Water for Elephants Review

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• Water for Elephants Essay

  ...Novel Study Annotated Bibliography Gruen, Sara. Water for Elephants. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill: Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 2006. The story follows Jacob Jankowski who was an old man living in a nursing home, as he looks back about a time that defined his life. In the 1930’s, 23-year-old Jacob’s life changed drastically. One minute he was finishing his Veterinarian degree at Cornell and planning to follow his father in the family business. The next his parents passed away in a car wreck, turning his world upside down. Jacob walked out of his final exams and hopped town, climbing on the first train he could. He quickly found out that it was no ordinary train. It belonged to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth, a travelling circus. With no financial prospects and no place to go, Jacob landed a job as the show’s veterinarian. Travelling with the circus had its ups and downs. He had a place to stay, food to eat and animals to look after. But his sleeping quarters were with the horses and a cranky clown, and money was never guaranteed. Jacob’s superior, August, seemed like a nice guy. But his true colors came out when times got tough. And worst of all, Jacob fell in love with the beautiful performer Marlena, who just happened to be August’s wife. Number of Pages: 325 Setting and Time Era of Novel: Story takes place in a traveling circus and is in the 1930’s during the Great Depression. Character #1 Name:...

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• Essay on Water for Elephants

  ...The Choice to Live Life the Way it Should Be | | | October 26, 2012 | 4th | How do you feel about Jacob’s decision at the end of the novel? Give reasons/support for your answer from the text. | Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen is about an old man recounting his experiences in the circus. As an old man, Jacob Jankowski makes a decision to leave his nursing home and join the circus that has come to his town. After Jacob’s parents’ death during Jacob’s college exams, Jacob decides to leave college and hop on a train. He hops on a train that happens to be the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. He makes many friends in the circus and marries his love, Marlena. They start a family in the Ringling Brothers circus after the Benzini Brothers circus collapses. In the circus he gains family, friends, and tons of stories. When Jacob is in the Nursing home, his son, Simon, forgets to take Jacob to the circus. Jacob then decides to walk there himself from the nursing home. Jacob anticipates a joyful circus day and his forgetful son is not going to stop Jacob from enjoying that day. All Jacob wants to do is relive his adventurous past for a day, and when an opportunity to relive that adventure for the rest of his life is offered to him, Jacob takes it. The manager of the circus offers Jacob the opportunity to join the circus. Anyone would give up boring nursing home living for the circus. Jacob makes a good decision at the end of...

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• Water for Elephants Essay

  ...The triumph of love over death and destruction is at once an inspiring and timeless theme. This theme is thoroughly examined in both Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns and Sarah Gruen’s Water for Elephants. Despite their subtle differences in writing style, both novels have protagonists who undergo similar experiences and have similar settings. The authors of both novels succeed in telling a moving story through their different writing styles. The writing in Water for Elephants is replete with colloquial language. The workers at the circus use broken English and common slang. Camel, for example, pleads with Blackie to let go of Jacob by saying, “Blackie, I’m tellin’ ya! We don’t need no trouble. Let ‘im go!” This vernacular lends much credence to the setting and the characters. Although the story is written from the first person point of view, the author’s use of dialogue allows the reader a glimpse of other characters’ perspectives. The reader can, for example, understand and empathize with Walter’s character after hearing his story of how he was abandoned by his parents as a child. In A Thousand Splendid Suns, the author’s use of Farsi in his writing lends credibility to the setting, as Farsi is the spoken language of Afghanistan. Aziza calls Mariam khala, which means aunt in Farsi, and when talking about his father’s recovery, Tariq says, “ Yes, but he’s fine now, shookr e Khoda, thanks to God.(115)”...

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• Water for elephants Essay

  ...Water for Elephants. by Sara Gruen. "Life is the most Spectacular Show on Earth!"- Sara Gruen, Water for Elephants. "All I can do is put in time waiting for the inevitable. Observing the ghosts from my past, rattling around in my vacuous present. They crash and bang and make themselves at home, mostly because there's no competition. I've stopped fighting them." says Jacob Jankowski, who is now ninety (or ninety three). Mr. Jankowski reflects upon memories of himself as a young man, tossed by an unnerving past into the lively world of the circus. Without a home, friend to call, or penny to his name- the circus must be ideal for Jacob, but is it? Page by page, this new life proves to be both a sanctuary and a literal hell for Jacob. Revealing the horrors of the circus, the beauty of all things living, and the reality that life that never stops moving forward, Sara Gruen presents; Water for Elephants- a profound, brilliantly written novel that lives, teaches, and captivates far beyond the last page. "I had my whole life planned, I knew exactly where it was taking me.." said Jacob Jankowski- before fate threw him into a whole new world; a world filled with freaks and secrets, a world with it's own set of rules, and it's own way of life. A youthful Jacob proves to be intelligent and compassionate, as well as honest and independent. Studying at Cornell, Jacob appears to be on a road to...

