Monday, October 6, 2008

Water for Elephants (T/TH A)

Welcome to the discussion.

12 comments:

Marshall said...

Marshall Drew
Individual entry #1

In the book Water for Elephants written by Sara Gruen, it starts of talking about a man named Jacob Jankowski who is ninety or ninety three living in a nursing home with other elderly people. He is sitting one day minding his own business when he decides to walk slowly over to a window to see what people are making a fuss about. He looks out and at the sight of a circus traveling into town; he clutches at his heart and keels over onto the floor. The old women call for nurses and the nurses rush over to make sure Jacob is alright. The book them takes you on a flashback to Jacob’s younger years when he is about twenty in college at Cornell. He is studying to become a veterinary to follow in his father’s footsteps. He is in class one day when the Dean of the school walks in asking for Jacob. The dean tells him that his parents have died in a car cash and he must identify the bodies. With the death of his parents Jacob is unable to continue with his studies and he runs away and manages to get him self on a circus train where he becomes friend with carnies.
So far the book is meeting my full expectations. It is a book with twists and turns; then he is called out and he finds his parents have died is just one of these examples. It is a fast paced book that is exciting for all ages. I originally picked this book because my mom had read it in her book and she said that I was a great book to read. I am glad I took my mom’s advice to pick this book for English.
The theme of this book so far is work. It has to deal with Jacob at first working to become a veterinary and work for his father’s practice. When he runs away from this he finds himself riding a train to begin working for a circus. This is a really good book so far, but I am only just starting out. I would have continued reading, but I had other homework I had to complete also, it is a real page turner. There has always been the idea of running away and joining the circus and even though Jacob did not have the intensions of doing this it still is a good story line to make the book exciting and fun to read. I can’t wait to see how the book plays out and what Jacob is going to have to do next.
Vocabulary
Vacuous- without contents; empty
Languidly- lacking in vigor or vitality; slack or slow
Acrid- sharp or biting to the taste or smell

Unknown said...

Jenn Fitzgerald
Individual entry #1

In the prologue you learn that Jacob Jankowski was once in the circus when a "Disaster March" took place because all of the animals had got loose and a stampede occurred. He then witnessed his fellow circus friend Marlena murder the head of the circus, Uncle Al with a stake, completely splitting his head, and he has never told a soul.
The book then takes you forward to when Jacob is ninety or ninety three. He is unable to remember his age. He lives in a nursing home, which doesn’t excite him very much. One day everyone in the nursing home crowds at the window and when Jacob goes to see what everyone is looking at he sees that the circus is in town. Later that night at dinner one of the other men in the nursing home, Joseph McGuinty claimed that he used to be part of the circus and gave water to elephants. Jacob was very angered by this and it soon broke out into an argument.
Next the book takes you back to a time before the prologue when Jacob is twenty three and in his last year as a student at Cornell University to become a vet. Here you learn that Jacob is still a virgin and interested in the girl, Catherine that sits next to him in class. One day during class, Jacob was called out of the room by the dean and is told that both his mother and father have been killed in a car accident. After hearing of the death of his parents Jacob was very upset and skipped taking his finals for class and just started to walk until he couldn’t walk anymore. Jacob then jumped on to a train, which he later discovers is a circus train. On the train he meets a man named Camel who helped him to find work. Jacob then became a crew member of the circus that was in charge of setting up for the circus and acting as a bouncer when people were being let into the circus. On his first day of the job he sees his first naked woman, Barbara who puts on a very revealing show for the men during the circus which is very vividly described in chapter three of Water for Elephants. Next, Jacob helped to pack everything back into the train after the circus and with the help of his friends August and Camel got a position as the circus vet. The only problem is he then had to room with an angry dwarf named Kinko who he didn’t get along with, and that is where is stopped reading. (End of chapter 4)
My expectations for this book is that it will continue to be exciting and just as fast paced if not more then it was in the prologue and up until chapter five, where I read to. I hope that in the book it reveals why Marlena killed Uncle Al and what happened after that. I chose this book because I thought that the title sounded interesting, and though I have never read it myself, I had heard from others that it was a really good book. When I first decided to read this book though, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I do, just because I’m not much of a reader, so I hope that the book will continue to keep my attention.
So far, the theme of work and class has been shown a few times. In the circus your class depends on what your job is. For example, the performers have a much higher status then the working crew (menagerie). The workers and performers sit at different tables, the performers having the nicer ones and the performers also get much nicer train karts then the working crew. For example, this class theme is shown when Kinko learns he has to share a kart with Jacob and says, "A menagerie man? Forget it. I’m a performer. There’s no way I'm bunking with a working man,” (pg. 61). Here it is shown that performers have a much higher class then the working men and consider themselves too good to have to be associated with the working men. It even says that there is no interaction between the performers and working men.
I think that this book is a very good book. I usually don’t enjoy reading very much but this book keeps my attention and is very interesting. After reading the prologue, I am especially interested in finding out why Marlena killed Uncle Al. I would consider this book a page turner because at times it is hard for me to put the book down. It’s almost like each chapter is a cliffhanger because after each chapter I am eager to read the next one. I think I enjoy this book so much because it is really descriptive and draws vivid images in my head, which makes me feel like I am almost really there.
I wouldn’t necessarily consider the book to be important or noteworthy. It is a very good book, but I think it was more just wrote for entertainment then to be of social or cultural value. Although it does include class issues, it is fiction and strictly in the circus which makes me believe it isn’t of any social or cultural importance. It does give you an insight to the jobs of the circus and the working issues of the circus, but I just don’t see how that is really noteworthy to anyone other then people involved in the circus. It does portray work and class issues though, which makes it a noteworthy book if you are interested in learning about work and class, which is the point in why I am reading this book.
I think that this book can absolutely stand the test of time, and has both artistic and literary merit. The plot of the book is very creative and not like any other book I’ve ever read or heard of before. If people continue to read this book then they will advise others to read the book and then those will advise more people and the book will be continued to be read for a long time to come. I think if people read this book it will be hard for them not to enjoy it too so the book wont gain a bad reputation. As long as people continue to read the book and enjoy it as I am then Water for Elephants will have no trouble standing the test of time.

