← Gone Away
Gecko
The short story, Svengali Comes Clean, that I wrote a few days ago, was a reflection on the manipulation people practice upon each other. It was also the occasion of my discovery of the character named Gecko. This was particularly interesting to me because I have been considering using the gecko in a story of my own; to find that the original Svengali tale included this Gecko fellow seemed a happy coincidence at first.
But that was before I read this description of the character: "Gecko ... [is] a young fiddler, small, swarthy, shabby, brown-eyed, and pock-marked; a nail-biter." I was horrified at this complete misrepresentation of the real gecko and this goes some way to explain my cruel treatment of the Gecko character in my short story; it annoyed me that he had been portrayed with so little regard for the creature that gave him his name.
For the gecko is the most attractive of all the lizard family. Any human character named after such an animal should have qualities to match. He would be quick in movement and intelligence, slightly mischievous, independent, elegant yet not ostentatious in looks; almost the opposite of Svengali's Gecko, in fact.
Lizards are very common in Africa and are generally disregarded by humans there, with the single exception of the gecko. In my 27 years on that continent, I never met anyone who was not delighted to see a gecko. Without exception, to see one was an occasion to say, "Oh, look! A gecko!" And this was invariably answered with, "Oh, yes, isn't he pretty?"
To some extent, this is the result of it being fairly rare to see a gecko. They are masters of camouflage and will remain quite still when a human approaches, unlike other lizards that scamper for cover at the intrusion of anything larger than themselves. Invariably, the gecko is only noticed when he has decided to walk up a white wall where his camouflage becomes useless.
I say "walk up" a wall, rather than "climb", because this is the most obvious ability of the gecko that sets it apart from other lizards. The gecko's fingers and toes end in little round suckers that enable it to cling to any surface, no matter how smooth. Well, they are not really suckers but I don't want to get into long scientific descriptions of how they actually work; the effect is the same as if they were.
This loss of camouflage does not affect the gecko's natural instinct to stay still if approached, however. He will watch a human approach and only run when it is quite obvious that he is in danger of being caught. This gives one the impression that he is fearless and impudent, traits that few humans can despise.
The gecko's large eyes make it easy to see that he is watching you, too. I have noticed that an ability to interact through the eyes has a great effect on how other creatures are regarded by humans. Amongst the insects, the one that stands out is the praying mantis, a savage and pitiless creature to earn our affection. But his eyes are unlike all other insect eyes - they are globes with a pupil that allows us to see that he is looking at us. And that means that we can interact with a mantis, even if on a very primitive level.
With a gecko the interaction is much more complex; the intelligence in those big eyes is quite apparent. He might just be calculating how much closer he can let you approach before he makes his escape, but it is easy to misinterpret this as a cool assessment of yourself as a person.
These large eyes are also one reason we see the gecko as attractive in looks. Any animal with large eyes has a head start with us. Ever seen a bush baby? It has huge eyes (because it is nocturnal) but endears itself to everyone immediately, purely because it looks so cute.
But the gecko has yet another advantage over other lizards - its skin is dry and textured, so different from the shiny or scaly skin of other reptiles. Very often lizards and snakes are accused of being "slimy", thanks to their smooth outer covering; not so with the gecko.
With all these qualities, it is almost inevitable that the gecko should be so favorably regarded by humans. And any character in fiction honored with the name should have similar attributes. At least, that is the way it seems to me.
I went hunting on the net for a picture to illustrate how endearing the gecko can be. The best I have found is not typical in that the pads on his toes are not obvious, but it is one of the smaller geckos and this increases his cuteness. Yes, that is a human finger he's clinging to...
But that was before I read this description of the character: "Gecko ... [is] a young fiddler, small, swarthy, shabby, brown-eyed, and pock-marked; a nail-biter." I was horrified at this complete misrepresentation of the real gecko and this goes some way to explain my cruel treatment of the Gecko character in my short story; it annoyed me that he had been portrayed with so little regard for the creature that gave him his name.
For the gecko is the most attractive of all the lizard family. Any human character named after such an animal should have qualities to match. He would be quick in movement and intelligence, slightly mischievous, independent, elegant yet not ostentatious in looks; almost the opposite of Svengali's Gecko, in fact.
Lizards are very common in Africa and are generally disregarded by humans there, with the single exception of the gecko. In my 27 years on that continent, I never met anyone who was not delighted to see a gecko. Without exception, to see one was an occasion to say, "Oh, look! A gecko!" And this was invariably answered with, "Oh, yes, isn't he pretty?"
To some extent, this is the result of it being fairly rare to see a gecko. They are masters of camouflage and will remain quite still when a human approaches, unlike other lizards that scamper for cover at the intrusion of anything larger than themselves. Invariably, the gecko is only noticed when he has decided to walk up a white wall where his camouflage becomes useless.
I say "walk up" a wall, rather than "climb", because this is the most obvious ability of the gecko that sets it apart from other lizards. The gecko's fingers and toes end in little round suckers that enable it to cling to any surface, no matter how smooth. Well, they are not really suckers but I don't want to get into long scientific descriptions of how they actually work; the effect is the same as if they were.
This loss of camouflage does not affect the gecko's natural instinct to stay still if approached, however. He will watch a human approach and only run when it is quite obvious that he is in danger of being caught. This gives one the impression that he is fearless and impudent, traits that few humans can despise.
The gecko's large eyes make it easy to see that he is watching you, too. I have noticed that an ability to interact through the eyes has a great effect on how other creatures are regarded by humans. Amongst the insects, the one that stands out is the praying mantis, a savage and pitiless creature to earn our affection. But his eyes are unlike all other insect eyes - they are globes with a pupil that allows us to see that he is looking at us. And that means that we can interact with a mantis, even if on a very primitive level.
With a gecko the interaction is much more complex; the intelligence in those big eyes is quite apparent. He might just be calculating how much closer he can let you approach before he makes his escape, but it is easy to misinterpret this as a cool assessment of yourself as a person.
These large eyes are also one reason we see the gecko as attractive in looks. Any animal with large eyes has a head start with us. Ever seen a bush baby? It has huge eyes (because it is nocturnal) but endears itself to everyone immediately, purely because it looks so cute.
But the gecko has yet another advantage over other lizards - its skin is dry and textured, so different from the shiny or scaly skin of other reptiles. Very often lizards and snakes are accused of being "slimy", thanks to their smooth outer covering; not so with the gecko.
With all these qualities, it is almost inevitable that the gecko should be so favorably regarded by humans. And any character in fiction honored with the name should have similar attributes. At least, that is the way it seems to me.
I went hunting on the net for a picture to illustrate how endearing the gecko can be. The best I have found is not typical in that the pads on his toes are not obvious, but it is one of the smaller geckos and this increases his cuteness. Yes, that is a human finger he's clinging to...