The circus is ruined, and during the ensuing catastrophe (which is discussed in the prologue), Rosie the elephant kills August. A few of the men who had been thrown out survive, and come back to start an animal riot during a performance. Both Walter and Camel are killed, and Jacob knows he was a target, too. While he's off doing that, several people are thrown out of the circus – they are literally thrown off the train. One night, Jacob attempts to kill August but chickens out. Scandalous! Plus, the circus is running out of money, which means it will probably kick people out of the group and to their death. Both of their positions at the circus are threatened, especially when they learn that Marlena is pregnant. Marlena leaves August, and she and Jacob become closer: they acknowledge their love and finally act on it. August accuses them of adultery and beats them both pretty badly. Nothing is going right for these people.Īugust becomes progressively more violent, while Marlena and Jacob fall more in love. Camel can no longer work, which puts him in danger at the circus (that basically means death), so Jacob and Walter hide him and care for him. Meanwhile, Camel becomes incredibly sick, and the group discovers he has jake poisoning, an illness all too common during the Prohibition. In the meantime, Jacob and Marlena's relationship grows stronger, and August becomes jealous. Jacob is able to train Rosie, though, so he works with August to help get her to join the act. August has trouble training her and his violent tendencies bubble to the surface. The circus travels around and eventually acquires an elephant named Rosie. Jacob also runs into a couple other interesting characters, most importantly his roomie, Walter. Jacob and Marlena are attracted to each other – it wouldn't be a story without a love triangle – but she's off limits. At the circus, Jacob has to work with a problematic man named August, who's in charge of the most important animal acts, and August's wife, the beautiful Marlena, who's one of the circus stars. A friendly drunk named Camel helps get Jacob involved with the circus, taking care of the animals. (He was supposed to join his dad's vet practice.) So far, so terrible.īy a happy accident, he ends up getting connected with a circus traveling on a train: the Benzini Brothers, led by a ringmaster named Uncle Al. Just before he finishes, though, his parents die in an accident and he finds out that he has no job or inheritance. Just when it's getting exciting, we cut back to Jacob as a young man about to finish his degree at Cornell's veterinary school. The prologue features a younger version of Jacob, who works at a circus and witnesses a murder. But be warned, this isn't the order of events in the book! Jacob at the Circus To make sure everything's clear, we're going to lay it all out for you separately. Every few chapters, the narrative switches from one Jacob to the other. In one plot, Jacob is a young guy just starting out in the world in the other, he's an old guy stuck at a nursing home. Water for Elephants has two plots going on, both starring the same main character, Jacob.
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