Summary response essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Summary response - Essay Example The Fourth Trust is a memoir of Dr. Jane Goodall that elaborates how her childhood experience in caring for all sorts of animals taught her important values in life such as respect and care for nature. The basic tenet of Dr. Goodall’s philosophy comes from this statement â€Å"Children’ relationship to animals then can be a means of teaching compassion and kindness† ( Jane Goodall and Mark Bekoff, The Fourth Trust,p.69). Even as a young child, Dr. Goodall learned about compassion by actively engaging with her natural surroundings. Living in apartment never stifled her interests for creatures as she kept a dog in their apartment. As soon as their family moved to a house with a backyard, she pursued her dream of caring for whatever animal needed her attention. Even her little misdemeanor that called the police into her house was the result of her curiosity about where eggs really come from. The Fourth Trust tells us that children who were exposed to animals â€Å"tend to be kind to animals as adults and to be loving and compassionate individuals â€Å"(Goodall and Bekoff, p.68). A concrete example of this was the case of the orphan named Peter. The child’s first experience with the white rabbit taught him a different perspective in life. He suddenly became concerned about the rabbit by asking if it was hurt when he stroked it. If all children coming from disadvantaged families have the chance to interact with creatures in a loving manner, perhaps, they can become more kind to other humans as well. An animal is a creature not capable of fighting back to a human being unless it is a wild animal of course. People learn tolerance and respect when they do not abuse their power and pick on weaker beings. Because of this situation, Dr. Goodall made it her life’s mission to spread to the world her philosophy. The dream became true when teen-agers in her community expressed their