"And Tango Makes Three"

Josef Reuther

811

  The story "And Tango Makes Three" by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson talks about a pair of penguins in the Central Park Zoo and how their sexualities are different from the other penguins. It mirrors the gay rights struggle occurring currently in the United States. The story also portrays the idea of cooperation between two groups in this case homosexuals and non-homosexuals.

         One piece of evidence that corroborates this idea about the book is that unlike the other penguins in the Central Park Zoo who find mates of the opposite gender Roy and Silo find each other. Although they are both male penguins they act as if they were not and like all the other penguins they built a nest, however when the time came for the penguins to raise offspring Roy and Silo found themselves at a loss. Their zoo keeper who had been observing them noticed that they seemed to be "in love" and eventually brought them a penguin egg. The other penguins also didn't treat Roy and Silo differently they accepted them for who they were. Roy and Silo treated the egg as their own and ultimately raised a penguin chick called Tango. 

         Another aspect of the story is that despite the fact that Roy and Silo are different from the other penguins they are treated as equals and respected just as the other penguins are by both the zoo keeper and the other penguins. I think that the book is showing that instead of treating homosexuals differently and depriving them of certain rights they should be treated as equals to non-homosexuals. The zoo keeper treated Roy and Silo as equals to the other penguins and even went out of his way to get them an egg to make them feel like equals to the other penguins. Homosexuality is believed to be wrong by some people and that it can be fixed by religion others even believe that homosexuality is a sickness that can be cured by certain healing options. This book gives you an example that homosexuality occurs in nature and that it can't simply be cured by religion.

         The story "And Tango Makes Three” deals with two different groups specifically homosexuals and non-homosexuals.  I think that Roy and Silo's story should influence others to treat gays like anybody else and not deprive them of certain rights like marriage especially in such a diverse city as New York. As can be seen homosexuality is not simply a illness of sorts that can be cured it occurs all throughout nature, and I strongly believe that Gays in our modern society should be treated as equals.