Final Thoughts (Chapters 14-25)

When reading through the last half of the book I really began to answer my own questions about the authors intended main theme of love. During chapter fifteen is when I started to realize that the Benzini Brothers circus was going to fall apart and important events were going to occur. The death of Lucinda brought sadness and memories to the whole circus crew. Lucinda was who was one of the sideshow performers in the circus and was well liked by all, with this event I believe that my opinion on the  theme really supports the theme of love. "And we will do her proud --oh yes, such was our singular love for Lucinda that despite the grief that consumes us, tugging on our breaking hearts, we will summon the strength to honor her final wish and do her proud".(Gruen 200). In chapter 15, August and Marlena leave eachother because of how August loses his mind and physically abuses his wife for no reason at all. This buys time for Jacob to express his secret love for Marlena without August knowing that his wife doesn't want anything to do with him and wants to be with Jacob instead of him. A few chapters after Marlena leaves August a very important event happens when Greg one of the working men along side Jacob start to communicate with Rose the elephant which allows him to train her for the show. This got me thinking that becuase of Rosie finally being able to take part in the show and attract many more guest, that the circus would possibley be successfull once again. But in the next chapter I find out that Marlena and August are still in a dispute and Marlena who has one of the main acts in the circus descides that she is no longer going to perform in the presence of her husband. The Benzini Brothers circus then gets ran out out of each city they enter for their show. This gets me thinking that their has to be something very important that is going to happen in the next few chapters. Later on Marlena confronts Jacob that she is pregnant and they are having a baby. Due to the way the plot of the book has with Marlena and Jacob I was wondering how August would react to hearing the news about their soon to be child. During the finally chapters a huge riot breaks out with raging animals running everywhere around the open lot. August decides to tie Rose up to a stake so she couldn't get loose and go wild with the other animals. Rosie then decides to kill August with that same stake she was tied up with by slicing him right in half. Sara Gruen uses her emotions as an author through her passion for animals, which in this case she expresses her frustraion with one of the characters in her book which results in death. On another note it was like Rosie was a human in animal form which brought a great of happiness to the reader for doing what she did to August.  The Final chapter, consists of Jacob ecsaping the nursing home to go visit the circus that is in town so he could relive the memories of his past years. He needed to escape becuase of how one of Mr. Jankowski's sons forgot to come pick him up to go to the circus with others from the nursing home. This was a great way to end the novel becuase it help bring out the outgoing and determined personality of Jacob at an old age.