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- Water for Elephants
moves between a story about a circus and
a story about an old man in a nursing home. How do the chapters
about the older Jacob enrich the story about Jacob’s adventure with
the circus? How would the novel be different if Gruen had only
written about the younger Jacob, keeping the story linear and never
describing Jacob’s life as an old man?
- Did the chapters about the nursing home change how you think
about older people? In what ways are the doctors and nurses
condescending? How is Rosemary different? How do you treat older
people?
- In chapter two, the twenty-three-year-old Jacob starts his story
by telling us he is a virgin. From the cooch tent to the erections
the older Jacob gets when being bathed, sexuality is woven into the
whole story. Why do you think Gruen added these details? What role
does sexuality play in Water for Elephants?
- When you first read the Prologue, who did you think murdered the
man? Were you surprised by who the actual murderer was?
- The book begins with a quote from Horton Hatches the Egg by
Dr. Seuss: "I meant what I said, and I said what I meant…An
elephant’s faithful—one hundred percent!" What is the role of
faithfulness and loyalty in Water for Elephants? How do
different characters define loyalty? (Jacob, Walter, Uncle Al).
- Why does Jacob get so mad about Mr. McGuinity lying about
carrying water for elephants? Do you see any similarities of
temperament between the young Jacob and the old Jacob?
- In what ways is Water for Elephants a survival story? A
love story? An adventure?
- Water for Elephants has a happy ending for Jacob, but not
for many other characters. Discuss Walter and Camel’s fates. How
does tragedy fit into the story?
- There is an "us and them" mentality in the circus between
performers and workers. How does Jacob bridge these two classes of
people? Why does each group hate another group? Does the circus
merely mirror society in an exaggerated way?
- Are you satisfied with the end?
- In the Author’s Note, Gruen writes that many of the details in
the story are factual or come from circus workers’ anecdotes. These
true stories include the hippo pickled in formaldehyde, the deceased
fat lady being paraded through town and an elephant who repeatedly
pulled out her stake and stole lemonade. Gruen did extensive
research before writing Water for Elephants. Was her story
believable?
* Some questions from
ThoughtCo.
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