Leo Sideras said...

Jenn Fitzgerald, Marshall Drew, Leo Sideras
Group entry #1

After reading through several chapters of Water for Elephants, we have developed some feelings towards many things in this book. Throughout the book so far, we have had reactions to characters, situations, and how the book has been written. There isn't too much we don't like about this book, so we are going to keep this positive.

Firstly, all of us feel bad that Jacob's parents died when he was in college. As we can see, this greatly effected his entire life. Jacob drops out of college, having been on course to be a very smart vet, he runs away and gets on the circus train. When reading this, we also felt very sympathetic for Jacob because his whole life when out the door.

Over time, we thought that Jacob might leave the circus, however, he decides to stay. This puzzled us a lot. We would think that after a while Jacob would give up the circus and become a vet since he was going to college for that profession. However as we read the book further, we see that Jacob becomes a vet for the circus, becoming his major job. This all started when a camel was injured and Jacob helped it become better.

A reason why this book is so interesting is because it is very descriptive. Everything you would think of about a typical circus, this book is. You could even say it is the stereotypical circus. Another reason is because of the humor. A quote from the book that we found displays this, "A living creature with his tail where his head should be." The quote is describing what is basically a horse that is turned around in which the people think the head is the rear. This is only one instance of some humor that is present in this novel.

Overall, we find this book fun to read and very descriptive. This helps paint a good picture in our heads as we read. This is an enjoyable book and we all look forward to finishing it.

Unknown said...

