Trunk and Disorderly

Arthur Wellesley watches on as one of his soldiers is rescued from a watery grave.

1797-1804

Introduction

Arthur Wellesley (not yet the Duke of Wellington) spent the years 1797 to 1804 in India, confronting the Maratha Empire that threatened Indian princes and the British alike. Wisely, he learnt to make war as the Maratha did, and acquired a proper respect for the elephant.

as told by Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington (1769-1852)

NEVER saw but one royal tiger wild. Never at a tiger hunt.

Elephants used always in war, for conveyance of stores or artillery. I had once occasion to send my men through a river upon some. A drunken soldier fell off, and was carried down by the torrent till he scrambled up a rock in the middle of the stream.

I sent the elephant after him, and with large strides he obeyed his driver. When arrived, he could not get near the rock, and he stiffened his tail to serve as a plank. The man was too drunk to avail himself of it, and the elephant seized him with his trunk, and, notwithstanding the resistance he made, and the many cuffs he gave that sensitive part, placed him on his back.

as told by Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington (1769-1852)

From ‘Recollections’ (1859) by Samuel Rogers.
Précis
When the Duke of Wellington was serving in India, one of his soldiers managed to maroon himself on an island in the middle of a river. As the man was too drunk to clamber onto the elephant sent by Wellesley, the patient creature hoisted him up with his trunk and, ignoring his wild struggles, deposited him on his own back.
Questions for Critics

1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?

2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?

3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?

Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.

Sevens

Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.

In Wellesley’s experience, how did Indians use elephants?

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