Summary Of Jacob Jankowski In Water For Elephants

Settings Along the Tracks: The Places That Molded Jacob Jankowski in Water For Elephants

People always tell you settings that they were put in that helped mold them into the person they are today. The story of Jacob Jankowski is no different, and his story has many settings that we today could never even possibly imagine. Not only did his story take place in the separate world of a circus but also in the time of the 1920s which were riddled with depression and crime and many people looked for an escape. For many that's what the circus was, for the viewers and the performers. When we first see him, Jacob jumps the circus train as a young man and by the end of the story you see him step off the train as a man who is strong person who's sure of himself. As the story develops, you see Sara Gruen developing the character of Jacob Jankowski in Water for Elephants through settings such as the old folks home, the different train stops

and the town of Erie.
The first setting that we are introduced in the novel is the old folks home that an older Jacob is living in. As we move through Jacob’s narrations of his times through the circus and into the home, you begin to see the contrast of Jacob’s old and new life.
Since his life is so simple, Jacob has very minor things to pick apart in his new setting, one being his food.

“‘What about butter?’ I’m outraged. My mind skips back over the elas weeks, months, and years, trying to remember the last appearance of cream or butter in my life?” (Gruen 110). This very minor thing starts to show what life for him in the home is, miserable. Everything about his life is controlled and he has a hard time adjusting to this new feeling of restriction, which also brings out a very angry side of Jacob. The doctors think he’s depressed and give him medicine, even though he refuses to take it, he is told he has to and eventually gives up fighting it and just accepts taking the medicine. “I cling to my anger with every ounce of humanity left in my ruined body, but it's no use. It slips away, like a wave from shore. I am pondering this sad fact when I realize the blackness of sleep is circling my head” (Gruen ). This was one of the points where you just see Jacob letting go because it’s so much easier than fighting

it.
Coming to the home was not Jacob’s decision, but rather his children’s decision. After his wife had passed away and he was all alone as well as the time is finally starting to catch up with him and his children were “worried” about him. When thinking about his wife, he says "Although there are times I'd give anything to have her back, I'm glad she went first. Losing her was like being cleft down the middle. It was the moment it all ended for me, and I wouldn't have wanted her to go through that. Being the survivor stinks" (Gruen 13). I think this thought of Jacob really shows how he is as a person, he puts the ones he loves first even if that means he is the one left miserable. Mostly because Jacob tells us how none of his five children want to care for him and probably see his more as a chore than a farther, which probably adds to his sadness. This point was really noted when Gruen says “It's not a nursing home, they said. Its assisted living-progressive, you see. You’ll only have help for the things you need” (pg. 109). It shows you that sometimes time doesn't always allow for some things to stay the same and things need to change, if you want them to or not.
The second setting, and in reality is multiple settings, would have to be the different stops that the traveling circus went through as the circus season went on. These are the most important settings because as he sees new people and places, Jacob’s actions and perspectives are changing as well.
After time on the train, Jacob learned to stand up for himself as well as doing things he wants to do because he gained the confidence. A good example of this is when August and Jacob, start working together. August’s mean comments always annoyed Jacob but he usually just took it, but when it came to August’s little joke on Jacob with Rex, he finally stood up for himself. You also get a sense of assertment when Jacob yells at August “What the hell is wrong with you? You think this is funny?” (Gruen 85), even August wasn’t expecting it. Another time you saw Jacob’s confidence growing was in the Chicago club with Marlena, when Gruen explains Marlena and Jacob’s first physical interaction by telling the readers, “She keeps spinning...on the third rotation, I take her by the shoulders and press my mouth to hers" (pg 153), it gives the idea a relationship is developing. As Jacob gains more experience in the circus, you see him being molded into a stronger person that puts the people and things he loves first.
The feeling of love in this book doesn't just reach out to Marlena, but to the animals as well. This bond is tested when an embarrassing night with the three cooch girls leaves Jacob embarrassed and wanting to leave. But then the thought of his father steers him back to what he needs to do because of all the mistreatment these animals have had to deal with through all of the settings. “No matter what, I cannot leave these animals...I'm their protector and it's more than a duty. It's a covenant with my father" (Gruen 135/146), this thought process just goes to show that Jacob is learning to fight for the ones he loves, especially these animals.
Now this determination to stick by his animals also extends to sticking by Marlena. For the most part of his time on the train, Jacob let August go with a lot, but it wasn't until their last stop that Jacob finally had enough. He finally had the courage to stand up and protect her the night that August got physical with Marlena, “He ends up dragging her by the neck as she screams. I launch across the open space and tackle him” (Gruen 246). This action just goes to show you how Jacob loves Marlena after all they been through.
The town of Erie is the most crucial to Marlena and Jacob’s relationship. This is where Jacob risks his life for Marlena again; now his fight with August was bad, but a stampede has a larger danger aspect, taking Jacob’s confidence and love for Marlena to a new level. Sara Gruen really explained the stampede well, showing fear, especially when Jacob says “As I approach the Menagerie, the ground rumbles beneath my feet and it scares the hell out of me because it's not noise” (pg 308). Another reason that this scene is very important is because this is when Rosie kills August, freeing Marlena but caging the dark secret up inside of Jacob because he was trying to protect everyone in the situation. Older Jacob looks back on that day by saying "In the entire history of our marriage, it was the only secret I kept from her, and eventually it became impossible to fix" (Gruen 327) which is sad, but that just goes to show how protective Jacob is over Marlena.
Erie might have been the most major setting in this story, but like all of the settings, the circus is a giant illusion. It made everyday people think that everything was good but in reality the circus was getting hit hard like everyone else. After the stampede, everything was fixed to make everyone think that everything was okay, "No matter how miserable or oppressed, the performers love the manufacturing of illusion, sewing a new sequined headdress for Rosie or feeding the llamas as men die of starvation in a devastated America" (WEBSITE). I believe this mindset affected all of the characters because they new about all of the bad stuff but just kept acting like it wasn't happening. Jacob was different because he managed to see the good and the bad that was going on in the two worlds.
Another thing Gruen did a very good job explaining was the settings that she put her characters into because these settings change so much. "It is vital that the place in which a story takes place be a true one.The world of the book must be as accurate as the writer can make it, not only because the writer owes this much to history, but also because she owes this much to fiction" (WEBSITE). Because Gruen did an amazing job setting up these very elaborate settings, it almost made you think that you were reading a nonfiction love story and that's what I think gave a lasting impression, the kind that makes you think a wild, beautiful love like Marlena and Jacob is something that is possible.
Setting is very important a novel because as the settings change, the people change. Sara Gruen develops the character of Jacob Jankowski in Water for Elephants through settings such as the old folks home, the different train stops and the town of Erie. All of these changes in the characters just go to show that people change sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse, but Jacob came out of this a better person and I think that is why he is such a great character that many people can relate to and maybe even strive to be.