Sep 07, 2016 author, sara gruen is an excellent novelist. Veterinary school student jacob meets and falls in love with marlena, a star. When jacob jankowski arrived for the first time at the circus where he worked, he was in awe. I have to admit, when our book club picked this book, i thought it was going to be long and tedious. Although water for elephants is a novel, the description of the circus, the effect it has on each of the characters and even the details the author gives us on how it is built are essential, and cannot be ignored. Jacob jankowski jacob jankowski is the narrator of the novel, and senior in college whose ready to explore the world and find where he belongs. Love is a driving force in water for elephants, and its not limited to the love one human feels for another. First, young jacob is found on the campus of cornell university in ithaca, new york. It shouldnt be a surprise that in the prologue we cant tell whether jacob is talking about marlena or rosie when he uses the word she he loves them both and thinks of them both as individuals.
August feels the need to beat rosie to get her to walk on cue and august beats marlena so she does what he wants her to do. With lines of startling beauty, haunting and evocative scenes and finelydrawn characters who dance off the page, readers can dip in and out of the novel, immersing themselves in jacobs memories. Mar 26, 20 water for elephants the novel water for elephants is written by the bestselling author sarah gruen. Jacob jankowski, a retired veterinarian living out his days in an assistedliving facility, drifts in and out of his memories. Water for elephants every book has the same basic hero archetype. Mar 18, 2008 it came up as question 16 in the water for elephants reading group guide. The truth is, it is summer and i am desperate for a distraction away from my recent obsession with greys anatomy reruns fueled by netflixs instant queue. Character analysis of water for elephant 995 words 4 pages. Although water for elephants is a novel, the description of the circus, the effect it has on each of the characters and even the details the author gives us on how it. Well, the phrase reinforces jacobs association with circuses.
The following quote from jacob, taken from the book, describes, in detail, the marvelous scene. The novel, water for elephants, written by sara gruen and directed by francis lawrence, tells the story of a man named jacob jancowski, played by robert patterson, who starts off as a cornell university veterinary student and ends as a tired, old, former circus member. I read water for elephants a few years ago and from time to time, i reread my favorite novels. So i purchased the book and slowly began retreating. Winner of the 2007 bookbrowse diamond award for most popular book. His years were filled with schooling and court cases, compared to a lifetime of adventures with the circus lived by jacob. Water for elephants the novel water for elephants is written by the bestselling author sarah gruen. Aug 26, 20 water for elephants every book has the same basic hero archetype. Water for elephants is a historical novel by sara gruen, written as part of national novel writing month. So, i read the story of jacob, son of isaac who was the son of abraham, who almost sacrificed isaac. Water for elephants by sara gruen the new york times. I know i shouldnt do this, but somehow i cant help myself. Set in the 1930s, a former veterinary student takes a job in a travelling circus and falls in love with the ringmasters wife. Young jacob is able to do whatever his heart desires including, jumping on moving trains and fighting for the women he loves.
After his parents death, jacob jankowski is left penniless and homeless. The author, sara gruen allows readers to read the book from two perspectives, one from young jacob and the other from older presentday jacob. Water for elephantsanalysis posted on march 18, 2008 6 comments i read that the story of jacob is allegedly the backbone of water for elephants. The circus was the main setting of the book, water for elephants. This study guide consists of approximately 58 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of water for elephants. The title, water for elephants, is almost a little inside joke with the reader once weve finished the book, that is. This act itself proves how greedy and careless uncle al is because he is willing to. When jacob jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, drifters, and misfits, a secondrate circus struggling to.
Ana is the daughter of matthias, head scribe to herod antipas, tetrarch of galilee. Elephants follows the story of a jacob jankowski, a man in his 90s who lives in a nursing home. Put that triangle in an usual setting, and youve got yourself a story. Gruen, whose first novel was riding lessons, turns horses and other creatures into sympathetic characters. Water for elephants, an analysis case study template. I hate being so enamored with a book and then a crappy movie version comes along and tarnishes it. Water for elephants is a rich surprise, a delightful gem springing from a fascinating footnote to history that absolutely deserved to be mined. The circus travels around and eventually acquires an elephant. Analysis essay 9th novemember 2011 water for elephants in a recent interview for, robert pattinson, a household young actor, revealed that he was offered with various movie characters that he could choose from as his next role after starring in the twilight series. Water for elephants is a story about an elderly man, jacob, who recalls an adventure in his younger years. Water for elephants is a book that can be read and reread, recommended and handed off between friends.
