Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Gerald Durrell's A Gorilla in the Guest-room. Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.
A Gorilla in the Guest-room: Introduction
A Gorilla in the Guest-room: Plot Summary
A Gorilla in the Guest-room: Detailed Summary & Analysis
A Gorilla in the Guest-room: Themes
A Gorilla in the Guest-room: Quotes
A Gorilla in the Guest-room: Characters
A Gorilla in the Guest-room: Symbols
A Gorilla in the Guest-room: Theme Wheel
Brief Biography of Gerald Durrell
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Historical Context of A Gorilla in the Guest-room
Other Books Related to A Gorilla in the Guest-room
- Full Title: A Gorilla in the Guest-room
- When Written: 1962
- Where Written: Jersey, Channel Islands
- When Published: 1964 in Menagerie Manor
- Literary Period: Postmodernism
- Genre: Short Story, Autofiction, Comedy
- Setting: Durrell’s zoo in Jersey, which is in the Channel Islands between England and France
- Climax: N’Pongo almost dies of his illness.
- Antagonist: The story has no traditional antagonist, though Durrell does struggle with anger at poachers who treat animals cruelly.
- Point of View: First Person
Extra Credit for A Gorilla in the Guest-room
Prolific Output. Over the course of a long and prolific life, Durrell wrote 41 books in total. All of these in some way were related to the topics of animal conservation and welfare. His wife, Jacqui, also published two books in the same field, and the Durrells were able to fund the Jersey zoo primarily through money they earned as writers.
Colonial Legacy. Gerald Durrell's father, Lawrence Samuel Durrell, played a significant role in British colonial India as an engineer and railway builder. After a very fast rise through the ranks, he became responsible for overseeing the construction and maintenance of the railways. These were a vital component of the British colonizers enforcing administrative control and economic exploitation on the people of India.