"Water for Elephants"is about a man, Jacob, who's family died in a horrific car crash. Jacob is left with no money and no place to go. Since this takes place during the Great Depression, Jacob needs to find work fast, before he dies or starves. After receiving the news of his parents death, Jacob tries to escape by walking along the train tracks. He sees a train heading his way and makes the bold decision to hop on. It turns out that the train is a circus train and Jacob is able to find work on the train as the elephant trainer. While working with Rosie the elephant, Jacob slowly falls in love with the beautiful star entertainer, Marlena, who happens to be married to the cruel manager of the circus, August. While Jacob falls for Marlena, Marlena starts to fall for Jacob, as well. August takes notice of this when they are at an illegal club that gets shut down by the police. The three have to split up to get away as quickly as possible. Jacob and Marlena go together, while August goes alone. They reunite later that night and while showing August the tricks he has taught Rosie, August gives him a clear warning:
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Character Development: Water for Elephants
In my opinion, book or movie is good if there is a good plot, and great characters to experience that plot. For me to really connect with a character, or even understand their motive fully, I need to see their full personality in many types of situations. When thinking about a character developing in a mere single scene, August, from "Water for Elephants", was one of the first and best to come to mind.
"Water for Elephants"is about a man, Jacob, who's family died in a horrific car crash. Jacob is left with no money and no place to go. Since this takes place during the Great Depression, Jacob needs to find work fast, before he dies or starves. After receiving the news of his parents death, Jacob tries to escape by walking along the train tracks. He sees a train heading his way and makes the bold decision to hop on. It turns out that the train is a circus train and Jacob is able to find work on the train as the elephant trainer. While working with Rosie the elephant, Jacob slowly falls in love with the beautiful star entertainer, Marlena, who happens to be married to the cruel manager of the circus, August. While Jacob falls for Marlena, Marlena starts to fall for Jacob, as well. August takes notice of this when they are at an illegal club that gets shut down by the police. The three have to split up to get away as quickly as possible. Jacob and Marlena go together, while August goes alone. They reunite later that night and while showing August the tricks he has taught Rosie, August gives him a clear warning:
In this scene, I love how much August develops. He starts off as a kind and happy man, learning the new tricks of the beautiful elephant, Rosie. As the scene continues, and he starts to talk about Marlena, August becomes very defensive. He indirectly tells Jacob that he knows there is chemistry between Marlena and Jacob. He also states that it needs to stop, or else there will be consequences. This scene is a strong example of showing relationship conflict between August and Jacob because up to this point in the movie, Jacob and August had been friends but now, this shows that their relationship is slowly changing. Along with August's personality, you learn a lot about Jacob, too. The viewer of this scene can learn that Jacob is obedient and quiet but also show uncomfortable body language when placed in this situation. Although August is the "bad guy" of "Water for Elephants", his character development during the film is fantastic and he shows his true colors more and more with each scene.
"Water for Elephants"is about a man, Jacob, who's family died in a horrific car crash. Jacob is left with no money and no place to go. Since this takes place during the Great Depression, Jacob needs to find work fast, before he dies or starves. After receiving the news of his parents death, Jacob tries to escape by walking along the train tracks. He sees a train heading his way and makes the bold decision to hop on. It turns out that the train is a circus train and Jacob is able to find work on the train as the elephant trainer. While working with Rosie the elephant, Jacob slowly falls in love with the beautiful star entertainer, Marlena, who happens to be married to the cruel manager of the circus, August. While Jacob falls for Marlena, Marlena starts to fall for Jacob, as well. August takes notice of this when they are at an illegal club that gets shut down by the police. The three have to split up to get away as quickly as possible. Jacob and Marlena go together, while August goes alone. They reunite later that night and while showing August the tricks he has taught Rosie, August gives him a clear warning:
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First of all, this is one of my favorite books of all times; the movie was a good adaptation, and one of my favorite parts of the movie was how well it portrayed the relationship shifts between August and Jacob, just as you mentioned in your blog. I agree with your observation that: "This scene is a strong example of showing relationship conflict between August and Jacob because up to this point in the movie, Jacob and August had been friends but now, this shows that their relationship is slowly changing" because this scene, despite the brevity of it, shows how quickly a relationship can change based on one person's reaction to a situation. August truly changes drastically throughout this book, but so do Marlena and Jacob, and because of these changes, inevitably, the characters' relationships themselves must change as well. You chose a scene that has strong character development and highlights possible relationship conflicts in the movie yet to appear. Well done. :)
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