logo

47 pages 1 hour read

Sara Gruen

Water for Elephants

Sara GruenFiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2006

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Themes

Acceptance and Belonging

The circus offers an opportunity for distinction and fame. High-stakes performances bring the applause and admiration of a crowd. When young Jacob Jankowski loses his entire family in one day, he feels lost and alone, adrift without a home. Joining the circus offers him a chance to escape his pain and be a part of something larger than himself. When he jumps on board the circus train, he doesn’t expect to find friendship, family, and love: “Is where you’re from the place you’re leaving or where you have roots?” (27) Although his experience entails pain and hardship, circus life becomes rooted in Jacob’s heart and brings him the human connection he needs in his newly orphaned condition. Through the characters of Marlena, Jacob, and Walter, the author explores the universal human need for love and acceptance.

College-educated Jacob doesn’t fit into the circus social climate, and he lives as an outsider for most of the narrative. Welcomed only by Camel, another outcast, Jacob is ostracized as an interloper in the circus world. He finds love and acceptance from the animals for whom he cares, and even when August entertains him in the stateroom, he still feels out of place, lacking the proper clothes for a fancy dinner or night out on the town.

blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
Unlock IconUnlock all 47 pages of this Study Guide

Plus, gain access to 8,450+ more expert-written Study Guides.

Including features:

+ Mobile App
+ Printable PDF
+ Literary AI Tools