Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen The title is significant to this novel because it refers to an incident that influenced the main character‚ Jacob‚ to share his story. In the story‚ the circus is in town and an elderly Jacob is parked in his wheelchair at a dining table with Joseph McGuinty and a few women. The women are reminiscing about the circus and sharing stories when suddenly McGuinty claims that he used to carry water for the elephants. Jacob‚ being a retired circus veterinarian‚ knows
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Pragmatic Literary Criticism Pragmatic criticism is concerned‚ first and foremost‚ with the ethical impact any literary text has upon an audience. Regardless of art ’s other merits or failings‚ the primary responsibility or function of art is social in nature. Assessing‚ fulfilling‚ and shaping the needs‚ wants‚ and desires of an audience should be the first task of an artist. Art does not exist in isolation; it is a potent tool for individual as well as communal change. Though pragmatic
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October 7‚ 2011 Water for Elephants Approach Paper I. Summary Paragraph: Sarah Gruen’s Water for Elephants is an account of ninety-something year old Jacob Jankowski’s life‚ both in the present day‚ where he resides in a nursing home‚ unhappy with his living conditions and the old age that has robbed him of his freedom‚ and through flashbacks of when he was young‚ traveling with the circus. Just a few days away from getting his veterinary degree from Cornell University‚ Jacob’s mother and
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Water for elephants irp The story water for elephants is told from a series of memories of Jacob Jankowski as a 93 year old man that is in a nursing home. in 1931 a woman named Catherine hale is taunting him Jacob thinks to himself how he’s still a virgin even though he is about to graduate and he is ashamed of it.The class got interrupted by the school dean who pulls jacob out of the class with something eagerly important to tell him. The dean tells him that both his parents have died and just like
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Water for Elephants Every book has the same basic hero archetype; a protagonist that faces a problem and rises up to save the day. My book was water for elephants and the protagonist was Jacob. He is the main character of the book. He is seen through two different perspectives. He is seen as the ninety something year old in a retirement home and as a 23 year old that makes a life changing decision. The journey starts when Jacob is days away from getting his degree in veterinary science from
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In Perry Westbrook’s literary criticism on Kurt Vonnegut‚ Westbrook states that Vonnegut emerged as one of the most influential and provocative writers in America during the 1960s. He supports this point by using examples of stories written by Vonnegut and giving a summary of each story he provides. Westbrook also talks about recurring ideas and themes in Vonnegut’s stories and Vonnegut’s ideals. The first point he brings up is how Vonnegut describes himself as a total pessimist and his stories
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identity. In particular‚ the allusions to Gogol‚ along with the motif of naming and Lahiri’s own unique literary style‚ seem to suggest that some of the characters’ unnecessary unhappiness arises from the tendency to identify oneself with the aspects of selfhood that William James called the material self‚ one’s surroundings‚ clothing‚
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Evan Dauphinais Mrs. Burns Contemporary Literature ACP 29 September 2012 Jacob and His Decisions: An Analysis of Water for Elephants using Moral Criticism When writers focus on morality‚ they try to write with a sense of moral so they do not corrupt the audience of the book. The main focus is to keep corruption away from society. In the novel‚ Water for Elephants written by Sara Gruen‚ the protagonist‚ Jacob Jankowski‚ makes many moral judgments and faces multiple moral dilemmas that force him
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In The Chosen‚ Potok describes the Jewish culture during the period of World War I. Beginning with the affluence of Polish Jews before the war‚ Potok established a circle of relationships. In the book‚ there are three main relationships. The first one is father-son‚ between Danny and his father‚ Reb Saunders and between Reuven and his father‚ David Malter. The relationship between Reuven and Danny is the second main relationship in The Chosen. The third main relationship is Hasidism verses Zionism
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Narrative “New Literary” Criticism A good novel is hard to put down. The story in the novel is perfect with a great plot‚ convincing characters‚ and a suspenseful build up to the climax. You have been drawn into the story and it is almost like you are there‚ living along side the characters. You understand their background‚ their trials‚ and their joys. The story brings to life something from long ago that may or may not be fictional. It is hard to tell without doing further research
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