With this failed investment, the circus appeared to have been doomed. The repressive and despotic ringmaster, Uncle Al, purchased Rosie, an elephant who proved to have a voracious desire for lemonade, but neither obeyed nor followed the simplest commands. The circus troupe travels across the country and compromises on several of its acts which had become bankrupt due to the economy being ravaged by the Depression.

Rubes are still rubes, and you can still tell the performers from the workers’ ‘ (Sara Gruenn).

Whenever an aged Jacob saw children in a circus carrying toys that blinked he immediately commented, “Bet their parents paid an arm and a leg for them, too. He came to know that performers are called Kinkers, Ringling Brothers are named Big Bertha and people in the audience are referred to as Rubes. Jacob is able to immerse himself into the strange world of the circus by interacting with lion tamers, aerialists, acrobats, people who mastered the art of swallowing swords, and by mastering a dialect that reflected a firm caste system. While he performed his duties at the circus he came into close contact with August Rosenbluth, who had mercurial qualities, and his wife Marlena, who was beautiful and had exceptional equestrian capabilities that attracted people to the circus in large numbers. Since he had been pursuing a course to become a veterinary doctor, he was able to get a job in the circus as an animal doctor. Jacob Jankowski, as a young man is informed that his parents have died in a car accident which makes him feel isolated and without any goal and he boards a train which happens to be carrying the entire circus of the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Although the majority of the book pertains to the circus, there are some chapters about the aging Jacob which make the story rather emotional and tender albeit much more real and richer. The novel essentially moves from the narratives about the travelling circus in 1930 to the account of Jacob’s struggle in maintaining his mental balance. While Jacob is coping with the complications related to old age he gives an account of his life and experiences during the time he was with Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Then the story takes a turn towards Jacob who is now about ninety years old and recouping in a nursing home. Water for Elephants starts with a disastrous day at a circus with Jacob Jankowski confessing that he had hidden the information and kept it a secret for more than seventy years.

Sara gruen 2022