Water For Elephants 2

SPOILER ALERT ***********


Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen is about a man named Jacob who reflects his life when he hops a circus train, to abandon his old life without his family, and ends up taking the job as a veterinarian. While in the process of working at the circus Jacob meets a schizophrenic equestrian director named August, a brilliant and very pretty girl named Marlena (who is the wife to Augustus) and Uncle Al the ringmaster for the circus who will do anything it takes to make his circus anything alike to the ringling brother circus. As the story continues Jacob's desire to run away from his nursing home increases. Jacob will do anything to have an adventure in order to abandon the sad life he lives, in almost complete solitude. I discovered that a theme to this story is to do what you want and not let anyone stop you.

As an old man Jacob can barely walk, he is usually wheeled everywhere and can barely make it down the hallway with his walker. The sad part is though at one point Jacob says, “Nothing wrong with me but old age". This shows that he could easily leave the nursing home in order to live his dreams but “the horse-faced" nurse keeps him from leaving. Also at one point in the story Jacob tries to make a run for it but a nurse suddenly calls to him and asks him where he's going. Then Jacob is moved back in his wheelchair to his room where he dozes and thinks about his life in the circus. My Mother is an elder law lawyer and she always explains to me that all over the country many elderly people want to leave the nursing home but, the only reason the elderly are living at nursing homes is either because, the person can no longer take care of themselves, or that the family can no longer have the time or the money to take care of that person. 

At another point Jacob has a romantic fantasy about an exotic dancer who worked at the circus. Jacob is soon woken up to a nurse and is completely embarrassed when he learns that he was mumbling things about his dream. I felt that this truly shows the desperation Jacob feels to escape his life and go back to the adventurous times he had with the circus. The romantic fantasy also helped explain to me, as the reader that Jacob feels very lonely since his wife passed away and, now he is all alone. The nurse doesn't even comfort Jacob but tells him, “well you were talking in your sleep, that's sure enough". I think this part of the story truly told me that Jacob's ideals for his life to end were very different compared to the way the nurses wanted him to live. 

At the very end of the book Jacob begins to wait for his son, Simon to take him to the circus that just moved across the street. Soon all the visitors have talked to their parents or grandparents who live at the nursing home and Jacob is left sitting alone. The nurse then tells Jacob that Simon was too busy to go see his father. Jacob realizes that he shouldn't sit around to daze about his old life and, wait for other people who don't have time for him. Jacob suddenly believes he should make the choice to start living again. Jacob then gets the strength which is (metaphorical and literal) to walk out of the nursing home and go see the circus. I feel a lot of respect for Jacob because I wish that I could accomplish certain dreams but I am always too scared or too nervous to do so. 

I think that Jacob throughout the book learns from his mistakes of watching his life go by. Instead of waiting any longer he goes to live and finish his life by going to see the circus and, finally joining the new circus. I think that this is an underlying theme throughout the book, since so many people focus on the plot in his past life but, I felt that this was a main rule of life to follow and promise. I never want to end up in a nursing home, that's boring. I'd rather go out and start a new journey or path, than fantasizing about how I wish I had the strength to fulfill my dreams. The best part for me about this story was that Jacob could've given up and stayed at the facility but he joined the circus, at 93. Now that's an accomplishment I want to achieve but I would need to have the strength and the mental capability to do so. That's what I believe the main theme is in Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.