Top 10

TOP 10:
1). Jacob: This is the main charactor of the book. The whole story is based on his experiences in the circus. In the beginning of the book it is a mistake that he end up on a circus but by the end of the book all he wants to be is back with the circus. Its a lifestyle that he had adapted to.
2). August and Marlena: These two charactors are the charactors that Jacob gets the most envovled with. He loves Marlena but she and August are married. August is not a nice person and Marlena loves him and Jacob until August gets mad and beats her. She ends up leaving him right before he dies.
3). Rosie: This last charactor is very important to the book because she is the reason that Jacob stays around besides Marlena. He is the veteranarian on the circus and he feels like it is his duty to keep her safe from August. She is the elephant that is in Marlena's act.
4). Setting: The setting of this story is the circus. Jacob is a veteranarian and he is always in the managerie watching and taking care of the animals. He is always on a train and is in his car with Walter and his dog queenie. The big place is the towns that the circus sets up in and does show in at night then pack up and move out later that night.
5). Plot: The plot of this story is the love affair between Marlena and Jacob after August beats Marlena. Since the beginning when he first got to the circus he had always liked her and he didn't think that August deserved her.
6). The Big Top: This place is very important because that is where the circus's shows take place. Marlena rides her horses and did a routine with Rosie in the big top. The big top is where the stampede happens and August gets killed. Some of the main events happened when they were in a show at the big top.
7). The Nursing Home: This is an important place because they go back and forth from Jacob's time at the circus to when he was old in the nursing home. He explain how he spent his time sitting in his bed or in his wheelchair. His time in the nursing home makes him think about the time he spent in the circus.
8). The Train: Jacob spends alot of time on the train. Since they are always moving to new towns to try to make money. He shares a room with Walter and later in the book Camel. Walter becomes one of his good friends and Jacob is devistated when he is killed. He is not as close with Camel but still devestated when he is killed as well.
9). Menagerie: This is where Jacob spends most of his time when he is taking care of the animals. He cares for those animals more than he could even imagine. HE loved them so much he couldn't stand it when August would hit Rosie with the bull hook. He developed special bonds with the animals because he was in there all the time.
10). Present/Past: In the book the writer skips back and forth from the present to the past. When the author is talking in the past she explains Jacob when he is in the circus and what he was up when working as a veteranarian. When she is talking about him in the present she is talking about what it is like for him living in a nursing home and how he wishes he was back working with the circus again.