Jenn Fitzgerald
Individual Entry #2

Since my last post, Jacob has officially received the job as the circus veterinarian and is beginning to fit in more with everyone at the circus. His first job as a vet was to tend to Marlena’s horse Silver Star, who eventually ends up shooting and killing because she is just getting worse. After this Jacob spends a lot of time with August and Marlena, who are married, and he begins to like Marlena. The night he had to shoot Silver Star, Marlena and August invite him over for dinner to apologize for August tricking him into feeding the wild cats and getting his arm bit by one of them. Fortunately the cat had no teeth, but it still managed to leave a huge bruise on Jacob’s arm.
That night Jacob also learns that Uncle Al is extremely jealous of the Ringling Circus and that is why there have been freakish looking people auditioning for the circus the past couple of days. This is also the part where Uncle Al busts in with news that he had just bought an Elephant named Rosie. Uncle Al puts August in charge of Rosie. At first everyone was excited about having an elephant until they went to see her and the guy who sold her to Uncle Al informs them of how stupid Rosie really is. This infuriates August, who already was starting to hate the elephant. Jacob, on the other hand was very intrigued with Rosie.
The next night Jacob gets drunk at with all of the fellow circus crew and finds himself fooling around with Barbara and Nell who are the circus members who perform exotic shows for the men. Because Jacob is drunk, he throws up on Nell, and wakes up looking like a clown and is mortified.
Just as Jacob is recovering from last night, August invites him to go to a club with him and Marlena. Jacob tried to refuse but August wouldn’t take no for an answer and the next thing you know, Jacob is dancing with Marlena at the club. While Jacob and Marlena were dancing something happened in the club and everyone quickly ran out, leaving Jacob and Marlena separated from August. Jacob and Marlena ran for a while until they ended up in alley where they stopped to catch their breath. In the alley, Jacob leaned forward and kissed Marlena, which sent her running from the alley. When Jacob finally made his way back to the circus things were very awkward between him, Marlena, and August. The last part I read to the three of them were sitting down at a table eating, none of them saying a word to each other.
The book continues to interest me. I am now wondering if August knows about Jacob kissing his wife Marlena and what will happen with Jacob and Marlena. I am starting to think that when Jacob is in the nursing home, (way in the future) and talking about his wife that he is referring to Marlena. There are just a lot of questions that the book is making me thing about, which makes me want to keep reading to figure out what happens. With all of that said, I would have to say that that the book continues to meet my expectations.
The theme of work and class continues to occur throughout my reading. This theme is mostly present when, they distinguish how the performers have a clear hierarchy over the working men. I even have a quote that shows this, when it says, “Performers emerge from sleepers in the back of the train and of obviously better quality. There’s a clear hierarchy: the closer to the more impressive the quarters,” (pg. 72). Even once Jacob receives a job as the vet, there is a noticeable difference between how he was treated when he was a working man and then once he becomes the vet. The book is just constantly describing the working conditions for each of the jobs of the circus and shows how depending on your job, you are treated better or worse.
I am still very much enjoying reading this book. I haven’t read a book for school this interesting in a long time. I just love how the book is so descriptive and really helps me to imagine that I’m there. I am excited to keep reading and find out what happens with Jacob, August, and Marlena. I am also really excited to see how big of a role the elephant plays in the book. The title is Water for Elephants, so I am curious to see what happens with Rosie.

Marshall said...

Marshall Drew
Individual Entry #2

This is one of the best books I have read in a long time, Sara Gruen has really grabbed my attention in this book. So far in the book Jacob has finally settled into his role as the veterinary for the circus by taking care of all the animals. Jacob describes himself as a shepherd saying, “there is no question that I am the only thing standing between these animals and the business practice of August and Uncle Al, and what my father would do- what my father would want me to do- is look after them, and I am filled with that absolute and unwavering conviction. I am their shepherd, their protector. And its more than a duty. It’s a covenant with my father” (Gruen 146).
He has formed a relationship with his boss, the equestrian director, August and his wife, Marlena who Jacob has fallen madly in love with. The relationship is a very poor one because August is a two faced person. At one point he is kind and friendly and then at of nowhere he will snap and become violent. This is one of my favorite parts of the book, the love triangle between Jacob, August, and Marlena. It adds a little more to the book which makes it more fun to see what happens as I read each chapter Jacob has also meet Kinko who at first is very unfriendly to Jacob because they must sleep in the same room together, but as time goes on they have become good friends. At first I didn’t like Kinko because he seemed rude, but Jacob and he have become good friends and I start to like him more and more. Uncle Al has also bought a "bull" an elephant named Rose. Rose has been nothing but trouble so far and cost Uncle Al so much money that he has had to put off paying most if not all of his workers, as well as laying a few off by redlighting them, or tossing them off the train at night while the train is moving.
The expectations of this book have been more then I would have ever thought. Its not a book that I can really relate to, but the book’s descriptive wording is very enticing to the point where it is hard to put the book down. The way Sara Gruen word, even the little everyday part of life in the circus it just perfect. I feel that this book should stand the test of time, but perhaps it is a little on the dirty side so it may not last due to the fact it my not be appropriate for younger children.
The theme so far in the book is a combination of both work and class. The class aspect of the book it the class system between the workers and the performers. The performers get the better deal like when they get to eat with table cloths and fresh flowers for every meal, they have much better living conditions, and they always get their pay on time. The workers on the other hand must eat at plain tables, sleep in packed rooms, and are sometimes not given their pay. The woke theme is pretty strait forward because it is a circus after all and everyone must work to make it run. The workers put up the tents at the start of the morning and must take the tents down when all is over and the performers‘, perform their acts in front of the crowds. Everyone must make sure they are doing what they should be doing to make sure they don’t get fired.
I cant wait to finish the book because I want to know if Jacob and Marlena every get together. I also want to know what happens to Rose and if she every really learns to do a trick. I am really glad I picked this book to read for my independent reading because it is one of the best books I have read in a long time..

