1928: Gay-Neck The Story of a Pigeon by Dhan Gopal Mukerji

Well, I must say that I sat down to read this book with more than usual enthusiasm. Why? Because I am one of the very few people who absolutely love the bird that some people have erroneously called the "rat with wing." Where other people see disease-ridden pests, I see noble individuals with personality and charisma.

I'm reminded of Mike Tyson's story that his first fight started when a neighborhood kid ripped the head off his favorite pigeon and threw it in his face. Tyson recently created a miniseries about his love for the birds, called Taking on Tyson. When PETA objected (I almost said "inevitably objected," but that would be snarky, wouldn't it?) they had an interesting point. PETA Vice President Lisa Lange: "If Mike Tyson truly loved birds, he would fight for their protection - not force them into a 'race' that tears them away from their families and subjects them to injuries, exhaustion and death."

Gay-Neck covers some of this same territory, only instead of depending only on the voice of the pigeon-fancier, it also contains first-person accounts from the pigeon hero himself. The primary narrator of this novel is a young man living in Calcutta. He is a dedicated pigeon fancier who takes pride in treating his racing and carrier pigeons with the utmost care. A good portion of the novel details this boy's growing knowledge of pigeons and of wildlife in general. But through all the story the narrative is driven by the gem of his pigeon flock, Gay-Neck. And through Gay-Neck's story, we are given an objective look at humanity.

For the first portion of the book, Gay-Neck must learn to avoid natural predators such as hawks and eagles. There is a great deal of animals devouring other animals, all culminating in Gay-Neck remarking, "Why is there so much killing and inflicting of pain by birds and beasts on one another? I don't think all of you men hurt each other. Do you?" He is given his answer not too much later when he is enlisted in the war as a messenger. Gay-Neck serves his country and his master bravely, but he seems to be aware that the cause is somewhat dubious. When the soldiers tell him he has saved the day by delivering his message, he thinks, "but there was no day in sight. It was a darkening gray sky under which death coiled and screamed like a dragon, and crushed all in its grip." All Gay-Neck knows of the war is the constant noise of the machine guns and the need to flee from the great Machine-Eagles, or airplanes, that eventually manage to shoot his leg and wing. When he surveys the wreckage, he sees that "even rats and field mice did not manage to escape: dozens of them had been slaughtered and cut to pieces."

I see a similar motif here to Smoky the Cowhorse, even down to the difficult ramifications of the animal-human relationship. In Smoky, Clint considered himself Smoky's friend, but this "friendship" resulted in years of suffering for the horse. Here, Gay-Neck's loyalty to his master repeatedly puts his life in danger and results in grievous injuries. This narrator seems possibly more aware that it may be unfair to drag animals into human conflict. I am reminded of the third post I made on this blog, where I quoted Hugh Lofting on how it seemed unfair that we expected horses to carry us into war but did not give them even remotely the same medical treatment that we gave to human soldiers.

These last few posts may have sounded a little radical to some. But I'll assure you, I'm not advocating abolishing the domestication of pets, or making universal health care available to animals. I have two cats who live with me who, I flatter myself, enjoy their life with me much more than they would a life on the streets. I simply think it's important to consider such a common portrayal of the human-animal relationship to see whether it is constructive or destructive. Maybe I'll have more time to consider it in the future - there certainly have been a lot of animal books so far.