Happy Endings?

[Rachel-K]

So, we've discussed this in other threads, but perhaps we can use a place for it here:

Certainly we love Jacob, and who wouldn't run off and join the circus rather than succumb to the anonymity and boredom of such a nursing home? I would like to think that Marlena would have joined him!

Is this an ideal ending?

Is it believable?

Do you accept it?

How does it fit in with some of the "harsher" realistic aspects of the circus life portrayed in the novel?

[kiakar]

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rkubie wrote:
So, we've discussed this in other threads, but perhaps we can use a place for it here:

Certainly we love Jacob, and who wouldn't run off and join the circus rather than succumb to the anonymity and boredom of such a nursing home? I would like to think that Marlena would have joined him!

Is this an ideal ending?

Is it believable?

Do you accept it?

How does it fit in with some of the "harsher" realistic aspects of the circus life portrayed in the novel?

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Of course its reasonable. Everyone put your imagination glasses and ear plugs on. For Jacob to have succumbed to that dullsville nursing home after living a life of the circus and being a vet, come on, of course its reasonable. He would have died in the next few days if he hadn't got out of there and into the world again. He knew all about the world, he had well lived it, and he needed another piece of it. And I do think that Marlena was with him until his end.

[fordmg]

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rkubie wrote:
So, we've discussed this in other threads, but perhaps we can use a place for it here:

Certainly we love Jacob, and who wouldn't run off and join the circus rather than succumb to the anonymity and boredom of such a nursing home? I would like to think that Marlena would have joined him!

Is this an ideal ending?

Is it believable?

Do you accept it?

How does it fit in with some of the "harsher" realistic aspects of the circus life portrayed in the novel?

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I thought it was a happy ending. I put it in the context of fiction in that it probably couldn't really happen in real life. Laws and regulations would bring him back, but even if he just made a few stops with the circus, it would work. The elderly have heart and don't want to just give up and waste away by them selves. Maybe his family would "wake up" and do more than just the mandatory weekly visits and enjoy his history after such an incident.

MG

[IBIS]

In WATER FOR ELEPHANTS, Sara Gruen showed us some harsh realities of a Depression-era circus. Life was harsh, and cruel. And in many cases very unjust. There were no legal recourses to collect your paychecks for your honest labor when Uncle Al did not meet payroll. We meet evil in the form of August who abused animals, and no one had the power or courage to come forward to stop him; we meet murderers like Blackie and Uncle Al, who redlighted the weak to be killed; and we meet physically broken people like Camel who are treated inhumanely. We see the unequal treatment of roundabouts and performers...

It's a pretty dreary, sad, cruel and miserable picture of circus life.

Yet we continue to associate circus life with optimism and high adventure. It's as if we need to hold onto our illusions. We all applaud Jacob's decision to run away from the nursing home and join the circus. We hope that somehow he will be happier in his last moments in the circus, rather than in the care of trained geriatric professionals.

I wonder what this tells us about our dreams and hopes? For our aged selves, and for Jacob?
IBIS

Message Edited by IBIS on 12-17-2007 12:22 PM

[Wrighty]

I think it could happen and I like to think it would. We've been caught up in the little details about why it wouldn't happen. Why not? He's old and needs help but he's not dead. He can decide if he wants to go or not unless he was committed against his will. I also would like to think his family is more caring than he remembers. They may come to visit on a regular basis but he often forgets that. Maybe his family would tell him to go for it and have a great time. It would be easy enough to go back to the home if he had to and he can check in with his family as often as needed. This time he can enjoy the circus as a spectator and maybe he can even have box seats!

Message Edited by Wrighty on 12-17-2007 05:08 PM

[KathyS]

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rkubie wrote:
So, we've discussed this in other threads, but perhaps we can use a place for it here:

Certainly we love Jacob, and who wouldn't run off and join the circus rather than succumb to the anonymity and boredom of such a nursing home? I would like to think that Marlena would have joined him!

Is this an ideal ending?

Is it believable?

Do you accept it?

How does it fit in with some of the "harsher" realistic aspects of the circus life portrayed in the novel?

---

An ideal ending =
Whatever was in the heart of Jacob, at that time in his life, at that moment, yes, it had to be the ideal ending. We all wanted the best for this great character; and within his existing life, as he himself saw it, it wasn't ideal to continue, without change. The author, Sara Gruen, changed it for us.

If Marlena wasn't beside him, physically, at that moment, she certainly was living within his heart. He did take her back to this place he seemed to love; even with all of the hardships, he proved it was a place of loving remembrances.

Maybe, I hope, this added stimulation created a more alert, aware, and vital person for Jacob to view of himself, within his last years on earth. He became a vibrant, cared about, human being. It is fiction, and we can speculate on how long he would be able to be in the 'outside world', but it's nice to be able to live for the moment.

Kathy S.

[jacklynhaas]

I thought the ending was a bit unrealistic, but a nice way to end the book. It was already alluded to earlier in the book, when the main characters meet the actual ticket taker at their own circus.

I thought that this was probably the best way to end the book since everyone seemed to be rooting for something good to happen to him, instead of him staying in the nursing home.

[mbkenned]

I think that the final scenes happened only in Jacob's mind. He spent the rest of his days, months, years in the circus, away from the reality of the nursing home. He had a break with reality earlier and then when his family did not come to take him to the circus, and he found out that he was loosing his nurse, Rosemary, he ran away to the circus in his mind. My best evidence of this is that he did not take his walker to the waiting room with him. He went in his wheel chair only. Remember the tension that he caused because a nurse would not get him his walker earlier. In the waiting room scene, there was no mention of the walker until he leaves.

I spent 8 years with my mother in a wonderful nursing home, and I know how she escaped....