Marshall said...

Marshall Drew
Entry #3

This book has not at the least been dull for me and is still a fun book that I am really getting into. A couple of big things have happened so far, like Camel becoming sick and Rose learning tricks. Jacob, while checking up on Rose after she had been beaten by August, observed that Rose does not speak English, but in fact speaks Polish. He realized this when a worker, named Greg was treating Rose for the cuts August had given her and he was speaking in Polish. Jacob observed that Rose was responding to the what Greg was saying when he was speaking Polish and not when he was speaking English. He ran to August and told him the good news about Rose and how she only understands Polish. The next day Rose and August started working on a new routine speaking only in Polish.
Camel has also become very ill and has become paralyzed. In order to save him from being red lighted, Jacob and Kinko, a.k.a Walter have taken Camel in and have been looking after him. They were able to get a doctor to look at him, but were told that it was from something he had drank and there was nothing he could do. They have also contacted his son to meet them so he can take his father and care for him. I feel really bad for Camel because it was something that came out of the Blue and has changed his life forever.
Like I have said before, the book has more then I thought it could ever in meeting my expectations. It was a book that at first I thought I was going to have to force myself to read , but I find myself unable to put it down. I keep wanting to know what August will snap at next , what Jacob and Marlena are going to do next, and even how Jacob and Walter‘s relationship will evolve more.
The theme between the workers and performers as a class theme is still there, but the theme of friendship also shows throughout the book. Friendship is very prominent between Jacob and the animals as he feels he is there shepherd. He says, “I am their shepherd, their protector. And its more than a duty. It’s a covenant with my father” (Gruen 146). A friendship has also accrued between Jacob and Walter, even though they started off rocky. The friendship may seem a little strange, but the two of them seem they could last together forever. So far, even though I am still finishing it up I find it a really enjoying book. It is a fast read and very interesting. It is remarkable to see the circus really was and get an inside look on everything that really happens.

Unknown said...

To continue summarizing the book, in what I have just read, the circus starts to use Rosie in their acts and although Rosie gains popularity with the crowd, she is very un-orderly and even causes Marlena to receive a very painful foot injury. It is soon after this that Jacob begins to admit to himself that he is in love with Marlena and hates August. He is also very angered by the way that August treats the animals, especially Rosie. After Jacob is ignored by Marlena multiple times she approaches him and asks him to meet her so they can talk. When they met, it seemed as if Marlena was almost saying she is glad Jacob kissed her. The conversation soon became awkward for the both of them and Marlena forced Jacob to leave. Camel also become very sick from drinking a certain type of alcohol and soon become paralyzed. Jacob, who is now better friends with Kinko, who allows him to call him Walter now, snuck Camel into their train cart to keep him from being red lighted. Jacob also found out that the elephant, Rosie, responds to Polish and not English when he noticed Greg speaking to Rosie in Polish while he was treating her for cuts that August had caused by beating her. As soon as Jacob found this out he informed August of the good news and they immediately began working on a routine in only Polish.
I still find this book extremely interesting. There are so many unanswered questions I have that I can’t wait to keep reading and find out. This book is still fully continuing to meet my expectations. The book is also a fast read because I really enjoy reading it. I haven’t been this engaged in a book in a really long time. When I read the book I almost can feel how Jacob and some of the other characters feel. For example, I feel really sorry for Camel, I really want Jacob and Marlena to hook up, and I too dislike August because of the way he treats the animals, Jacob, and Marlena.
The theme of work and class is still present throughout the book. Again it is mostly seen between the different jobs of the circus. “Some things never change. Rubes are still rubes, and you can still tell the performers from the workers,” (pg. 175). This is said by Jacob in a part of the book where it flashed forward to where he is 93 years old and is looking out the window at the circus. This theme is also present when Kinko tells Jacob that if anyone finds out that Camel is ill they will just throw him over the side of the train because he is not as important as the animals of performers. Again it is seen when Uncle Al doesn’t have enough money to pay everyone, so he only cuts back pay from some of the working men.
I do have to agree with what Marshal said about friendship becoming a theme. Jacob is becoming friends with more and more people, even people of a “higher class” then him. It seems like all of the situations Jacob gets involved with have to do with friendships.
Every time I get a chance I find myself reading more of this book. I can’t wait to find out what happens with the love triangle between Marlena, August, and Jacob. I am rooting for August and find this part of the book probably the most interesting. I also am really interested in what will continue to happen with Rosie and the circus.
I predict that Marlena and Jacob will end up hooking up and there will be a big fight between Jacob and August. I can’t wait for this! What I read in the prologue about Marlena killing who I think was Uncle Al continues to come through my mind when I am reading the book. I really want to know what happened with that and why she killed him.

