How did uncle al die in water for elephants book

Take our free water for elephants quiz below, with 25 multiple choice questions that help you test your knowledge. He swapped out her water for formaldehyde and kept on showing her. I usually know what the crisis of the book is going to be, though i. The story in this novel is told as a series of memories by a ninetythree year old man. When the circuss owner, uncle al, learns jakes educational background.

My husband was not you all he just kept saying its just a book which made me more upset about the book. For interested readers rooting for a satisfying ending, water for elephants succeeds. August rushes off to argue with uncle al about the elephant. Water for elephants is a book that can be read and reread, recommended and handed. Water for elephants, a book by sara gruen, was also adapted into a film starring robert pattinson as jacob, reese witherspoon as marlena, and christoph waltz as marlenas husband, august, the animal trainer. Out of desperation and grief over his loss he jumps onto a.

Since i missed the water for elephants discussion, i had my husband read it with me. In fact, we see walter at his worst when queenie gets lost right before the circus train pulls away from a town. Jake does not comply, and one fatality leads to another until the final blowup. This is the discussion thread for water for elephants. And you want to know what uncle al did when the hippo died. Water for elephants, published in 2007, is sara gruens third novel. Water for elephants is so much more than some damsel in distress love story, and her dark, creepy circus guy husband. Marlena as said in the prologue or rosie as said at the end of the book. Sara gruen spares no detail in chronicling the squalid, filthy, brutish circumstances in which he finds himself. If he hadnt agreed to throw out so many circus folk like trash, he might not have died so soon himself.

Differences between water for elephants book vs movie page 1. Ann guidry, critical essay on water for elephants, in literary news makers for students, gale, cengage learning, 2009. The story is told as a series of memories by jacob jankowski, a 93yearold man who lives in a nursing home. He is inconsolable and doesnt want to leave without her. Both square off in the ring again as box office prophets presents another round of book vs. Gorgeous, brilliant, and superbly plotted, water for elephants swept me into the world of the circus during the depression, and it did not let me go until the very end. I was lucky to have watched the movie first and then read the book because i find the novel is always better then the. Water for elephants canadianborn author sara gruen moved to america to get a job doing technical writing. In one plot, jacob is a young guy just starting out in the world. But the book locked me in and all i could do was turn the pages until i reached page 331 and the story was complete. All of the important quotes from water for elephants listed here correspond, at least in some way, to the paper topics we created on water for elephants and by themselves can give you great ideas for an essay by offering quotes about other themes, symbols. Water for elephants by sara gruen book club discussion. Marlena is the main love interest in the book, water for elephants, and also a performer at the circus.

Water for elephants is a story about an elderly man, jacob, who recalls an adventure in his younger years. How do the chapters about the older jacob enrich the story about jacobs adventure with the circus. The water for elephants community note includes chapterbychapter. He is particularly angry with one old man who says he once got the water for elephants in the circus. Ringling brothers is nicknamed big bertha, performers are kinkers and. In the book, we see jacob as an old man in the nursing home throughout. When i first submerged my feet into frigid water, they. He is portrayed as a bit of a rebel, arguing with other residents, complaining about the food. Water for elephants is a moving tale about circus life during the depression era with quirky characters and complex emotions underlying the characters actions. Water for elephants, 2007, sara gruen water for elephants is a historical novel by sara gruen, written as part of national novel writing month. Marlena works with eleven horses on a routine shown under the big top. He thinks about his wife of sixtyone years and how she died of cancer.

The movie water for elephants stays close to sara gruens beloved book particularly with the 1930s circus memories section. Rosie an elephant that uncle al buys from another circus. Use these book club discussion questions on water for elephants to lead your book clubs conversation on the story. An elephant that uncle al buys from another circus. He has ringmaster written all over him, from the scarlet. Soon after, uncle al s body is found with a makeshift garrote around his neck.

Our reading guide for water for elephants by sara gruen includes a book. Jacob jankowski is the main character of water for elephants. 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. I hated that part in the book when they were booted off his friends. In water for elephants, deception runs quite rampant, especially from uncle al, who would constantly swindle his own crew and performers. Did he commit suicide on his own or did someone killed him.

While he was at dinner, one of the new comers to the nursing home was saying how he gave water to the elephants. What is rosies role in the events that follow her acquisition by uncle al. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Marlena is revealed to have died a few years before jacob was put into the nursing home. Hes a wifebeater, an animal abuser, and a downright cruel individual. We have recently read water for elephants by sarah gruen in class and last week, we saw the film adaptation. After his parents death, jacob jankowski is left penniless and homeless. Water for elephants is a best book club book for discussion, about the bond of love, trust, hope, and survival that grows between a circus trio during the depression. I know i shouldnt do this, but somehow i cant help myself. I just finished the book last night and had to talk about it with someone. In a later flashback to jacobs younger years, jacob is brought to uncle al, the manager of the circus, who taunts him with you want to carry water for elephants, i suppose. Later in the book, it is suggested that he is a paranoid schizophrenic, to explain his violence. When the owner of the circus, uncle al, learns of his training as a vet, he is hired to care for the circus animals. I needed to feel that i knew the subject matter in and out.

