“And there, hidden in the inverse of all those newspaper articles, was the even more astonishing, if overlooked, story: how the elephants had transformed a carefree young man into a war hero.”

As Williams always claimed, he learned more from the elephants than they did from him. The elephants are often anthropomorphized, personified with human traits, such as courage, loyalty, trust, pride, and grief. Bandoola, in particular, is represented as a virtually human companion, a “best friend,” and even a doppelganger to Williams.

“Rangoon was full of British architecture, French wine, English beef, and exclusive clubs, such as the Rangoon Sailing Club, ‘one of the stickiest European Only clubs in Burma,’ as Williams recalled.”

In the capital of Burma, the white colonial settlers and company men (and their families) enjoy the spoils of empire; evidence of indigenous culture has been eradicated in favor of European goods (which implicitly suggests that the indigenous peoples have no culture). This reveals both an inherent racism within the colonial system and a classist division within the colonial pecking order: issues of race and class dominate the imperial mission.

“So much about elephants—their seeming awareness of death, their ability to cooperate, their empathy, and the extent of their intelligence—were yet to be revealed to science. But Williams, who saw more in animals than most anyway, had an inkling.”

This is one of many statements that suggest an extraordinary connection between Williams and the elephants. The two are often conflated, with Williams himself displaying and reflecting the best qualities of the elephants. His future wife, Susan, immediately notes how much Williams admired particular traits of his elephants, which she, in turn, sees in him.