A Gorilla in the Guest-room Themes

In Gerald Durrell’s “A Gorilla in the Guest-room,” the elements of a comedy of manners are adapted into a context that juxtaposes N’Pongo’s animal behaviors with those expected from humans in social situations. While a traditional comedy of manners focuses on misunderstood or poorly chosen interactions between people, Durrell uses his unusual position as a human who adopts and works with animals to make a comedy out of the behavior of his gorillas…

Zookeeper Durrell’s primary motivation for acquiring N’Pongo is to do what he can to preserve gorillas as a species, as he believes the political situation in Africa in the late 1950s will mean they are shortly very endangered. When he adopts N’Pongo, he wants to keep him safe and protect him from exploitation. The story points to the importance of zoos as conservation centers and decries the cruelty with which animals are often treated…