New Book- Characters in Water for Elephants

Today, I started a new book, Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen. I didn't know what it was about until I started reading the book, and I hadn't read the summary before I started either. The book, at this point, appears to be about an old man reminiscing about his days in the circus, but this website can probably tell you more than I can. The main character in this book is Jacob Jankowski, a ninety (or perhaps ninety three) year old man who is stuck in a modern nursing home in the current time period. Jacob is unwilling to accept his situation and cannot bring himself to realize that his life is slowly slipping away. A comment by another patient sets off a series of memories about his younger days. The author uses this part of the story to characterize Jacob and begin the plot and uses the older Jacob as a narrator. While in college, Jacob is suddenly struck with both of his parents dying in a car crash, and, with nothing to do, he hops aboard a train that happens to be part of a circus. From this point onward, he is part of the traveling circus. Although the story seems far fetched, it is written in a way that makes it appear more realistic.

As evidenced in the text, Jacob makes decisions quickly without thinking about their consequences. On page 24, Gruen writes, "I snap out of my stupor. There are people on that train. It matters not where they are going." This quote shows that instead of thinking over his situation and graduating from college, Jacob decides that he has to run away. After realizing the purpose of the train, he is quick to learn about working in the circus. Although he is appalled by the circus workers, within a day he is an employee of the "Benzi Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth". Jacob is able to make friends even in the hostile environment, showing that he can adapt to many situations. On his very first day, he has already made friends with an old circus worker and acts like he has been working in the company for years. Although his quick thinking sometimes lands him in sticky situations, it also saves his life. This can be seen in the following quote from page 56, when the leader of the group, "Uncle" Al, finds out about Jacob- "And pray tell what does Jacob Jankowski think he is doing on my train?... I've seen your sort a thousand times." Instead of being thrown out of the train like others would, Jacob manages to convince Al that he could be useful since he has a partial degree in veterinary medicine which would enable him to care for the animals on the train. From just the first few pages, it is clear that he will have to change significantly to propel the plot forward.

So far, it seems like Jacob will turn into a round character, as he is already described well in multiple points of view. I'm not sure if this book will turn out to be any better, but regardless of its plot it has great characterization for the main character. Many instances in the story give details unnecessary for the advancement of the plot, but re-enforce the character of Jacob.