Essay Questions

What type of punishment are the characters threatened with if they refuse to do what they are

The punishment is called here "red-lighted" and it means to be thrown out of a moving train. Throughout the novel, two people are threatened with this type of punishment, namely an old circus worker who became disabled after a life-time of drinking named Camel and Jacob after he is discovered as having an affair with the circus's director's wife. The punishment is an extremely cruel one, the person thrown off the train risking to lose their life during the fall. Also, this punishment implied that the person will no longer be able to return to the circus and as such will remain without the only family many had known their whole life.

What type of novel is "Water for Elephants"?

The novel is characterized as being a historic one, with the action taking place in the 1930s in America. The reason why the novel is considered as being a historical one is that a great attention is given to making sure the details and the elements described are as close to reality as possible. The places mentioned in the novel are all real-life places and some of the events took place as well. The manners of the people of that time are explored at length and presented as close to reality as possible. The novel gives the reader a window through which he or she can look into the past and understand the lives of those who lived during the described time period.

Explain the ending of the novel.

The end of the novel presents Jacob, the main character, approaching the age of 90. Jacob is alone, his wife having died a few years prior. Jacob's children moved on with their lives and now Jacob is inside a nursing home waiting to be visited. Realizing that this is not likely to take place, Jacob leaves the home where he was staying and goes to a nearby circus, asking the director to let him work there selling tickets. The circus director accepts to let Jacob work there and the novel ends with Jacob claiming that now he is home at least. The ending is the conclusion to this novel and has the purpose of transmitting the idea that even though Jacob suffered a lot during his time at the circus, he felt most alive there and he always felt as if he fit right in. Because of, even towards of his life, he was still attracted by the circus life.