Unknown said...

I meant to put

Jenn Fitzgerald
Individual Entry #3

above my last post.

Unknown said...

Jenn Fitzgerald, Marshall Drew, Leo Sideras
Group entry #2

As we continue to read the book, we continue to develop feelings, thoughts, and questions towards the book. First of all, we all really enjoy the book and think it is an interesting and fast read. All of us have been able to keep up with the chapters we had set out to read to at the beginning of this unit, because of our shared interest in the book.
At the beginning of the book we had all liked the character August because he was nice to Jacob and helped him to fit in at the circus. However, now all of us dislike August because of the way he treats Jacob and Marlena. At one point he even beats Jacob up. On the other hand though, instead of disliking Kinko, aka Walter, we all like him now. He and Jacob have become really good friends and Walter even comes to Jacobs’s aid when August beats him up because of a misunderstanding.
Also, all of us agree that the most interesting part of the book, and the biggest cliffhanger, is the love triangle between Jacob, Marlena, and August. We all think that Marlena will leave August and end up with Jacob and as we read more and more we see this happening. Another part that we all felt was interesting was when Jacob found out that Rosie responds to Polish and began to work on acts for the circus in Polish.
We all are noticing that Jacob is becoming more comfortable with being part of the circus. He is making more and more friends and has even fallen in love with Marlena. At first we had thought that Jacob might not stay with the circus for very long because of how everyone was treating him because he was part of the working class, and now he is no longer considered working class.
One question we all have is why Jacob hasn’t once mentioned to anyone that the reason he ran away from college and ended up at the circus is because his parents died. We find it unusual that he is avoiding telling people what happened, he is like hiding it from everyone.
Overall, the books theme of work and class has given us all a basic understanding of how the circus works and in sight to the jobs and how members of each job are treated at the circus. This book has exceeded all of our expectations and we are all glad we chose to read it.

Marshall said...

Marshall Drew
Entry #4
In the last five chapters of the book many things have happened to the characters. Major events have taken place that effect Jacob, Marlena, August, Walter, Camel, and even Rosie. At one point of the story, August accuses Jacob and Marlena to be sleeping together and goes crazy, hits Marlena and he and Jacob get in a big fist fight. Marlena decides to leave August, and Jacob helps her find a hotel room in the city where she can be away from August. While in the hotel room, Marlena and Jacob end up ‘hooking up’ and they both confess their love for each other. They together plan to leave Uncle Al’s circus, but when Uncle Al threatens Jacob that if he doesn’t help him get Marlena and August back together then he will redlight Walter and Camel. Jacob pretends to go along with this plan with his real intension to give Camel to his son, then high tall it out of there with Marlena. While waiting to pass Camel off to his son both Marlena and Jacob try to play it cool, but is hard when Uncle Al is persistent in getting Marlena and August back together. When Jacob can’t stand it anymore he one night takes Walter’s knife and makes his way to August’s bed planning to kill him. Just before he is about to thrust Walter’s knife into August his conscience gets the better of him and he pulls away and travels back to his railroad car. When he gets back he finds that Camel and Walter are both missing and concludes that they have both been redlighted and the men who threw them over, their true intentions were to redlight him. The next day Jacob tells Marlena that they must leave right after the show ends before Jacob is redlighted. During the show thought a stampede occurs and all the animals go wild. While this is going on Rosie manages to drop her stake that held her to the ground on top of August’s head when he was not looking. It says that his head broke like an egg and he died instantly. The next day Jacob and Marlena leave, taking Rosie and the horses with them and move to a new circus. At their new circus Jacob and Marlena have a few kids then years later leave to settle down with their entire family. In the last chapter, Jacob again runs away to a circus even though he is ninety years old because the circus is truly his home.
I would say that there are three major themes, work, class, and love. The class aspect of the book is the class system between the workers and the performers and how they treat each other. The workers are always looked down on by the performers and the performers always get the better place seating during meals and almost always get their pay other the workers. The work theme is the whole idea of the circus and how everyone must work to keep their stay and must do their part to get the respect of everyone around them. Love I feel turned out to be one of the biggest themes in the book. In the end it was all about Jacob and Marlena and their love. They ran away together so they could love together. The love between Jacob and Walter and even Camel also played a large role in the store. Jacob always looked out for Camel when he became sick and Camel even looked out for Jacob when he first came to the circus. And while at first Jacob’s and Walter’s relationship was rocky they soon became good friends and it must have really hurt Jacob when he found that they had been redlighted.
From the start this book had meet my expectations. It is a fun and easy read that anyone of any age would enjoy this book. A lot of books that I read they are hard to finish because they are boring, but his book was exciting throughout the whole thing. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a book that will interest then on any level.

