When Elephants Weep
WHEN ELEPHANTS WEEP: THE EMOTIONAL LIVES OF ANIMALS
By Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson. Delta. 1996. (320 pages)
Subjects: Animal intelligence. Animal emotions.
Recommended for: High school – Adult
SUMMARY:
On some level, most people believe animals can experience some types of emotions, because they’ve seen it: the guardian who has seen the joy his dog feels at loping along the beach; the nature lover who has observed a pair of Western Grebes running in unison along the surface of a lake; the farm kid who has seen the bond between a cow mother and her child; the slaughterhouse worker who has seen the terror flooding down the line of pigs about to be killed. Extending acceptance of a variety of emotions to other individual animals or species seems much more difficult for humans, however. Masson explores the breadth, depth and complexity of emotion and intelligence present throughout the animal kingdom.
IDEAS FOR USING THIS BOOK:
Tip: Be sure that any passages you share from this book are age-appropriate.
1. What do students know about animal emotions? Have them share experiences they’ve had (maybe with their companion animals) or that they’ve seen or read about.
You could give them a list of questions and ask them to answer yes or no (Do animals cry? Do animals get embarrassed? Do animals feel fear? Do animals feel love?, etc.), and then have them discuss their thoughts.
You could then share excerpts from the book that exemplify animal emotions (including those that students didn’t think animals have). And then have them discuss again. Have their views changed after what they’ve heard?
2. You could give students sample stories from the book and have them choose one (or more) to write reflectively about and then share. Samples might include:
- A mother spider cradling her babies when they were all dropped in alcohol. (67-68)
- The Rhesus monkeys who refused to shock their companions in order to be able to eat. (162)
- Harry Harlow’s experiments with infant monkeys. (101-102)
- Baby elephants from Kenya who have seen their parents slaughtered and wake up screaming. (46)
- Bears and chimpanzees appreciating sunsets. (192-193)
3. After reading some of the excerpts from the book, you could lead a discussion about whether or not animals have to be able to experience emotion (and to what degree) in order to be free from human oppression and exploitation. You could start with questions such as:
- Do animals have to experience all the same emotions as humans?
- Does it matter whether or not animals blush?
- Does it matter whether or not animals feel romantic love?
- Do animals have to experience all other emotions in order to be worthy of receiving compassion?
- Does searching for evidence of morality or a sense of justice or gratitude in animals force a set of human-created values onto animals? In doing so are we trying to recreate animals in our own image? Are we trying to make them equals? Or do we want to nurture compassion and recognition of their right to be free from exploitation and to be free to live their own lives?
- Does it matter whether or not animals show compassion and altruism to other animals and humans out of self-service?
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Find out more about the author & his other works.
Want to submit a teaching idea for this title?
Email: Marsha@HumaneEducation.org
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