Water for Elephants
6th Six Weeks IRP
Set Up
Characters
Jacob is also different in the book than he is in the movie, both as an old man and as a youth. When he is older in the book, he has been hardened by his surroundings. He is bitter about his situation and desperate to change it. In the movie, however, he is much more personable. As a young man, Jacob is much more conservative in the book than in the movie. It seems to take him longer to adjust in the book than it does in the movie where he begins telling half-truths right from the start. These differences alter the audience's perception of Jacob. He appears more wholesome in on than the other which may change how individuals can relate to him.
Marlena by herself is the same in both the book and the movie, but her romance with Jacob is not. In the book, it is developed over a much longer time than it is in the movie. While this might be due solely to the time crunch of fitting an entire book into a movie, it does make it seem as though she was looking for a way to escape her controlling husband. In the book, she resists Jacob's advances and tries to make her marriage work more than she does in the movie. Seeing the way August treats her, the way the movie showed their romance is plausible but not true to the original text.
Drama
Several scenes were omitted from the movie that may have been deemed to risque. These moments did not add to the plot, but they did characterize the immoral circus crowd. Those who have not read the book may not fully understand the setting because of their removal.