Meeting # 4 Water For Elephants

Four meetings! I am so proud! Our numbers have been growing a bit,and I know we have all really been enjoying the meetings! We gave ourselves a bit more time to read this time, and as holiday scheduling can be rough and busy, it was much needed. This months selection is Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen. The meeting will be held at my home so that we can have a potluck brunch and watch the movie to compare to the novel. Sweatpants & pillows encouraged! Bring a brunch dish to share! Sunday, December 4th, 10:30 A.M.

Book Questions for our descussion are listed below! See you there! WARNING: Spoiler alert, if you havent finished the book, go read!! then come back :)


1:Water for Elephants moves between a story about a circus and a story about an old man in a nursing home. How do the chapters about the older Jacob enrich the story about Jacob’s adventure with the circus? How would the novel be different if Gruen had only written about the younger Jacob, keeping the story linear and never describing Jacob’s life as an old man?

2:Did the chapters about the nursing home change how you think about older people? In what ways are the doctors and nurses condescending? How is Rosemary different? How do you treat older people?

3: In chapter two, the twenty-three year old Jacob starts his story by telling us he is a virgin. From the cooch tent to the erections the older Jacob gets when being bathed, sexuality is woven into the whole story. Why do you think Gruen added these details? What role does sexuality play in Water for Elephants?

4: When you first read the Prologue, who did you think murdered the man? Were you surprised by who the actual murderer was?

5: The book begins with a quote from Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss: “I meant what I said, and I said what I meant…An elephant’s faithful—one hundred percent!” What is the role of faithfulness and loyalty in Water for Elephants? How do different characters define loyalty? (Jacob, Walter, Uncle Al).

6: Why does Jacob get so mad about Mr. McGuinity lying about carrying water for elephants? Do you see and similarities of temperament between the young Jacob and the old Jacob?

7: In what ways is Water for Elephants a survival story? A love story? An adventure?

8: Water for Elephants has a happy ending for Jacob, but not for many other characters. Discuss Walter and Camel’s fates. How does tragedy fit into the story?

9: There is an “us and them” mentality in the circus between performers and workers. How does Jacob bridge these two classes of people? Why does each group hate another group? Does the circus merely mirror society in an exaggerated way?

10: Are you satisfied with the end?

11: In the Author’s Note, Gruen writes that many of the details in the story are factual or come from circus workers’ anecdotes. These true stories include the hippo pickled in formaldehyde, the deceased fat lady being paraded through town and an elephant who repeatedly pulled out her stake and stole lemonade. Gruen did extensive research before writing Water for Elephants. Was her story believable?







**please note, our next meeting will be Sunday, January 8th, 2012!! please mark the day off in your planners!