The Giraffe Analysis

In the story “The Giraffe” by Mauro Senesi the giraffe is given human like characteristics such as feeling cold, getting frightened and crying. When first brought into the town the giraffe is an unusual sight for everyone. There are people that appreciate the giraffe like the boys and some freak out when they see the “beast”. The giraffe starts to feel cold when the story progresses into night time. “When all the shutters had been closed with a bang, a tremor seemed to pass down the animal's long legs” (Senesi 30). According to Rolandino the giraffe is feeling cold, which illustrates the human characteristic that is given to the giraffe in the story. Humans usually feel cold as well, but the people in the town have shelters to provide them with
“The giraffe, frightened, withdrew to the front of the church, placing its head right next to that of Jesus” (Senesi 30). The giraffe’s action of going towards Jesus illustrates a human characteristic because humans usually feel safe when around Jesus. Similarly, the giraffe stood beside Jesus because that’s where it felt safe. Also the giraffe sobs when it passes away, which is another example of a human characteristic given to the giraffe. “Its neck alone remained erect for an instant, before flowing to the ground with a long desperate sob” (Senesi 30). Humans usually sob when in pain, thus it is another human characteristic given to the giraffe.
In all honesty “The Giraffe” illustrates various human characteristics of the giraffe; however the humans in the story are not really welcoming although the giraffe shares similar characteristics. The townspeople dislike the giraffe which evidently depicts their self-obsessed behaviour. The author is able to successfully illustrate the self-obsessed behaviour of humans by using a giraffe, a harmless animal that would never hurt anyone. Thus, Senesi was successful as the giraffe is an innocent character compared to the humans because