First off, I love the elderly Jacob. He has such a vibrant personality, which I`m happy to see in contrast to the way old people are normally portrayed as senile and decrepit. He´s....spunky. My favorite part in this section was when he shoved his food and they decided to put him on anti-depressants. When he hears the doctor talking about this he shouts, "I´m not deaf, you know! Just old!" (68). For me, that passage showed his spunk. I hate to think that doctors think that the elderly are invalids and Jacob proves them wrong with this outburst.
Another section that I found interesting was the description of Uncle Al. When I picture him, I think of a vulture, a vulture with a pot belly and a ringmaster suit that is. He has such a scavenger personality. The way that he created his circus demonstrates this. He is described as "sopping up the remains" of failing circuses and "he grew fat off their carcasses" (77). It was bizarre to think of his circus growing like a patchwork quilt. It´s not just the way that he acquired the circus that´s vulturelike, also his interactions with the workers. He takes advantage of his workers by dragging them this way and that to add to his circus. Did you have a similar reaction to Uncle Al? He´s quite the character.
I agree about Jacob. He as an old man is so entertaining to read about, and I loved how on page 106 he confronted the nurse about how they treat old people. She started treating him with more respect and asking him if he was happy with what she was doing, and he thought it was a joke! This makes me think that he's probably pretty wary about jokes. Already having read about August's "prank" with the lion makes me think that maybe he had some pretty scary experiences with "jokes" during his circus days.
ReplyDeleteA random comment... Is anyone else intrigued by how he was so sure that the old lawyer guy didn't carry water for elephants in a circus? I keep waiting to find out, and I am so curious to know why Jacob thought he was lying.
I picture of Uncle Al as a good looking guy who is a sharp dresser. That would display him as the man in charge and seems very nice, and how he is the smartest one their, but with most people like that in books and movies they have a bad side. Uncle Al's bad side however is basically the exact opposite of what I described.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't find whose playing Uncle Al in the movie, so we are left without Hollywood's interpretation.
Ali, I waited to find out why he said that too, but no luck. Maybe I missed it in the reading, but to my knowledge, he doesn't explain. My best guess was that elephants drink a lot of water so a huge guy or a few guys would have had to carry water to the bull.
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