Unknown said...

Jenn Fitzgerald
Individual Entry#4

Finishing up the book Water For Elephants was very easy considering I very much enjoyed the book and the last chapters were extremely interesting. Jacob and Marlena began to fall for each other more and more and eventually ended up together just like I had predicted. This all started when August accused Jacob of sleeping with Marlena and got into a huge fight with the both of them. August even went as far as to hit Marlena which finally led to her leaving him. After August hit Marlena, Jacob checked her in to a hotel where she wouldn’t be found by August. While in the hotel, Jacob and Marlena confessed their love for each other and even agreed that once in Providence where Camel was to be picked up by his son, they would leave the circus and start there life together. Uncle Al, was convinced to get August and Marlena back together though, for the sake of the circus. In order to save Camel and Walter from being red lighted Jacob goes a long with the plan for as long as he possibly can. One night though after a big fight had erupted during the circus and Marlena goes missing, Jacob takes a knife and sneaks into August’s bunk at nigh planning to kill him, but at the last minute decides not to. The reason Jacob was so worried about Marlena being hurt by August was not only because he loved her but she had just told him that she was pregnant with his child.
Then at the next show, a stampede of animals occurs and Rosie drops a stake on top of August’s head that had once held her in to the ground and kills August. After this Jacob and Marlena both leave the circus and go off and join another one, have kids, and finally decide to leave the circus and be together as a family.
Lastly one day while Jacob is sitting in the waiting room after his family was supposed to pick him up to take him to the circus but never showed, he decides to run off the circus once and for all because it is home for him. So the book ends, with ninety year old Jacob running away to be with his true family.
Throughout the entire book the themes of work and class were present. It was mostly prominent between the working class and the performers because the performers were always way better treated then the working class. They got the better bunks on the train, more money, better dressing rooms, better tables, and never got skipped when it was time for pay, with one exception at the end. The jobs of the circus are also constantly described throughout the book, and how everyone must work to meet Uncle Al’s expectations to stay part of the circus.
I am very glad I chose to read this book because I really enjoyed reading it. It has fully met my expectations and then some. The book was very interesting and constantly had me asking questions that made me want to continue to read the book. At times I found myself not being able to put the book down. It has been a long time since I read a book that truly was of interest of me so I’m glad I got the opportunity to read this book. I too would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good read.

Marshall said...

Marshall Drew, Jenn Fitzgerald, Leo Sideras
Group entry #3

When we got together during class, after finishing the book we came to the conclusion that we all really enjoyed the book and it was a great read. We talked about how we all thought that Jacob and Marlena were going to get together in the end and run off to make a family. We were happy when this happened because we thought the two of them together were much better then August and Marlena. We were very surprised when August was killed and even more surprised when he was killed by Rosie. None of us liked August so we were glad when he was taken out of the picture. We also felt so bad how Camel and Walter were both red lighted and we felt that it was cruel how they could just throw out a dwarf and a man who is paralyzed. Leo also had mentioned, and both Jenn and I agreed with him, that he liked how the end started at the beginning and it was a way to pull us into the book.
We decided that in the end that the major themes in the book were work and class. Class had to do with the different standing throughout the circus. The different levels are from the workers to the performers, to the bosses, like Uncle Al. each class had a different job that they had to perform in order to keep the circus running. The jobs that the workers and everyone had to do was to make sure the circus ran as smoothly as possible. Each class had their own jobs that were all needed to be completed to make a great show.