This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of water for elephants by sara gruen. Water for elephants is the touching story of jacob jankowski, a ninetythreeyearold man, who is reminded. It stars reese witherspoon, robert pattinson, and christoph waltz. The film was released in the united states on april 22, 2011. Water for elephants by sara gruen at the best online ebook storage. She wrote the book as part of national novel writing month.
Overall, water for elephants was a book that grabbed me from the. Sara gruen spares no detail in chronicling the squalid, filthy, brutish circumstances in which he finds himself. The circus train only had a limited amount of water on board, and elephants can drink 100300 litres per day approximately 2680 gallons. There, he works as the shows vet, and falls ever more in love with marlena, the star of the circus and beautiful wife of the temperamental ringmaster august. We use cookies and other technologies to analyze site traffic, understand patterns of use, and improve your browsing experience. Many years before, jacob is a student at cornell university, studying veterinarian medicine in order to join. The climax of the the book, water for elephants, is when several survivors who were redlighted return to the circus during one of the shows.
Water for elephants is a 2011 american romantic drama film directed by francis lawrence and written by richard lagravenese, based on sara gruens 2006 novel of the same name. The prologue features a younger version of jacob, who works at a circus and. Jacob jankowski, a retired veterinarian living out his days in an assistedliving facility, drifts in and out of his memories. It looks like we dont have a synopsis for this title. Just click the edit page button at the bottom of the page or learn more in the plot summary submission guide. In one plot, jacob is a young guy just starting out in the world. Ted lewins sensitive water colors express all of the emotion and pathos of this. He jumps aboard a passing train and discovers he has landed on the train of a travelling circus. Sara gruen has a voice to rival john irvings, and i am hopelessly, unabashedly in love with this book. 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. Water for elephants questions and answers discover the community of teachers, mentors and students just like you that can answer any question you might have on water for elephants. Synopsis when jacob jankowski, parents dead and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, drifters, and misfits, a secondrate circus struggling to survive during the great depression, making onenight stands in town after endless town. Jacob, the books narrator and protagonist, worked as a vet and trainer of sorts at a circus. Every few chapters, the narrative switches from one jacob to the other.
Novelist gruen unearths a lost world with her rich and surprising portrayal of life in a traveling circus in the 30s. Joshilyn jackson, author of gods in alabama so much more than a tale about a circus, water for elephants is a compelling journey not only. I was astounded at the lack of research which became clear when i. September 21, 2012 welcome to the water for elephants film blog. They create a plan to completely ruin the circus for good. Water for elephants book club discussion questions and.
On our first date, my husband took me to see tod brownings freaks, a 1932 horror film with a distinctly diane arbus feel. Writing in a different gender role can be challenging, however, i did not find the male perspective in this novel. 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. These book discussion questions are highly detailed and will ruin plot points if you have not read the book. The francis lawrence constantine, i am legend adaptation of sara gruens novel.
Neither the narrator, nor any of the other characters in water for elephants, for that matter, even remotely sound like they live in the 1930s, nor does the old man sound like an old man in the presentday chapters in fact, he sounds exactly like he did as a 22year old in the 1930s chapters. Water for elephants is a historical novel by sara gruen, written as part of national novel writing month. The man agrees, saying that jacob will go down in the records book as the oldest man to run away with the circus. 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. Based on the book by sara gruen, water for elephants is the story of jacob jankowski who as an old man is recounting the tale of when he first.
Water for elephants a depressionera circus provides the backdrop for sara gruens latest novel, water for elephants. He starts narrating the story, but suddenly you realize you are reading young jacob while being at the circus. Water for elephants is the story of jacobs life with this circus. Its the story of jacob, who runs away to the circus during the depression when his life falls apart around him. The book the novel may have been initially kicked out in about a month, but sara gruens water for elephants bears all the hallmarks of a wellresearched work of historical fiction. But be warned, this isnt the order of events in the book. First let me say this is one of my all time favorite books i would really suggest you reading it if you havent already.
We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own. Water for elephants the film a unique blog dedicated. The animals are mangy, underfed or fed rotten food, and abused. Beginning at the bottom left of the page, students will number each major event in the literary work and write a short description of the event. Kelly, jennifer, sabrina and lizzy overall, i quite enjoyed water for elephants and would recommend it to others. Sara gruens very readable novel is a story of impossible love set in the circus world during the 1930s and is set to be made into a blockbuster film starring robert pattinson and reese witherspoon. The title, water for elephants, is almost a little inside joke with the reader once weve finished the book, that is. Set during the great depression, water for elephants 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.
Water for elephants is an enchanting pageturner, the kind of book that creates a world that engulfs you from the first page to the last. Water for elephants is the new york times bestselling debut novel by sara gruen. Differences between water for elephants book vs movie page 1. Trust us, water for elephants is going to be one of the surprise hits of 2011. Sara gruens arresting new novel, water for elephants, explores similar subject matter the pathetic grandeur of the depressionera circus. While reading water for elephants i found the plot hyperbolic and excessively melodramatic and the characters little developed beyond their names. Sara gruen has written an utterly transporting novel richly full of the stuff of life. Jacob laughs and says, im not running away, im coming home. I bought this book because of push advertising and regretted it. Use these book club discussion questions on water for elephants to lead your book clubs conversation on the story. He is portrayed as a bit of a rebel, arguing with other residents, complaining about the food. Like the notebook, but with an elephant, the unexpectedly good film version of water for elephants elevates pure corn to a completely satisfying realm of romantic melodrama. Water for elephants summary these notes were contributed by members of the gradesaver community.
A national bestseller in canada and a new york times bestseller in the united states, this is a book destined to become a beloved fiction classic. The story is told as a series of memories by jacob jankowski, a 93yearold man who lives in a nursing home. To ask other readers questions about water for elephants, please sign up. In the beginning of the novel, jacob mocks another resident of the nursing home who claims to have worked in the circus and carried water for the elephants. Written by claire cornwall and other people who wish to remain anonymous. Only days before graduating from vet school in 1931, young jake learns his parents have died and left him penniless. Download and read online for free water for elephants by sara gruen. Gruen transports us into the world of a thirdrate traveling circus during the great depression. I dove headlong into blogging about this film in progress with a fools passion. The last notes of water for elephants linger long after the book ends.
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. Novelist sara gruen sweeps her readers off their feet in the opening pages of water for elephantsand doesnt let go until she deposits them at the end of her fantastic tale of passion, madness and fancy. Jacob also denies this because of his knowledge about elephants, especially after working with rosie, an. Jankovski jankowski jackowitz janson previous question next question. It looks like we dont have any plot summaries for this title yet. The band starts playing very fast and the redlighters set all the circus animals loose. Beautifully written, water for elephants is illuminated by a wonderful sense of time and place. Water for elephants, 2007, sara gruen water for elephants is a historical novel by sara gruen, written as part of national novel writing month. He is particularly angry with one old man who says he once got the water for elephants in the circus.
The synopsis below may give away important plot points. Water for elephants is a story about an elderly man, jacob, who recalls an adventure in his younger years. I began this blog in march 2010 when i learned that one of my favorite books, water for elephants, had been optioned for a film. Water for elephants has two plots going on, both starring the same main character, jacob. This worksheet has a staircase pattern that moves from the bottom left to the upper right of the paper. Gruen skillfully humanizes the midgets, drunks, rubes and freaks who populate her book. The reason jacob is denying that joseph had carried water for any elephants is because it is nearly an impossible task with the amount of water that elephants can drink. Read water for elephants absolutely for free at readanybook. How do the chapters about the older jacob enrich the story about jacobs adventure with the circus.
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