In Fiela's Child, the two families, the van Rooyens and the Komoeties, have a strong bond with animals, although not always a positive one. The van Rooyens have a problem with elephants in the forest. Komoeties ostriches cause all kinds of problems for the family. Other animals are also referred to in the novel. Given ostriches, elephants, other animals, family values, and various examples of foil, symbolism, and metaphors, the ostriches and elephants represent the van Rooyen and Komoeties families. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayKicker and Pollie are the ostriches of the Komoetie family. The family had Kicker for a long time, then they got Pollie in hopes of breeding the two. However, things don't go according to plan at first; Kicker barely glances at Pollie, which worries Fiela: “It's been over four weeks since they started putting the ostriches out to pasture and Kicker still showed no signs of being ready to take the hen” (39). Most animals have a very determined and instinctive way of wanting to mate. However, Kicker didn't do this: it was almost as if he were human, fighting his instincts. Pollie also turns out to be a strange ostrich: "Getting her out of the enclosure was less tiring than they thought... head in the air and all the old pride towards her" (38). The Komoeties did this soon after receiving the ostrich, so they expected it to be less docile, to fight them more. Then, just after the census men leave, Pollie begins to dance: “Pollie was dancing…she was doing the ostrich's strange dance of joy” (41). This is strange because, like Kicker, it's almost as if Pollie is human. For the moment he seems to be celebrating Benjamin's safety, an example of anthropomorphism. Animals don't really celebrate things. However, once Benjamin appears to be out of danger, the chicken begins to dance happily. Ostriches behave as if they were human. Elephants are seen as dangerous creatures in the Knysna Forest; they are also known as “bigfeet”. The ivory in their tusks is highly sought after, although their enormous bodies prevent most poachers from getting too close, and Elias van Rooyen is no exception. Big feet are one of Elias's greatest fears, and he is justified in this fear: "'...the cow took him with her trunk and threw him...Black and blue he was from head to toe'" (320) . When Benjamin returns home from visiting the Komoeties when he grows up, he discovers that Elias has been the victim of an elephant's rampage. The injury Elias suffered is a metaphor for bitterness and hatred. Elias is an angry, jealous, hateful man, and he keeps all that ugliness inside, and then he talks about it. However, once the elephant attacks him, that ugliness shows on the outside, visible to everyone before he even speaks. Elephants also have a loving and gentle family structure: “'First they pushed the one in front until it found a foothold... Each, when it reached the other side, turned and helped the next one up'” (44 -45). Another example of anthropomorphism, elephants treat each other like most humans treat their families: they love and help each other, to make sure everyone is safe. At first it may seem that ostriches and elephants symbolize families, but at other times, it doesn't seem that way at all. In a sense they do: “'You're lying, you're like Kicker, you don't even look up'” (38). Fiela compared her husband, Selling, to Kicker using a simile; neither Selling nor Kicker find any interest in looking at the female ofostrich. Furthermore, like Pollie and Kicker, Elias and Barta also don't care much about each other: "'What about the blanket, Elias?... It's just that we're so short of blankets, Elias'" (53). Barta doesn't seem to care much that her husband had a near-death experience with one of the things he seems to fear most. Instead, he worries about his failures, like the blanket he lost while running away. However, the actions of the ostriches and elephants also highlight some family dynamics, showing that the animals are contrasting characters. The elephants and their family structure highlight the lack of family structure with the van Rooyens: “'I see your second son is with the Soois team'... 'There's no use in us all cooking in the same pot'” (49) . Elias' second son is working logging with another family, instead of his own. Elias explains this by saying that they don't all need to work in the same place, as if it's no big deal that his son chose another family over his. Elias doesn't care much about his daughter Nina either: "'What if big feet step on me, Daddy?' 'I didn't tell you… damn asses!'” (280). Nina is afraid of big feet, but her father ignores her fears and all but tells her to "deal with it." There is very little love in the family, even though everyone secretly longs for love. Nina also daydreams about the love of a family and looks at the elephants with satisfaction: “'Then the other elephants came and stood in a circle... on her little feet between her mother's legs. It was sweet'” (205-206). Despite her fear of elephants, Nina longs for the love and acceptance of a family. Elephants act like a family, which is foreign to her. He gets emotional when he talks about them and loves the way they treat each other: how the Komoeties treat each other. The Komoeties care for each other and act like a family, as evidenced by the ostriches' actions and the family's reactions. Fiela is protective of her family: unlike most families in this time period, she is the breadwinner and takes care of everyone. She is willing to do anything to protect her family: “'If you had kicked my son open yesterday, I would have wrung your neck!'” (56). Fiela spent a lot of time and money on Pollie, yet Pollie almost hurt Fiela's son. As previously stated, Fiela is very protective. She wasn't telling Pollie that she was going to turn her neck just because she was angry and stressed; she tells Pollie because she's serious and feels the same way about the census workers, even though she can't tell her. Pollie also has strange reactions to things, calling attention to the Komoeties' reactions: “When they left, Wolwekraal stopped sadly. Except Pollie” (66). After the census workers left in their car, a somber atmosphere was created in the Komoetie family, as they had just been informed that they might lose Benjamin forever. However, Pollie isn't content with the dark atmosphere. Instead, it is active and stands out from the norm. This is simply the title of Komoety's reaction, showing the darkness and solemnity of the situation at hand. Other animals played a role very similar to that of the minor characters: although they appear very few times, they still highlight some family values ​​as well as some themes and characteristics common to the two families. The spider that killed Dawid, for example: “…Wednesday morning, cheerful as ever, but that night he was a corpse. Pulsating spider. It must have been in the sheaves he had stacked” (234). The spider is the symbol of death, its bite is a metaphor for the loss of hope. The Komoety have lost much in their experiences, but they have also..