Q a character from the short stories The Dinosaur by Italo Calvino has trouble figuring out if being different from others is a advantage or just make him a threat.
At the beginning of the stories Q starts of by explaining he is the only living dinosaur, and how it is dangerous. So Q is the only one of his kind and everywhere he encounters a living being he is frightened. He will always run of and be chase by the living beings, “For millennia I had been used to striking terror all around me, and to feeling terror of others reaction to the terror I aroused,”(98)This shows how Q views himself as a target because he is now different. In addition, this has not only happened a couple time because as he said for millennia he feels terror of others. Back to were he views himself as a target, it is true because he is big and the only one of his type everyone around him may see him as a threat. If he is seen as a threat to others, than the living beings would want to do is eliminate him. They are scared of him so they will gang up on hi,, and since he is the only one of his kind he is basically all alone. So the fact that he is the only one of his kind a dinosaur Q feels like he is a target everywhere he goes.
Through out the middle of the story Q now starts to realize how being a dinosaur may actually be a benefit. Since he is big and stronger than others he could do things that others cannot. Now others living beings start asking him for help since he is stronger and capable of doing things they cannot, “This is it,’ I thought, all I can do is sell myself dearly,’ And I prepare to leap into my defense. Luckily, I stopped myself in time. Those fisherman had nothing against me; seeing how strong was, they asked me if I could stay with them and work transporting wood,”(99). So as you can see Q is now realizing that being a dinosaur would be an advantage. They are asking him for help since he is clearly bigger and stronger then them, now he is seeing the good in being a dinosaur. For example at the beginning of the quote he said all he can do is sell himself and leapt to his defense. He still thought that he was a target, but then later in the quote he learns how they just wanted his help because he was capable of doing the job they needed helped on. Later on the story Q is starting to be known as the ugly one. That’s how they refer to him, and some are even starting to notice how strong and big he is, “Zahn, we told you! The ugly one ha muscles. You don’t try tricks with him, not with old ugly one…Go on, you’re the stronger one!,”(1023). Now people are realizing how he the strongest and that he can be helpful to them. Now living beings are not messing with Q or chasing him, now they are not scared of him but are asking him for help. So as you can see now Q is realizing how being a dinosaur could be an advantage and be helpful not make him a target.
Now at the end of the story Q sees how being a dinosaur is a good thing. He finally sees how is an advantage, he now is basically proud of being the only one of his kind, “Our extinction had been a grandiose epilogue worthy of our pass,”(109). What this quote means is that dinosaurs died it was a big deal. That the fact that they died is big, they died with leaving a mark of them in this world. Also that dinosaurs were not the weakest animals but one of the strongest and that the fact that they died makes them even more important. So finally Q realizes how he is proud of who he is, that he might be different but that does not mean he is weaker or a target to everyone else.
