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Ostriches
Elephant tusks in the novel symbolize greed, and particularly how some people are willing to sacrifice both nature and their own personal relationships all for the sake of money. Elias is always looking for new schemes to make money, but he obsesses over one scheme in particular: he wants to kill an elephant and sell its tusks. Elephants are a powerful force of nature, so dangerous that locals refer to them as “bigfeet,” superstitiously fearing that simply saying the word “elephant” aloud might summon a deadly stampede. Elias believes he can overcome the more powerful elephants by setting traps, but he fails to get the tusks he wants and only ends up enraging the elephants, who seem to target him specifically.
Elias’s obsession with collecting an elephant tusk contrasts with Fiela’s own healthier relationship with nature. Whereas getting a tusk requires killing an elephant, Fiela makes a living selling aloe and ostrich feathers, which are both more sustainable resources than elephant tusks. Elias’s willingness to sacrifice elephants for profit—despite the fact that elephants show clear signs of intelligence throughout the novel—reflects his broader willingness to sacrifice even his own family for personal gain. Elias’s constant desire for tusks represents his insatiable greed and shows how this striving for wealth and his controlling nature lead him to destroy his relationship with nature and his family.
Tusks Quotes in Fiela’s Child
The Fiela’s Child quotes below all refer to the symbol of Tusks. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 5 Quotes
‘When the bigfeet are on you, you can’t choose what you let go of and what you want to keep, woman!’
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This quote is what woodcutter Elias van Rooyen says to his wife Barta after he narrowly avoids an elephant (or “bigfeet” as most people in the Forest call them) attack. Although Elias portrays the attack as an accident, in fact he deliberately antagonized the elephants by setting a trap that was supposed to kill one of them (so that he could take its tusks and sell the valuable ivory for a profit). Elias’s quest to kill an elephant starts off as a random thought but grows into a years-long obsession, demonstrating the greed that is a central part of his Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Veli
Chapter 12 Quotes
‘What are bigfeet?’
‘Don’t you know? The animals with the trunks, elephants,’ she whispered. ‘You’re not supposed to say the name out loud, they’ll hear you and think you’ve called them and come and trample you.’
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Nina explains the origin of the slang term “bigfeet” to Forest-newcomer Benjamin. Locals use the term to describe elephants, superstitiously believing that elephants can recognize their name and will come trample anyone who says it. In addition to catching Benjamin up to speed about his new home, this conversation also represents an important moment in the relationship between Nina and Benjamin as Nina becomes Benjamin’s first real ally in his new family. The scene is also important because it establishes Nina as the opposite of her father Elias. Whereas Elias spends years trying to kill an elephant to sell its Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit e
Chapter 16 Quotes
A snare-pit. That was what he had to have, he sat thinking that Sunday. The sheer prospect of it brough a funny feeling to Elias’s stomach for if it worked once, it would work again if you were clever enough
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This quote describes yet another one of Elias’s schemes to kill an elephant and sell its tusks. After his earlier trap with a tree turned out to be unsuccessful and Elias nearly gets trampled, he decides that he simply needs to try a different trap, showing that he learned nothing from his first experience. The timing of Elias’s realization—on a Sunday—may be significant, because Sunday is typically the day that Christians attend church services. Unlike Fiela, who puts her faith in the Christian God to sustain her through difficult moments, Elias instead tries—often in vain—to exercise control over every aspect Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consect
Chapter 18 Quotes
‘Pa is a dirty swine.’ Just that.
‘Why do you say that?’
‘It was a trap. An elephant trap.’
‘How do you know?’
‘I went there. There’s a dead elephant calf lying in the pit.’
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In this conversation between Nina and Benjamin, Nina tells Benjamin that she has just discovered the truth about the pit that Elias made them dig in the middle of the Forest—it’s a snare trap he wants to use to catch and kill elephants. Elias’s trap is both a success and a failure: while it manages to snag an elephant, it only kills a young calf, which doesn’t have tusks yet and is therefore worthless to Elias. While Nina has never had a great relationship with her father (he at times physically abuses her) this scene seems to be one of Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque
Chapter 20 Quotes
But she had thrown away her name: half a crown a week with food and clothing was all the people were prepared to pay. What could he do? Nothing. He had to accept it. But as soon as he could get to the village himself again, he would go and see if he could not get her price raised to three shillings.
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This quote describes Nina’s experience of working in the village to make wages to send back to Elias. She runs away from her first job and earns a bad reputation for herself, and in such a small community, this means that she doesn’t have many other people willing to employ her, especially not at a good rate. What is particularly telling about this passage, however, is Elias’s response to Nina losing her job. Just like Elias’s schemes to get elephant tusks, his scheme to make money off Nina is hardly the payday that Elias dreams it will be. In both Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit
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Tusks Symbol Timeline in Fiela’s Child
The timeline below shows where the symbol Tusks appears in Fiela’s Child. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 5
...he can use this information to kill an elephant without a gun and sell its tusks for money
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...about to get his sons to help him to avoid having to share his elephant tusks with any of the other families. He partially cuts the tree that the elephants use...
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Chapter 16
...build the pit on one of them. He doesn’t want to have to share his tusks, so he doesn’t ask anyone for advice about building his pit. He figures elephants are...
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Chapter 18
...to the pit and finding a dead elephant calf in it, too young to have tusks.
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Chapter 20
Elias regrets that he killed an elephant calf, since it had no tusks and was therefore worthless to him. He’s jealous that so many people he knows own...
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