Water for Elephants

Not surprisingly, elephants are known for being more emotional and empathetic animals than the rest. According the three articles, “Elephants Can Lend a Helping Trunk”, “Elephants Know When They Need a Helping Trunk in a Cooperative Task”, and “Elephants Console Each Other” elephants understand when they need each other’s assistance. All two authors describe the studies of elephant behavior differently, but with a similar purpose.

Themes and motifs: The book, Water for Elephants, has a symbolic study of human need for love and acceptance. The primary symbols are revealed through unique characters that struggle to feed deep internal desires. Rosie, the elephant, is a big and powerful symbol. More than just being a performing animal, Rosie reflects the desperation of so many

The second time Jacob visits the children’s home, he encounters a group of small children that he recognizes from the pictures his grandfather used to show him. One child asks if he is Abraham, but when they see his face, they are disappointed that he is not, and run away. Jacob runs after them and follows them into a tunnel, but gives up and decides to go home. As he walks through the town

Thesis: (Nature is the driving force of the world, with a part of this the animal kingdom; in particular; the elephant a majestic gentle giant with intellect, emotions, and so many amazing things that people should know.)( Elephants are beautiful, intelligent, and important animals that have so many fun things to learn about.)

The story starts by explaining how Jacob has always tried his hardest to be a good little boy like in the Sunday-school books he reads. It gives you many instances of this but instead of the praise Jacob is seeking, he always ends up in trouble, normally because the situation is misunderstood. In the end it takes this to the extreme with Jacob trying to undo what some bad boys did and dies tragically, without saying the last words he had prepared.

Additionally, using analogy and many symbols, parable contrasts human behavior in the story and human behavior in the larger perspective. Parable is often identified with fable, but whereas parable uses people as main characters, fable uses animals’ personifications. In the discussed story, the main character is the elephant. As noted, the animal is in the center of the narration, but the elephant doesn’t personify human beings. The author(s) chose the elephant in this story, because it’s exotic, huge, and unlike all other animals. The elephant in this parable is the symbol of unknown. We often face against elephants in our lives. The challenge, as mentioned in the earlier paragraph, is not to judge the

    “The bad in the past can lead to the good in the future” (in class discussion). As inspiring as this theme may be, when still drowning in the “bad” the future feels like forever away. In Katherine Applegate’s novel, The One and Only Ivan, an inspiring tale of perseverance is revealed. Ivan, A gorilla, taken from his home in his early youth, lives in a mall exhibit. He watches human interactions and befriends animals near his domain. Stella, an elephant and a friend,is a special part of Ivan’s life. She asks him to ensure that their newest addition, a young elephant named Ruby, is cared for. An ongoing infection in Stella’s leg eventually takes her life, and Ivan is more determined than ever to get Ruby out of the mall and into a zoo. Eventually through determination, persistence, patience, and love Ivan and his friends have a happy ending.

` E.B White, author of famous stories like Charlotte’s Web, once said ,"The middle track was missing, the one with the marks of the hooves…”. He continues on with this phrase, trying to connect the reader to the concept that change comes with time. In “” Once More to the Lake” by E.B White and ” Forgetfulness” by Billy Collins, both writersauthors strive to make the reader understand how nothing can stay the same throughout the tests of time. In White’s story, he narrates an experience of going to the lake that he used to visit when he was young. He takes his son with him, and at first, sees himself in his son, but eventually succumbs to the repercussions of time, proving that he is closer to death than previously thought. Additionally, the poem ”Forgetfulness” address the same topic. Billy Collins, the author, describes experiences that display memories being forgotten over time. Collins, therefore, tries to show the reader that memories tend to fade, or change, over one’s lifetime. Therefore, using diction and figurative language, E.B White and Billy Collins help one better understand that the true tragedy of time is the change that comes with it.

Throughout both A Long Walk To Water and “This is Water,” the world is viewed from an internal perspective of personal consciousness, not externally. In both of these pieces, the characters are looking at their respective situations from their own personal point of view, rather than an external, collective point of view. Both Salva struggling to survive and Wallace at the grocery store are focused on themselves and their immediate surroundings, rather than having a greater view of the world. This will be demonstrated in the following paragraphs.

