Judith Knelsen
Mrs. Ecker
ENG1D
2012-10-29
Comparing Water for Elephants to Ghost Boy
Several pieces of literature become the basis of movies that keep their veracity and sentiment.
The novel Ghost Boy, written by Iain Lawrence, and the movie Water for Elephants, directed by Francis
Lawrence, are similar narratives. Both stories are about a young man who runs away from home, to the
circus, finding friends and admirers, and stumbling upon problems while recognizing his identity and
contentment. The main characters, setting, and conflicts of these two narratives are very alike.
To begin, the main characters in both narratives are very similar through their job, how they get
there, and their love interest. First, the central characters in both tales become unhappy and run away
from home. To illustrate Harold’s misery at home, in Liberty, the novel says, “He couldn’t help it then.
He started to cry, and the tears rolled out from under his dark little glasses. He missed his father terribly,
his father and his brother” (27). In the movie, the main character, Jacob Jankowski shows great grief and
sorrow following the deaths of his parents. From these two examples, it is clear that Ghost Boy’s main
character, Harold Kline, and Jacob experience deep loss and distress, and feel that running away is the
only option. Next, Jacob and Harold both fill the role of working with the elephants. In the novel, Harold
gets his job when, Flip Pharaoh, the manager of the circus says, “I’ll see how he does with the animals”
(122). Likewise, in the movie, Jacob also occupies the responsibility of working with the circus animals,
which he obtains via a member of the circus’ staff, named Mr. Hyde. These examples show the
comparison between Jacob and Harold’s work in the stories. Third, both Harold and Jacob fall in love
with the main attraction of the show. In this quote from the novel, evidence of Harold’s attraction to
Flip can be shown by his reactions to her, “Flip turned around, and Harold felt a lurch in his heart, a
tremble that shook right through him” (118). As evidence, from the movie, of a love interest between
Jacob and Marlena, the wife of August, the head trainer of the circus, they share a look, after he names
the song, “I’m Confessin’ I Love You”. This connection, shown by a look between them, happens because
Marlena mistakes the song title as a confession of Jacob’s love. When they both realize this
misunderstanding, and the understanding of the affection between them, they show this by sharing a
look. These parts of the two stories illustrate the lust and love that Harold and Jacob feel for Flip and
Marlena. Therefore, these are the ways in which the main characters of the novel and the movie are
apparently similar.
Additionally, the settings are very similar in both pieces of fiction. Foremost, the stories of Ghost
Boy and Water for Elephants both occur in Western United States. When the Gypsy Magda, a friend of
Harold and the outcasts of the circus, also known as the freaks, gets lost and reunites with her friends
she says, “She’s so big this land of America” (39). Early in the movie, Jacob attends Cornell University,
which is in the United States of America. This is also the setting for both narratives, according to these
examples. Secondly, both stories are set during the time period ranging from the 1930’s to the 1940’s. In
Ghost Boy, the helmet that Harold wears is described, as evidence of World War II in the time setting.
This is some of the description the novel gives, concerning this part of Harold’s outfit: “But the Ghost
wore his helmet of leather and fur, a pilot’s helmet from a war that was two years over. It touched his
eyebrows and covered his ears; the straps dangled and swayed at his neck” (1). A picture of this same
type of American equipment, from World War II, can fit the previous description. We know that the
story takes place near the time of this war because it says, “a pilot’s helmet from a war that was two
years over” (1).This means the war was recent. World War II took place between the years of 1939 and
1945. Therefore, the time setting of the book is around the 1930’s- 1940’s, which is the same as that of
the motion picture. In the movie, as evidence of the Great Depression in the setting, Jacob says, “In our
house, there was no sign of Depression”. The Great Depression began in the 1930’s and ended between
the late 1930’s to the middle of the 1940’s. Wherefore, from these examples, it is evident that both
narratives have a time setting, between the 1930’s- 1940’s.Finally, the venue of the two narratives is a
struggling circus. In the novel, to exemplify the scene, the narrator says, “Three elephants linked trunk
to tail, a pair of clowns and the six gleaming horses marched around the hippodrome, and more came
after that” (233). In the movie, to display the vista of a circus, the elephant, Rosie, walks around the
large tent with Marlena on her back, and August standing on the ground and gesturing widely with his
arms as he announces the acts. The purpose of these examples is to describe that the main events of the
stories take place in a circus. Hence, it is evident that the settings are also extremely similar, in
comparing the two narratives.
Finally, the conflicts differ in type, but have strong connections in how they are
developed and resolved. Harold’s main conflict is with himself and Jacob’s is with August. Here is a
quote from the novel that describes Harold’s conflict with his outward appearance, “he wished he really
looked like that” (6). In the movie, to demonstrate the person versus person dispute, Jacob and August
fight physically, after August reveals the love interest, between Marlena and Jacob, by forcing them to
exhibit his ‘new circus act’. From these explanations it is clear that both conflicts are strong even though
the types are different. Also, the conflicts of Jacob and Harold were both developed or escalated
through their love interest. In the movie, a line of events that intensified the conflict between Jacob and
August was when Jacob shot the diseased horse against the will of August. In turn, this action causes
Marlena’s affectionate feelings for Jacob to grow. As a result, the dispute between August and Jacob
became more dangerous. In Ghost Boy, when Flip says, “You don’t have to sleep with the freaks” (162),
she fortifies the battle within Harold. This is because he wanted to please Flip, but he also loved the
freaks. Therefore, from these examples, it is clear the love interest increases the conflict and problems
for the protagonists. Lastly, the resolutions of the main characters’ indifferences are comparable
because of their positive resolutions. In the book, as Harold concludes his journey to find his identity, he
ponders over what the Gypsy Magda says, earlier in the novel, “You’re no better or worse than anyone
else, the Gypsy Magda had told him. But he was better now; he was better than he used to be” (322).
The previous quote, from the book, describes that the conflict, Harold had with himself, is resolved
optimistically, because he now accepts himself. In the movie, to illustrate the positive outcome of the
conclusion of the conflict between Jacob and August, Jacob describes, how life with Marlena is perfect,
after the death of August, caused by Rosie. These examples explain the happiness both protagonists and
readers feel to see the conflicts resolved peacefully. Therefore, this solidifies the successful comparison
showing how the main conflicts are similar.
In conclusion, the novel Ghost Boy and the movie Water for Elephants have closely
related central characters, settings and main conflicts. Harold and Jacob have the same roles of training
the elephants, and both carry out their duty in a gentle way. Similarly, both narratives successfully
portray the circus of the 1930’s- 1940’s in the United States. Although the conflicts seem to contrast,
their development and solution are markedly connected. In summary, a movie based on a successful
novel can benefit the reader with visuals that could help give the novel life, in many cases.