict; "Hunched inside his shell, hardly eating at all, Tortoise lived in the Shoppe, but you could hardly say he was a part of it" (747).

The tortoise knows the impulses and actions of the animals will lead to ruin. He sits back and watches what happens as the pet shop community falls apart. He does not intervene because of his experience in the outside world, he knows there is no solution to the problem. It is the animals conflicting sides that leads the shop to ruin. Whether he tries to intervene or not, he knows the pet shop will result in failure. And as Berkeley dies and tells the tortoise "for Christ's sake, we " re all animals", the tortoise replies "Indeed, Indeed" (751), not because he feels they should be able to get along, but because one who sees the pet shop from outside can target what it was that ruined them.

The animals kill each other off because of the everlasting conflict between good and evil. They all have similar needs like food, water and shelter, but in their attempt to achieve this, they run into their differences and cannot find it in themselves to get along. It is the hate, fear, lack of compassion, intolerance and greed, which are also present in humans, that turns the place into such chaos; had there been a type of control (i.e. religion or government) the evil would be suppressed. The strength was paired with stupidity, the intelligence was paired with evil, and unfortunately the evil wins.

Is it the flaws in the characters that proved fatal to their shop, or is it the doomed chaos in a civilization that brings out their flaws? We will not ever know, but one can see that the only way they could have coexisted was if they had government or religion to keep everyone in line.