Water for Elephants

“The concession stand in the center of the tent had been flattened, and in its place was a roiling mass of spots and stripes—of haunches, heels, tails, and claws, all of it roaring, screeching, bellowing, or whinnying.”

The author uses alliteration and onomatopoeia to describe the stampede of animals. The literary devices highlight the chaos of the scene. In this passage, the sensory imagery brings the fray to life and vividly conveys the heightened sense of danger.

“Age is a terrible thief. Just when you’re getting the hang of life, it knocks your legs out from under you and stoops your back. It makes you ache and muddies your head and silently spreads cancer throughout your spouse.”

Age is personified as an entity seeking to steal one’s youth, vitality, and joy. Jacob laments how he was stripped of his physical and emotional health by age and the loss of his wife. Jacob is bitter over his losses and feels he’s wasting away in the nursing home.

“‘Damn Prohibition,’ Camel finally says. ‘This stuff used to taste just fine till the government decided it shouldn’t.’”

Prohibition began when the Volstead Act, which took effect in 1920, outlawed the production and sale of alcohol in the US. Camel drinks a medicinal extract nicknamed “Jake” that people used as a substitute for liquor. The extract often had extremely high alcohol content and was dangerous for humans to ingest in large quantities. The reference firmly roots the narrative in the Depression era.