Water For Elephant Setting

A Glimpse in the Life of a Circus Lover: Living In The Moment + The Circus

In the novel, Water For Elephants (WFE) and its characters were very influenced by the settings throughout the book. The settings influenced how the characters would respond and react to things. “You done jumped the Flying Squadron of the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth” (Gruen 28). This quote changed the setting and made Jacob realized that he was starting a whole new adventure. The settings for WFE are very important because they tell the characters personality and development, they set the scene for much of the plot, and they help understand things that have occurred.

The setting is very important because it shows character personality and development.

Setting can help the plot progress with what happens in the area. Many think that setting is just where something took place, but it is more than that. “The integral setting exerts a great deal of influence upon the values, speech, and actions of characters, the movement of plot, and the presentation of theme and mood” (Integral Setting 1). Setting is a very important thing of the plot. The setting will help make the biggest plot points more understandable. “She lifts the stake as though it weighs nothing and splits his head in a single clean movement--ponk-- like cracking a hard-boiled egg” (Gruen 309). August gets killed by Rosie and no one noticed the murder because of the setting. The setting for this scene is at the circus during the show and the show starts to go wrong very quickly. A stampede breaks out during the circus which is why no one noticed the death of August. Setting helps make plot and scenes more memorable. “On the third rotation, I take her by the shoulders and press my mouth to hers” (Gruen 153). A riot broke out while they were in Chicago. Marlena and Jacob find cover during this and start taking their relationship to a more serious level. Setting helps make the plot flow easier. “Gruen’s circus, with its frankly

Setting can make things easier when the reader is confused about certain scenarios. It can put things together. “He spent the rest of the money on a goddamned elephant car” (Gruen 130). The elephant car was the reason that many other people at the circus weren't getting paid for their act. Setting of a book will help tell the things that aren't explained. “Circuses showcase human beings at their silliest and most sublime, and many unlikely literary figures have been drawn” (Book Review 2). Towards the beginning, they tell of characters and the acts they do during their performance. None of that would make sense without explaining where they are and who is doing what they are planned to do. Setting tells about information we don't know about characters. The characters aren't known until we get their background info which helps understand their way to end up at the circus. “The characters feet unusual, yet real-haven't met them, but you believe they're out there” (Review of WFE 2). The settings are important for those times. “Some stories can take place only in certain settings” (Integral Setting