Dive deep into sara gruens water for elephants with extended analysis. Water for elephants is the new york times bestselling debut novel by sara gruen. Such is the case with sara gruens water for elephants. But also, by carrying the theme of deceit, the title forces. The water for elephants community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. But its the setting and animal subplot that add flavor to this book. The relevance of this book, and the plot, isnt the story itself, but the setting and the psychological environment. An atmospheric, gritty, and compelling novel of starcrossed lovers, set in the circus. Events lead him to joining the circus as their vet, working under their unstable boss august whose violent tendencies give everyone reason to be. On the first night after his leaving cornell, for example, jacob as did his biblical namesake lies back on the bank, resting my. On our first date, my husband took me to see tod brownings freaks, a 1932 horror film with a distinctly diane arbus feel. Its one of the few books that everyone has come back to me saying, water for elephants was so good. The book, water for elephants, starts off in the present day, in a nursing home where the main character, jacob jankowski, lives.
Many years before, jacob is a student at cornell university, studying veterinarian medicine in order to join. His stay here is cut short by the death of his parents. While i enjoyed the movie with robert pattinson and reese witherspoon, the novel is far better. To begin with, water for elephants is a captivating bestseller due to the point of view used by the author which is first person. Water for elephants is the touching story of jacob jankowski, a ninetythreeyearold man, who is reminded of his colorful past when a circus sets up next door to his assistedliving center. Water for elephants study guide consists of approx. With the background of a lawyer, joseph is not one to turn down an argument. I decided to not watch the movie when i heard it was coming out simply because i didnt want to possibly ruin the experience id had with the book if the movie wasnt uptopar. A meticulously researched, fastpaced, engaging and ultimately very satisfying novel set mostly ina depression era travelling circus. Order our water for elephants study guide buy the water for. Gruen transports us into the world of a thirdrate traveling circus during the great depression. There are three main settings in water for elephants.
Therefore, greed, in a physical or mental manner, played an utmost superior role in the book water for elephants. Theme of greed in water for elephants 852 words bartleby. In some ways, elephants is a story thats been written many times over a love triangle in which the woman is torn between two men with starkly different backgrounds. Water for elephants by sara gruen is a must read a story about a 90yearold man remembering his days with a circus during the great depression. People also love animals, and animals love them back. Water for elephants sarah gruens water for elephants entices readers by portraying a more forgotten whimsical side to the depression sunk 1930s. Its from this nursing home that jacob tells his story, like he is looking back at all the adventures at the circus. Sara gruen has written an utterly transporting novel richly full of the stuff of life. The narrative technique of water of elephants is more complicated than it might seem. Only days before graduating from vet school in 1931, young jake learns his parents have died and left him penniless.
On the outside the circus looks like a fun, exciting, and beautiful life, but behind it is suffering and pain. Young jacob is able to do whatever his heart desires including, jumping on. An atmospheric, gritty, and compelling novel of starcrossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932, by the bestselling author of riding lessons. She demonstrates an exceptional aptitude for writing, and matthias, for a time, indulges her with reed pens, papyri, and other 16 c. This book, as the rest of her collection, was written in english, same. May 26, 2006 water for elephants is a historical novel by sara gruen, written as part of national novel writing month. Sara gruen has said that the backbone of her novel parallels the biblical story of jacob, in the book of genesis. This is where almost all of the action of the story took place. The circus, the great depression, a complex elephant, equally complex love, the mists and twists of memory articulated in the utterly winning voice of a very old man whos seen it all.
The last notes of water for elephants linger long after the book ends. Water for elephants is one of my most favorite books. The alternating glamour and squalor of the circus world gruen expertly conjures may truly be one of the greatest shows. Use these book club discussion questions on water for elephants to lead your book clubs conversation on the story. The book was published on may 26, 2006, under algonquin books, in the united states of america. She wrote the book as part of national novel writing month. These book club discussion questions reveal important details about water for elephants by sara gruen. The circus comes to town, and the mere mention of the word circus brings jacob back to his young in the 1930s. The setting of the story changes throughout the book. Aug 05, 2008 a meticulously researched, fastpaced, engaging and ultimately very satisfying novel set mostly ina depression era travelling circus. The fourth theme shown in the book, water for elephants is suffering.
Jacob, the books narrator and protagonist, worked as a vet and trainer of sorts at a circus. The water for elephants community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and. Winner of the 2007 bookbrowse award for most popular book. It has 335 pages, and is classified as historical romance and fiction. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. If the book wasnt a bestseller, it wouldnt have received awards. My book was water for elephants and the protagonist was jacob. Based on the acclaimed bestseller, water for elephants presents an unexpected romance in a uniquely compelling setting. When jacob overhears a man at the assistedliving center confess to having been a water boy for the elephants in a circus, jacob knows the man is lying because jacob himself once worked.
Jacob also runs into a couple other interesting characters, most importantly his roomie, walter. The grand rapids press you need this elephant in your life. Madeline arnold 2nd period ap english lang may 22, 2011 text analysis. An atmospheric, gritty, and compelling novel of starcrossed lovers, set in the circus world circa. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of water for elephants by sara gruen. Sara gruen, a writer from vancouver, canada, place where she presently lives. The denver post so compelling, so detailed and vivid, that i couldnt bear to be torn away from it for a single minute. Water for elephants, published in 2010, is a contemporary novel by sara gruen.
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