Have you ever wondered how intelligent elephants are? I bet you guessed not very intelligent however, you would be wrong. Elephants are actually very intelligent. This is explained in the video Elephants Show Cooperation, the article “Elephants Can Lend a Helping Trunk”, and a passage from the study “Elephants Know When They Need a Helping Trunk in a Cooperative Task”. These sources all explain an experiment involving Asian Elephants and teamwork activities. Although the video, article, and passage from the study all explain the same topic and experiment, the delivery of information is all very different which influence the reader’s understanding of the

The official title of the world’s largest land dwelling animal belongs to the elephant, more specifically, the African elephant. Elephants also are some of the most deadly animals, which therefore increase the danger of human and elephant interactions. The more human interactions occur, the more deaths result, whether it is the elephant or the human who dies. These animals, surprisingly, are socially apt; their trunk is used for more than just eating and drinking- it is used for socializing. They are complex animals who live in large familial herds-females stay with their family throughout their entire lives while males only stay for approximately fifteen years (Elephant Protection, 1). Elephants possess a great memory and only forget what they learn occasionally and rarely, giving way to the “an elephant never forgets” saying (Maloiy, 178c). Despite how many people use the beloved saying, elephants may not be around much longer due to the shortened life span and increased mortality rates. Due to their incisor teeth, tusks, being extremely expensive and profitable, they are being murdered for the wealth they carry. This, coupled with the life span shortening because of malicious treatments and brutal practices reduces the life span of the African elephant from 56 to 16 years and the Asian elephant from 42 to 19 years (Elephant Protection, 1). According to what the statistics show, elephants may be following their ancestors to their death. Of the group of mammals called

The circus is a wonderful and breathtaking experience and most people dream about going to a circus. The circus is full of exciting, fun activities, bright lights and the smell of crackerjack. Although the circus may seem like a fantastic idea, the circus during the Great Depression behind the closed curtains are not. During the Great Depression there was not much regulation which led to the mistreatment of the circus workers and the animals in the menagerie. Since it is during this time period, food and money were incredibly scarce. Workers were often times left unpaid and hungry, and sometimes even red lighted, which is the act of throwing someone off of a moving train which was done in order to save money in the circus. This is seen in the novel, Water for Elephants, and Sara Gruen highlights the imperfections of the circus. There also was not enough caretakers for the exotic animals in the menagerie and the animals were often times mistreated. Because of the Great Depression nothing was regulated or enforced so the money hungry circus owner operated business as he so desired. In Water for Elephants highlights the theme throughout the entire novel how deceiving the really is, but how the audience continues to perceive

In the story Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen it is written through the eyes of old and young Jacob Jankowski. In the beginning the story starts out in 93 year-old Jacob Jankowski’s eyes, who lives in a nursing home, when he goes to the window to see what all his female neighbors are staring at, when he sees the circus tents going up he feels like he’s having a heart attack. The ladies call for the nurses scared, but he tells them that he’s fine. Then it goes to younger Jacob who is only a few days away to getting this degree for veterinary science from Cornell University, but soon finds out that his parents have been killed in a car accident. Jacobs planned future crashes down and he becomes numb; having no family anymore he finds a train

I Think That Elephants Should Not Be Killed For Their Ivory. Because Elephants Play An Important Role In The World As Animals. They Help Animals In Need When They Are In Trouble Or Hurt. Also, Their Environment Is Good And Bad. Good Because Some Of The Places They Go Into There Is A Lot Of Grass And Sometimes Water For Them To Have. Bad Because Sometimes When The Hunters Come They Don’t Have Anywhere To Go Because Sometimes The Can’t Blend In To Things Like Other Animals Do.

As a young boy, Trond’s interactions with water illustrates his innocence, showing his youthful behavior and preservation of innocence. Growing up, water has played a huge role in Trond’s life; He would often go out, “fishing for trout in the river” (15) or “riding logs down the river” (15). These activities that Trond engages in reflects Trond’s close bond with the river and how it brought out his adventurous and youthful behavior. The dynamic environment of the river and the never-ending flow of water is symbolic of Trond’s constant energetic youth. As a kid, Trond was always outside admiring the beauty of nature or out stealing horses, and the river provided him the opportunity to do that. In order to go out stealing horses, Trond had to “row across the river”(32), in which the river acted as the path or gateway that led Trond to his next adventure. In addition, the river also represents Trond’s reluctance to change or grow out of his childhood. Trond recalls, “I could immerse myself in water up to my chin and remain the person I was”(101). This highlights the idea that the river is a comfort zone in which Trond is able to submerge himself in and stay youthful. Trond doesn’t want to grow out of his childhood and the river protects his innocence. Even with the “current pounding away and pulling at his body,”(101) Trond felt untouched and remained the same person. This shows how the river maintains Trond’s growth into a man and it serves to show that Trond is the “anchor of