Connections in Water for Elephants

At this point, I am a decent way through Water for Elephants, and although I have yet to improve my opinion about it, I am determined to finish the novel. If you read my previous post, you probably know what this book is about- an old man vividly describing his experiences running away to work in a circus. Currently in the novel, it Jacob has befriended some of the more important members of the group and is well treated as the only ivy league educated veterinarian on the train. As other circuses close down as a result of the Great Depression, Uncle Al is acquiring their performers and property using both legal and illegal means. While reading, I noticed several connections in the book to other sources.

Firstly, I noticed that Uncle Al used clever wording to fool people into buying tickets to see ordinary things. By not telling lies (but hiding the truth) Al is able to sell costumers into seeing sights such as a "horse with a tail where it's head should be" (the tail was in the bucket of food). I found this similar to how products are advertised on TV. Exaggerated claims are made for these products that "are not available in stores" by using intricate language that cannot be claimed to be completely false. Only the unreadable fine print that appears briefly near the bottom of the screen reveals more to the purported revolutionary technology.

On another note, I was also able to make a text to self connection. In the narrative, Jacob finds that in the nursing home, everything is tailored exactly to suit his health, containing the right types of nutrients, along with preferences recorded for his daily schedule. Jacob is cynical but surprised about how much they know about him, and on page 106 says, "You'd think that they'd have my preference written down on my chart by now, but they ask me the same question every morning. Of course I would rather eat breakfast in the dining room." I sometimes feel the same way when using a website like Google. It seemingly knows everything about you, and already knows what you will type before you type it. Although it does help their product become better, it is intriguing how much information just one company can collect about you.

Finally, I thought that the narrator during the modern day section had a similar way of speaking as Nick in The Great Gatsby. Just like Nick, Jacob continually reflects upon the past, and finds it necessary to tell other stories before he can truly tell the reader what he wants to say. The English used is also similar- The Great Gatsby was actually written in the 1920s while Water for Elephants is a recent novel with a story happening in the 1920s.

After learning more about the main character, I still haven't grasped the extent of the plot yet. My prediction- as simplistic as it seems- is that Jacob will be able to train an elephant that was believed to be useless. This stems from the title, and the anger that he feels when someone claims that they "carried water for elephants". Along with that, one of the characters has been acting suspiciously, so it may turn out that he will become the primary antagonist.