I found this week’s reading “Why I look at animals” For Gilles Aillaud extremely interesting and eye opening. It is pointing out how animals are such a huge part of the human world because they are used metaphorically. In particular to describe certain characteristics that can be found in people. For example, “as brave as a Lion”, “as quiet as a mouse”. It is also pointed out that humans rely on using animals as metaphors so strongly that without them situations would be indescribable. The example used is an excerpt from the The Illiad when Homer uses the metaphor of a mother cow standing over her young to describe the protective behaviour of a warrior.

During my gap year in 2015 I worked at a summer camp in Canada. Camp’s love to create their own world and make the real world seem distant for the kids during their time. As part of this, each counsellor had to choose a “nature name” (a nick-name of sorts that the kids called you that had something to do with nature). When we were first given this task, a group of us sat around the joked about who should be called what. These jokes ran along the lines of “you should be called Snake because you’re always snaking girls” and “You can get Eel because you’re slippery and untrustworthy”. It was all in good fun.

This reading really resonated with me because of how true it is. Without even realising, I had given different animals traits and stereotypes that can be used to describe people. When the joke was made about someone being called Snake, I immediately got the reference and understood the association.

This idea also comes back to movies with animals in them. In most cases, the animals reflect the kind of character they are associated with in real life. You look at Disney’s Robin Hood, for example. Robin Hood is represented by a Fox, quick and agile, while Little John is represented by a bear, big and cuddly, and Fryer tuck is played by a mole, vulnerable, and frail.

It’s a very interesting thing to have pointed out, when you think about how ingrained it is in our lives.