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N’Pongo
Nandy is a young female gorilla who arrives at the Jersey Zoo under distressing circumstances. Her backstory, as Durrell explains to the reader, seems to include a traumatic capture. Durrell can tell this from a deep scar on her head, likely from a near-fatal injury with a hunter’s machete. She’s also frightened and suspicious around humans, not trusting their motives. The traumas that inform her behavior contrast sharply with N'Pongo's more outgoing nature and his comfort around humans. Nandy's acclimation to her new environment and to its humans is slower and more challenging than those of other animals Durrell has kept, due to her past. Her interactions are at first full of apprehension. She can’t make eye contact with anyone, indicating the lingering effects of her traumatic capture. Despite these difficulties, the care the zookeepers give her and the comfort she gains from N’Pongo’s companionship break through her pain. She becomes a happy, healthy animal. Nandy serves as a reminder for the reader of the consequences of taking animals from their natural habitats. Her gradual adjustment and growing happiness with N'Pongo also reflect the resilience and adaptability of apes, even in the face of past traumas.
Nandy Quotes in A Gorilla in the Guest-room
The A Gorilla in the Guest-room quotes below are all either spoken by Nandy or refer to Nandy . 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:
).
A Gorilla in the Guest-room
Quotes
Nandy’s eyes were large and lustrous, and when she looked sideways, she showed the whites of them; but they were frightened eyes [...]. They were the eyes of an animal that had had little experience of human beings, but even that limited experience had given her no reason to trust or respect them.
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She had such a woebegone, frightened face that one longed to be able to pick her up and comfort her, but she had been too deeply hurt, and this was the last thing she would have appreciated.
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They were working out their own protocol: [...] It had the childishness of a General Election but was three times as interesting. However, by that evening, Nandy had achieved what amounted to Votes for Female Gorillas, and both she and N’Pongo shared the wooden shelf.
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Although they were so different in character, they quite plainly adored one another. N’Pongo was the great giggling clown of the pair, while Nandy was much quieter, more introspective and watchful.
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Nandy Quotes in A Gorilla in the Guest-room
The A Gorilla in the Guest-room quotes below are all either spoken by Nandy or refer to Nandy . 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:
).
A Gorilla in the Guest-room
Quotes
Nandy’s eyes were large and lustrous, and when she looked sideways, she showed the whites of them; but they were frightened eyes [...]. They were the eyes of an animal that had had little experience of human beings, but even that limited experience had given her no reason to trust or respect them.
Related Characters:
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
She had such a woebegone, frightened face that one longed to be able to pick her up and comfort her, but she had been too deeply hurt, and this was the last thing she would have appreciated.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
They were working out their own protocol: [...] It had the childishness of a General Election but was three times as interesting. However, by that evening, Nandy had achieved what amounted to Votes for Female Gorillas, and both she and N’Pongo shared the wooden shelf.
Related Characters:
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Although they were so different in character, they quite plainly adored one another. N’Pongo was the great giggling clown of the pair, while Nandy was much quieter, more introspective and watchful.
Related Characters:
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