A Comparison of Social Strata

Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants is a tale of an elderly man remembering his days in the circus during the Great Depression. Flashing back from the present time in a nursing home, Jacob Jankowski recounts the tragic loss of his parents while in veterinary school and the unfolding events which ultimately led him to run away to the circus. There, Jankowski quickly learns the social pecking order of circus workers as he starts out as a roustabout, then progresses to circus veterinarian. At the same time, however, the author offers us a view into the social structure found in a nursing home. As Jankowski lives in the present, we see his interactions with other nursing home residents, the staff and his extended family. This essay will analyze the social strata of these two eras and where appropriate, show the likenesses between them.

1931 is the third year of the great depression and a young Mr. Jankowski is preparing for his last finals at Cornell Veterinary School. He receives tragic news of his parents’ death and on returning to his home town finds that they had mortgaged everything to pay his college education. Jankowski, who until recently thought himself lucky to have a livelihood after schoo,l finds he’s virtually destitute in the midst of the depression. Unable to cope with the loss of his family, Jankowski abandons his exams and jumps a train in escape, now in every sense an untouchable in the depression. By chance, he’s jumped a circus train and before getting thrown off (red lighted), he befriends the circus’ working men or roustabouts and hopes to find some kind of work.

The roustabouts are the lowest class of the circus social hierarchy. Their job is hard labor: moving, cleaning, setting up and tearing down. Their pay is essentially food to eat and a place to sleep. Their position is tenuous. Should the circus’ fortunes suffer, they’re the first to be let go, sometimes being violently thrown from a moving train. While their work is essential, it’s generally unskilled, and in the depression, they’re replaceable. That’s why they don’t complain about their condition because they know they have it better than the unemployed masses crammed in shanty towns. There are levels within the roustabout society. The physically imposing workers become security men, charged with keeping the others in line. There are also clear boundaries between race and ethnicity. Jankowski starts out as a roustabout, but in a confrontation with Uncle Al, the circus’ manager, it’s discovered Jankowski is all but a bona fide veterinarian which earns Uncle Al’s interest and a promotion.

As the circus veterinarian, Jankowski is elevated to the level of the “kinkers,” or circus performers. Performers are among the highest classes in a circus owing to their unique skills which makes money for the circus. There are numerous strata in the performer’s class as well. Show barkers, patch men and concession men are among the lower ranks, then clowns and sideshow performers above them. Among the top of this class are the animal trainers and big top performers. These are the star attractions which entice people (rubes), and their money, to the circus. Their degree of specialization earns them pay and additional perks in the circus, like denigrating the roustabouts. Their position is relatively assured as long as they can continue to perform and draw the crowds. Top among the performers, or perhaps in a class of his own, is the circus manager. Both feared and respected, the manager is responsible for the circus’ creative direction, travel itinerary, community relations and show logistics. He is the ultimate authority of who works in the circus, from the lowliest roustabout to the star aerialist. He also decides the shows content as well as the composition of attractions on its midway. His authority comes at a great responsibility for if he’s right, the circus is profitable and people stay employed. If not, the circus will fold and everyone can be instantly destitute.

There remains one last group of people whom everybody in the circus is beholden to: the customers or rubes. While their nickname connotes a degree of gullibility, they are the lucky people in the depression who still have wages and spare money to spend on circus entertainment. And while PT Barnum’s maxim promises at least one sucker in the crowd, rubes have their limits and will cause the circus great grief if they think they’ve been crossed, so the circus people have it in their best interest to keep the customers happy.

In the present day, Jankowski is a 93 year old in a nursing home with other residents. He and the other residents are supported by a cadre of orderlies, nutritionists, nurses and doctors. Like life in the circus, life in the nursing home has its clique of workers, support people, stars and bosses. The main attraction in the nursing home is the residents. They’re cantankerous, finicky, and obstinate, but the residence staff must do what they can to appease them. While the residence workers may be annoyed by the challenges posed by their charges, they also know the residents are their meal ticket, and they must strive to appease them. Staffers know that just like circus performers, happy residents stay in the nursing home and that ensures the livelihood of the workers.

There also exists a social hierarchy among Jankowski’s co residents. Men are a rarity due to their shorter life expectancy, and consequently draw more attention from other residents and staff. Lucid residents are held in higher regard than those who are feeble minded. We see Jankowski’s judgment of a dimensional Iphesia and his fears of diminished capacity when he discovers his caregiver, Rosemary, witnessed Jankowski’s own dimensional episode. Sadly, one can see a parallel to the performers and show animals of the circus. The self aware residents, like circus performers, are self sufficient and engaging with staff members and visitors. Meanwhile, the feeble minded, like the circus animals, require more care, and in the end are little more than a spectacle to staff and family.

The last class in the nursing home society is the visiting friends and relatives. Metaphorically, these “rubes” come to see the spectacle of the nursing home residents, not unlike circus customers who go to see the big top show. In the context of this book one suspects that family members visit the nursing home residents not just to fulfill a parental obligation but also to escape from the worries of daily life. In a passage from the book, Jankowski recalls how his family members shield him from the daily goings on in their lives. It makes you wonder if the visitors have a dual purpose: to shield the elderly and themselves from the daily hardships of everyday life. Conversely, the residents’ existence, both physically and spiritually depends on the family visitors as well. Not only do they provide the means for their care, but they also help give meaning to their lives as they look forward to their visits and conversation. Here again, one sees the parallel of the relationship between the rubes and circus performers and the nursing home residents and their visiting family members.

While the eras of the Great Depression and the present day are vastly different, its interesting to note the parallels of social interdependence in a circus and nursing home. Water for Elephants clearly shows how lives are interwoven in a depression era circus, but it also hints at the interdependencies in modern society, particularly extended families with elderly nursing home members. The juxtaposition of the circus show and nursing home life shows that people are interdependent, that mutual needs are fulfilled and a social equilibrium is established. The book also punctuates the fragility of these societies. If needs are unfilled or an individual or class feels wronged, the delicate balance is upset and sometimes violent change will recast societal structure or permanently dismantle it.