Examine how the novel portrays the complex landscape of post-colonial Kenya. How do characters like Gichinga Kimathi, Russell Hathaway, and Kamau Matiba represent different responses to the power vacuum and shifting social hierarchies of the newly independent nation?

Discuss the novel’s use of anthropomorphism. How does Lasker balance the scientific grounding of elephant ethology with more speculative, almost mystical, moments of interspecies connection, such as Ishi sensing Jean Hathaway’s death from thousands of miles away?

Contrast the novel’s two primary representations of the elephant body: as a source of commodified ivory for poachers and as sacred bones to be honored by other elephants.

Analyze the significance of the subplots involving Amanda and Terence Hathaway’s experiences in European boarding schools. How do these experiences contribute to the novel’s exploration of power, identity, belonging, and social conflict?

Analyze Russell’s transition from professional hunter to anti-poaching vigilante. To what extent does his character reflect broader tensions within colonial-era conservation efforts and human relationships with the African landscape?

Analyze the motif of the journey in the novel. How is Ishi’s physical movement repeatedly controlled or co-opted by human agendas, from his forced relocation to a zoo to his televised trek home? What significance does his final, instinct-driven pilgrimage hold within the novel?

Discuss the significance of the novel’s Epilogue, which reveals Amanda as the in-universe author of a book titled The Memory of an Elephant. How does this meta-narrative framing affect the reader’s interpretation of the story, particularly in relation to themes of memory, testimony, and cross-species empathy?

The novel juxtaposes Gichinga’s illicit ivory poaching with the legally sanctioned animal testing conducted by a cosmetics company in New York. Compare these two forms of exploitation. What broader commentary does the novel offer through this comparison?