Water+For+Elephants,+Ali+M.

Journal Entry #1 Water For Elephants By Sara Gruen Page 1-90

The book is based on Jacob Jankowski, a training vet at Cornell. One day his parents drastically die in a car accident. From there he is very confused with his life, ends up jumping on a train, which isn’t any normal train, and his adventure with the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth begins. The book is a little bit shuffled, as it switches from 90 something Jacob, to his 23 -year -old self through out the chapters. Reading up to Chapter 6, it’s more of an introduction to the characters, no real plot yet. I disliked the slow pass of the book and the unnecessary information that was presented. You never really knew Jacob’s feelings or emotions, more so he just went from one task to another at the Circus. A character I did like was Camel, who s eemed to take Jacob under his win g as a father figure and guide him, which I enjoyed to see since his parents are long gone. This book seems sad, but more twisted then anything. It’s starting to unravel the unknowns about this circus, but so far all you know is that there animals are smashed into the stock cars, and the performers get better treatment then the workers, nothing really too enticing. They do thefirst circus show, which to me is not exciting, but degrading to the people, that are “the freak shows”, the overweight women and the dwarf, and degrading to the animals, who are worked very intensely. media type="custom" key="9142082" width="170" height="170" align="right" It was hard to keep up with the massive amount of characters in the book that were introduced through the 6 chapters. Like I said before, Camel takes over the lead as Jacob’s guide once he enters the circus. Blackie gives him a hard time when he hops onto the train, beating him until he lets him stay on the freight car. Grady, is not really described in the book and is only in it for a short tid-bit. Alan Bunkel, or “Uncle Al” as they call him is the Ring Master, who doesn’t really give Camel the time of day when he asks if Jacob can be promoted to something other than, manure scooper. Cecil is the announcer, who uses trickery to entice the audience to pay money to see spectacles, that aren’t really spectacles just scams. After theshow, there is about 4-page scene about a stripper, which I found vulgar and very strange for a women writer to write about, but I guess she wanted to show a different side of the circus atmosphere. After that Camel recruits Earl, to literally throw Jacob into the stock car to confront Uncle Al about his status at the Circus. They discuss, and decide his is the Circus’ new “vet”. At the end of the chapter his is taken into a flat to sleep by August, which is kind of your introduction to him. Chapter 6 is a flash-forward to present were he wakes up in his Elderly Home, disliking being old and the disadvantages coming with it. He is still mad at Mr. Mguinty, for lying about carrying the water for the elephants, and slumps in his room. His doctor prescribes him depressants, which he doesn’t want to take, but ends up taking. Like I said it was more so an introduction to the characters and the plot is very bland at this point. I’m guessing the plot thickens as the story goes on, and unravels more of the circus, so it isn’t so bland. So far it is an okay read for me, not the best.

References:

-Kerosene Lantern -Moonshine Liquor -Racism in the 1930s -Cigarette smoking -Prejudice towards immigrants ---

Journal Entry #2 Water For Elephants By Sara Gruen Pages 90-184  The book started to pick up pace when the author revealed the purchase by Uncle Al (the “owner” of the circus) of Rosie the elephant in Joliet, where they also pick up more circus performers. What is also interesting is the chemistry between Marlena, August’s wife, and Jacob. The chemistry is inevitable and seems to be getting strong er though August at the time is oblivious to it. There is a very scandalous part in this section with Barbara, Nell, and Jacob. Barbara is very promiscuous, treating Jacob as her younger prey, Nell being similar to Barbara. Also in this section “bootleg liquor” is a big part of the circus atmosphere, as well as mistreatment of the animals. The animals many times only have food and water every other day, and cramped into small stalk cars. My opinion of the section was mixed. The love triangle with Marlena, August, and Jacob was interesting. I disliked the need for multiple sexual references that didn’t add to the book’s purpose. The one good thing about the sexual references is that it portrayed men’s views of women in the 1930’s, powerless, only needed for sexual favors or generic “housewife” duties. I enjoyed the trials and tribulations of the sick animals. I also liked the amount of detail the author put into describing the different landscapes they would travel to throughout Illinois. Overall it was a pretty good section.

References: -Bootlegged Liqour -Mistreament of animals -Animal rights <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 80%; line-height: 34px;">-Prohibition -Stock Market Crash of 1929 --  <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">media type="youtube" key="3SsSrf-jTJI" height="167" width="259" align="left" Journal Entry #3 Water For Elephants By Sara Gruen Pages 185-305 In this section, Jacob and the Circus head to Chicago. Kinko, the midget he bunks with, becomes nicer to Jacob and tells him his past and his real name, Walter. Throughout the section Jacob tends to the animals well, especially Rosie. You find out Jacob and Marlena are both Catholic, because they both go to a Catholic church to confess. August starts to become increasingly angry and annoyed that Rosie is becoming a large act in the show. Rosie becomes a very popular animal to the circus goers. There are many flash-forwards in this book where Jacob in the assisted living home, waiting to go watch the circus. These flash-forwards are in current day. Camel, who initially helped Jacob get a job at the circus, is feeling down. Walter (Kinko) tries to be helpful and finds Camel’s estranged son. Marlena reveals that she got married to August young because of his charm. She ends up crying, and starts to show that she isn’t happy in their marriage.

I thought this section was just okay. It was interesting about the animals, and the way they travel. It was also nice to see character development especially in Kinko (Walter) who warms up to Jacob. It was also enjoyable to unravel August’s temper and to see the breakdown of Marlena. Overall it had its good moments, but some places were left dull.

References: -Religions of the 1930s -Differences inbetween modern day circuses and 20th century circuses -Planned Marriages -The trainability of elephants -Custody cases --

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: right;">Journal Entry #4 <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: right;">Water for Elephants <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: right;">By Sara Gruen <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: right;">Pages 306-421

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; line-height: 200%;">In this section the tension between Jacob and August becomes thick. Marlena wants to be with Jacob, filling August with rage. There is a concern for everyone’s safety because August is unpredictable, but not in a good way. As for Rosie, the elephant, Jacob has trained her well and she has become center stage in the circus. It seemed like the circus was booming until the tension grew deep in-between all the people working it. Marlena and Jacob eventually escaped the circus together, Jacob finished school and they had a child. Uncle Al, the circus director, ended up dead, so the circus was left to be sold by its bits and pieces.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; line-height: 200%;">The climax of the book is the tension between August and Jacob in the fight to win Marlena’s affection. It is interesting to read, and see the mind-sets of different characters. This book is twisted, but some how has morals that relate to everyday life. Love, strife, struggle, are subjects that are still relevant today. This book starts of slow, but by the end you feel a sense of relief and joy that everything worked out all right. It’s a page-turner so, though it might seem long, you’ll be finished in no time.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; line-height: 200%;">Important topics you might want to research and their sources:

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; line-height: 200%;">Are circuses abusive to animals?: http://www.2facts.com/icof_story.aspx?PIN=ib302480&term=mistreatment+of+animals

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">The evolution of the American circus: http://www.circusinamerica.org/public/acts/public_show/22

The Great Depression: http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/topic/actionWin?limiter=&displayGroups=&query=&prodId=SUIC&userGroupName=&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=GALE%7C00000000MJ1W&scanId=&display-query=&mode=view

Women's rights (lack there of): http://www.loyno.edu/~history/journal/1988-9/moran.htm

The Prohibition: http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Reference&prodId=SUIC&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ2113101825&mode=view