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Sara Gruen's Water For Elephants: A Literary Analysis

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Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants describes self discovery of life, love, and the struggles of living in the middle of The Great Depression. She paints Jacob Jankowski's as a miserable elderly man in a nursing home telling the adventures of his youth in the circus; full of grief, abuse and love. There are two quotes, “When two people are meant to be together, they will be together. It’s fate.” and, “Life is the most spectacular show on earth.” These sum up the book's themes of true love and that life is full of unending adventure, illusion, and discovery.

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