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• Water for Elephants Essay

  ... Required Question for all Students I chose the book Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. I chose this book because I had watched the movie a long time ago and everyone says the book is always better than the movie. I knew I was going to like it because I love animals and I have always wanted to be a veterinarian just like Jacob in this book. I thought it was very inspiring how even after Jacob learns that his parents have been killed in the car crash and their home has been mortgaged to pay for his tuition and the house is not to become his home, he leaves his college right before he has nearly graduated. He jumps on a train, not knowing it is a circus train belonging to the Benzini Brothers. Jacob is nearly kicked off of the train but when the owner of the circus, Uncle Al finds out about Jacob’s training as a vet, he hires Jacob to take care of his circus animals. I believe it is was a miracle. Jacob is hardworking and does whatever he can to protect what and who he loves. Unlike some people Jacob was aware that August was a mean man that abuses the animals and the people around him, but comes off as a charming man, he felt he had to develop a guarded relationship to protect Rosie and Marlena. Jacob was an all around caring person, he helped people as much as possible like when he helped Camel who became paralyzed and the circus had no need for him anymore, Jacob knew August would kick him off the train so he took care of Camel until the...

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• Essay about Water

  ... Don't wallow, shoot into the shower A quick shower uses far less water than a long soak in the tub. Think twice before you have one! Save your washing up for one wash Instead of washing up as you go, save it up and do it in one go to minimise the amount of water you use. As one MoneySaver says, it's a great excuse to leave the washing up! Conserve water and 'mulch' your garden plants Mulching garden plants (covering with wood chippings or leaf mould) reduces the need for watering as they will retain moisture for longer. See the BBC's guide on how to mulch. Love the shade - keep plants out of the sun Moving pot plants and house plants out of the sun helps limit the amount of water they need once they've had their fair share of sunshine. Watering the plants? Don't forget your roots Use the simple trick of an upside-down water bottle with holes in it to get water direct to the roots of your plants - this should help save waste. Turn it off - don't run the tap When cleaning don't run the tap, instead use a wash bowl to rinse cloths. Clean the car smartly When you really get to the point you have to clean the car, use a bucket of hot soapy water and a watering can of clean water to rinse - no need to use a hose at all. Consider using waterless valeting products too. Don't bathe pets, keep Fido dry It can be bad for their skin and they may...

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• Water for Elephants vs the Help Research Paper

  ...Writing Assignment #1 The Help and Water for Elephants Translating a novel into a film is not as easy as one may have thought. Due to time constraints, characters and/or scenes may be eliminated and therefore may not have the same impact as a novel, but this is not always the case. The Help written by Kathryn Stockett and published in 2009. The film version was released on August 10, 2011 by DreamWorks and directed by Tate Taylor. The cast includes Emma Scott (Skeeter Phelan), Viola Davis (Aibileen Clark), Bryce Dallas Howard (Hilly Holbrook), and Octavia Spencer (Minny Jackson). The Help in both forms is riveting and heartbreaking, as well as a racial awakening for some. The novel, Water for Elephants, was written by Sara Gruen and published by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill on May 26, 2006. The film version was released on April 22, 2011 by 20th Century Fox and directed by Frances Lawrence. The cast includes Reese Witherspoon (Marlena), Robert Pattinson (Jacob Jankowski), Christoph Waltz (August), Paul Schneider (Charlie), Jim Norton (Camel), and Hal Holbrook (Old Jacob). Although Jacob’s and Marlena’s characters are similar from novel to film, there are extreme differences amongst them in which make it difficult to love the film as much as the novel. Minny Jackson, in both the novel and film version of The Help, is portrayed as a strong, opinionated, independent black woman. Throughout the novel,...

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• Essay on Water for Elephants

  ...remain the same man. When he is a couple days short of gaining his degree in veterinary science from Cornell University, Jacob learns that his mother and father have been killed in a car accident. With this stroke of bad luck, Jacob's planned future is suddenly snatched away. As he stumbles through the next weeks in a daze, numbed not only by the cold winter but also by no longer having any family or home, he sees a train pass by in the night. On a sudden impulse, Jacob jumps aboard. The train is moving toward some unknown destination, and Jacob needs a change. He soon to discovers that he has climbed aboard a circus train where he will fall in love, both with circus animals and with a strong woman. Set during the Great Depression, Water for Elephants, through the eyes of two versions of Jacob Jankowski—one in his nineties and another in his twenties, tells the story of a young man who leaves his life as a Cornell University veterinary student after losing both his parents in a car accident, and jumps onto a train that happens to house the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. After a short confrontation with Blackie, a bouncer that stops stowaways, and Camel, a limp old worker, promising him a job and an audience with Uncle Al, the Ringmaster, Jacob decides to stay aboard the train. Since he has not a home to call his own anymore, he decides to remain with the circus. Jacob is employed as the show’s veterinarian and faces a number...

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