Chapters 8 -13

Marlena with Rosie the circus elephant

Throughout these six chapters Mr. Jankowski experiences different conflicts during his job working for the circus. Jacob also finally expresses his feelings towards Marlena who is another fellow employee at Benazini Bros Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Jacob is secretly in love with Marlena who is married to August who is one of the main organizers of the show. I am wondering how when August finds out about Jacob and his love for his wife if he might fire Jacob from the circus or discipline him in some way because he will be terribly disappointed. "I hate him. I hate him for being so brutal. I hate that I'm beholden to him. I hate that I'm in love with his wife and something so damned close to that with the elephant. Sara Gruen finally comes through and backs up the title by uniting the circus with its first elephant. At first the crew was very unhappy with their purchase of "Rosie" because she was old and sluggish and was not very entertaining to their guests. During this time in the novel the new elephant was nothing but trouble and was despised by August who didn't like the idea of an elephant involved in his circus. I am also very interested and curious if the circus will inherit anymore elephants for their show. Chapter thirteen consists of Jacob returning to the circus for a visit he points out all of the changes from the days when he was working there. This gets me thinking if Mr. Jankowski will start an argument with other residence of the nursing home just like during at the beginning of the book.

Love The Main Theme?

Chapters 6 and 7 of Water for Elephants is a very passionate and emotional time during the book where Sara Gruen finally shows her love and respect for animals. Chapter 6 starts out with one of the show horses "Silver Star" has been injured and is suffering from a serious amount of pain. Jacob being partial veterinarian looks over the horse and knows right away what exactly wrong and confronts Marlena the horse owner. Sara Gruen expresses her love for animals my creating a character that enjoys working with animals in her novel. The horse is then removed from the show to rest and try to overcome the life threatening injury. Jacob is then soon hired as the circus' vet instead of being somebody who is ordered around each time they enter a new city for their show. Sara Gruen incorporates that dedication is key to be noticed by others to succeed in a workplace environment. Chapter 7 brings the drama and curiousness into the novel by continuing the theme of love in the story. Jacob leaves Marlena worrying about Silver Star even though he has a clear understanding what most likely will happen to him. As time passes the horse begins to get worse and various decisions have to be made on whether it is worth the pain and suffering of Silver Star. Jacob then makes the decision to put the favourite show horse down and stop the pain of his injury. Sara Gruen chooses to constantly shows her personal feelings on animals through the characters of Marlena and Jacob. Gruen's theme of love in my opinion is the most influential and important theme in the novel. Up to this point in the book she is always providing her beliefs and opinions directly through the characters which makes the novel very personal and inspiring to read.

Third Critical Article Summary

Marilla Mulwane

The third critical article published by Marilla Mulwane breaks down the basic outline of the book Water for Elephants. Marilla Mulwane from her article proves she is a huge supporter of Sara Gruen and her style of writing. In the authors eyes you can perfectly picture the events settings throughout the book because of the great amount of mental details provided. Sara Gruen doesn't under estimate the life during the great depression because she is constantly telling the story in a physical manner. Sara Gruen brings the characters to life and makes them believable and very real. Marilla also explains how Water for Elephants is a book about love, not just between male and female but also love for animals and the love they show in return. The author also touches on the fact that the novel was very dark with a source of light at the end of the tunnel. Even though most of the book takes place in a harsh and brutal environment, love is the forever the answer to a happy conclusion of the novel. Overall the article by Marilla Mulwane is a positive review of Sara Gruen as an author because of of the themes and interests she incorporates into her novels.