The Guest Room Symbol Analysis

The guest room in Durrell’s house represents the blurring of boundaries between nature and civilization, and between captivity and freedom. N’Pongo the gorilla may be an adorable baby, but he’s still a wild animal. When the Durrells invite him into their home, they put him to sleep in the guest room, a space typically reserved for human visitors. The humans are worried about him destroying the house, but his behavior is surprisingly good. He hardly does any damage to the guest room at all, aside from smearing some berries on a wall and distributing some straw around. Jacquie and Durrell’s mother want to keep N’Pongo in the guest room after they’ve fallen in love with his charms. However, Durrell knows that if N’Pongo is going to have anything resembling a normal life, he has to become habituated to his cage. He’s a fine “guest” for now, but would seriously hurt his hosts if he tried to hug them as an adult gorilla of 400 pounds. The cage they transfer him to is materially more comfortable for the ape than the room, but N’Pongo’s living situation challenges the reader to reevaluate the line between human and gorilla. Humans and gorillas are alike enough that they can cohabitate in Durrell’s own natural habitat, but the power balance between keeper and zoo animal also has to be enforced.