“Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen
This week I read pages 50-90. In this passage Jacob has a discussion with Camel, another circus worker. Camel is old and says that the only thing keeping him going is alcohol. Camel says that the circus is a bad place for aging people and that he doesn’t know what will happen to him when he is unable to work. This is very different from jobs in current times. Most people are able to retire comfortably and rely on social security to help them in retirement, but Camel wasn’t able to do this. I think Camel is trying to reveal the rough lifestyle of the circus to Jacob. Camel helps Jacob get a meeting with the circus boss, Uncle Al, so Jacob can hopefully get a better job. Uncle Al isn’t very kind to Jacob. In their discussion, Jacob says he would like to work with animals. Uncle Al replies, “’You want to carry water for elephants, I suppose?’”. This is obviously the quote that the title of the book comes from. I interpret this as Uncle Al being very sarcastic. He doesn’t believe that Jacob is actually going to be a good worker with animals. Uncle Al thinks that Jacob just fantasized about coming to the circus and dreamed of carrying water for the elephants which isn’t realistic because the circus doesn’t have any elephants and it would be impossible to carry the massive amounts of water needed to feed an elephant. The circus is becoming less idealistic as the book goes on.
1 comment:
I think it's interesting that you pointed out that the idea of the circus becomes less idealized as the book goes on. I read this book and I noticed the same thing. Jacob begins by thinking the circus is the best place to get away from the cruel world, but then he realizes that the cirus isn't perfect either. I think it shows that no matter where you are, the world can still get to you; it's how you let it affect you that matters.
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