I am on page 39 of
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. The first chapter introduces Jacob Janikowski, a "ninety or ninety-three" (pg 5) year old man. He is currently living in a nursing home, which he does not enjoy. Gruen does a good job of painting the picture of a typical nursing home by describing the "long hallways", which look even longer when Mr. Janikwoski has to complete his physical therapy and walk down them. She also describes the type of people he is surrounded by. at the dinner table, calling them "silent... with frozen faces and withered limbs". (pg 8). He does not like the nursing home very much and talks about how "[s]ometimes the monotony of bingo and sing-alongs and ancient dusty people parked in the hallway in wheelchairs makes [him] long for death" (pg 13). Gruen truly captures the essence of being in a nursing home in this sentence. The details provided create a clear picture of what Mr. Janikowski's life is like from inside his new home.
Chapter 2 begins by going back in time to when Jacob is twenty-three and sitting in college. He attends Cornell University, where he is next to a girl he likes very much. He then discovers his parents have died in an automobile accident. He goes to the police station which he describes in detail. "There are no windows. There is a clock on one wall, but the room is otherwise bare. The floor is linoleum, olive green and white and in the middle are two gurneys. Each has a sheet-covered body on it" (pg 17). This provides the reader with exactly the scene he walks into as he sees his parents for the last time. After this, he runs away and ends up getting on a train, despite not knowing where it goes. He meets a few men named Grady, Bill, and Blackie. They try to kick him off the train because they think he is a hitch hiker. He then finds out he is actually on a circus train, which is on its way to Utica for a show. This sets up the setting for the rest of the novel.
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| Modern circus train |
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| Old fashioned circus train |
I really enjoyed reading your blog post because I've heard a lot of good things about this novel but didn't know anything about the story until now. I'm intrigued by the time travel aspect of the story; I'm excited to find out about what that turns into as the plot develops.
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job on describing the setting of the novel. It seems very interesting so far and I am looking forward to find out what else happens in the novel. I also like how you incorporated the pictures of modern and old circus trains.
ReplyDeleteI like how you gave a little bit of background information on the characters for your novel it helps in understanding the setting. I completely agree with the way you explained the nursing home setting because I have worked in nursing homes in the past. I also like how you put the pictures of an old-fashioned and a modern circus train next to each other for comparison.
ReplyDeleteYour use of detailed quotes and pictures help to create a clear image of what the character in the book is experiencing. I can tell from the quotes you chose that Jacob does not like living in the nursing home. He seems to miss his life from when he was younger.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great blog post because it takes the time to emphasize the setting at multiple stage's in Jacob's, which gives the audience a complete vision of the story. You also incorporated your quotes into your sentences which is fantastic to see as it becomes a more personal post because it is your explanations rather than a reiteration of the novel. The quotes you used showed your audience the setting and displayed how the main character is responding to that setting.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea what to expect opening this blog given your book title. I'm very interested to hear what happens next in the novel and find it interesting how the setting changes from late in his life, all the way back to his college years. I found it shocking his parents died in an automobile accident but i'm curious and eager to hear more about what happens next!
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