Water for Elephants

The narration moves back to the assisted living facility, where a nurse awakes Jacob for the day. The residents are preparing to attend the circus. Jacob is grumpy and short with the nurse. He watches the circus preparation from the window and remarks about how things have changed since his day. Seeing the white horses reminds Jacob of circus insider knowledge: “Horses in vaulting acts are always white so that the powdered rosin that makes the performer’s feet stick to their backs won’t show” (66). When the residents return from the performance, Jacob is caustic and cruel to the nurses. He refuses to eat his dinner and shoves it across the table. Rosemary alerts the doctor, who prescribes an antidepressant. Jacob refuses to take it, but the staff administers it anyway through injection. Jacob tries to hold onto his anger, but the medicine swiftly takes effect, and he falls asleep.

Jacob awakens from his dream as the train arrives in Saratoga Springs. Kinko doesn’t speak to him. People from town gather to watch the tents go up. Jacob watches the performers emerge from their cars and realizes that the hierarchy of the circus is represented by the distance from the engine: Those at the top are at the end of the train.