August is furious with uncle al for purchasing rosie. Jacob jankowski robert pattinson jacob is a 23 year old young man who must leave his studies, as a cornell university veterinary student, after losing both of his parents in a car accident. Water for elephants book discussion questions water for elephants moves between a story about a circus and a story about an old man in a nursing home. Characters water for elephants wikipedia gradesaver.

Sara gruens arresting new novel, water for elephants, explores. Water for elephants is the story of jacobs life with this circus. In the end, fantasy wins, and the reader, like the rube visiting a circus, gets what he wants. What are the main conflicts in sara gruens novel water for elephants. Gruen transports us into the world of a thirdrate traveling circus during the great depression. He strides across the lot like the leader of a marching band, ample belly thrust forward and issuing orders in a booming voice 4.

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. If you say that you carried water for elephants, i am. Uncle al, the owner of the circus was cut out all together. He has ringmaster written all over him, from the scarlet coat and white jodhpurs to the top hat and waxed curled moustache. Events lead him to joining the circus as their vet, working under their unstable boss august whose violent tendencies give everyone reason to be cautious around him, including his beautiful and quiet wife marlena, whom august is very possessive of and who jacob finds himself soon falling in love with. The only place the movie veers from the original is in its details of the older, current jacob. Water for elephants book club discussion questions and. It is there that he meets marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act.

I tried talking to my resident bible expert aka best friend, but she wasnt very familiar with the story and the significance of. This is not a true representation of the book at all. 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. Readers may find themselves churning through this book at a rapidfire pace, eager to see what lies ahead, then slowing down as they realize the pages are dwindling. But when he seen that the circus was in town, he hobbled to the window to see the circus tent. Uncle al uncle al is the center of the circus performance, hes the ringmaster. In what ways and to what extent do the words pathetic grandeur describe the world that gruen creates in her novel. 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. Walter completely loves his dog, queenie, as much as any other character loves anything in the book. Recommending new books each month to spark lively conversation. At numerous points in the book, people try to excuse augusts behavior by saying that hes a paranoid schizophrenic. She pulls away, and jacob wants to kiss herhe does not know what to do. In the book, jacobs narration takes place in his own mind.

Sara gruen mines fertile territory in water for elephants. She wrote the book as part of national novel writing month. It may be slightly over hyped, but it certainly deserves of most of the praise its receiving. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of water for elephants by sara gruen. The circus train only had a limited amount of water on board, and elephants can drink 100300 litres per day approximately 2680 gallons. Marlena is called to mount the elephant, and all the performers get ready to. Sara gruens arresting new novel, water for elephants, explores similar. A symbol of purification which is portrayed many times. Water for elephants is the new york times bestselling debut novel by sara gruen. For water for elephants, which was the first historical thing ive written, i did all the research ahead of time. To pay for his tuition, his parents had to take out a morgage on the house, causing him to have no home.

With robert pattinson, reese witherspoon, christoph waltz, paul schneider. Uncle al tries blackmailing jake to force him to reunite marlena with august for the sake of the circus. The animals are mangy, underfed or fed rotten food, and abused. Water for elephants is a historical novel by sara gruen, written as part of national novel writing. But be warned, this isnt the order of events in the book. Uncle al pulls august aside and tells him that now he wants rosie in a full act under the big top. Determine which chapters, themes and styles you already know and what you need to study for your upcoming essay, midterm, or final exam. I hate being so enamored with a book and then a crappy movie version comes along and tarnishes it.

I guess that makes sense why she did it, so he wouldnt have to make those choices but i actually think it made a lot of sense in the book. As a result of this incident, which occurred during a circus performance, the circus is shut down. Sara gruen has written an utterly transporting novel richly full of the stuff of life. Uncle al wants to throw jacob from the train, but august, when he finds out jacob. When the circus owner, uncle al, learns that jacob has veterinary training he is. Im not sure if jacob jankowski is a parallel to jacob, son of isaac. Water for elephants rona brinlee of the bookmark in atlantic beach, fla. Set in the 1930s, a former veterinary student takes a job in a travelling circus and falls in love with the ringmasters wife. Water for elephants has two plots going on, both starring the same main character, jacob. Water for elephants is mostly fantasy, punctuated with reality for the purpose of contrast. Marlena ran away from home to join the circus and married august, the head animal trainer. His parents, on his final day of his cornell academy of veteranary science exams, get killed.