Water for Elephants

I must say that this was a great book..I had a really difficult time putting it down. (Usually I'm referring to the remote control...not a book.)

Anyways, regarding the social classes as portrayed in the book:
It was obvious to Jacob after he jumped on the train, and realized he had come upon a circus, that there were defined social classes on the tour. The character Camel was very aware of the class structure and tried to inform Jacob of it. What I liked about Camel is that he didn't seem to have a problem with Jacob being educated & deserving of a higher social status in the circus. He was content showing him the ropes and doing doing his own thing...mostly drinking moonshine or 'Jake', the Jamaican extract that made him ill. There were the performers who got the preferred treatment, and the roustabouts who settled for whatever they could get...usually only a meal and sporadic pay, if they were lucky. During the Depression Era, I suppose they might have been content knowing they had food & a place to sleep...no matter how bad ( even with the animals). As Jacob quickly found out, the higher-class circus folks often dined and enjoyed the finer things...while everyone else got whatever was available to them. How does this apply to today's social class structure? I'm not sure since it was a traveling circus during the Depression....but I'll give it a shot. Today's 'roustabout' class is mostly made up of people who gravitate towards being the victim of one thing or another. Just look watch the TV news or read a newspaper and you'll see that finding a way to be the victim is an art form supported by the mostly-liberal media. There are non-stop programs that show people who were victims of everything....hot coffee, pharmaceuticals, McDonald's, oil companies...the list could go on & on. The difference between back then and now? That people who faced various challenges did whatever it took to take care of themselves and their families. Today most 'victims' abdicate their personal responsibility knowing that they will probably qualify for government assistance, or even worse, be able to sue. And, again, the left-wing media has no problem giving these people their fifteen seconds of fame. Just look at any reality TV show, talk show or Judge 'whatever' show to see I'm telling the truth. Back in those days, the people weren't interested in any of that crap...again, they just wanted to do whatever it took to care for their families. I'm a little older than most of my classmates, so I think I might have a little clearer perspective. My grandparents, being immigrants seeking a better life, were much too proud to ask for a hand-out. They just worked hard...period. They knew they were at the bottom of the social-class ladder, but always knew that if they set goals and worked hard to achieve them, they could accomplish those goals. Same for my parents. This is in stark contrast to what is happening today, where there is an entire class of able-bodied people who rely on the government to take responsibility for their decisions. Whatever happened to being appreciative of what you have been given and doing whatever you can to make your children's lives better than yours? I thought that was our jobs as parents? It reminds me of when Jacob met with an attorney (?) after his parents died and was told he didn't have any inheritance. "What the heck?", thought Jacob. Until he realized that his parents mortgaged their entire estate in order to send him to an Ivy League school. Once he discerned that, it resonated deep within him. It also was a value that he held deeply...family (animals included)and sacrifice...the way it's supposed to be. Flash forward to today and you can see how the generations have changed. It was extremely obvious in the book when Jacob's children & family never showed up to see him the Sunday the circus was in town that he had gone 'full-circle' socially, if you will. Even though he never was rich man, he had achieved his dreams (Marlena & caring for animals). Now he was left to feel ignored and insignificant in the nursing home...just like the roustabouts on the circus tour. Surely his eldest son, Simon (who was born while touring with Barnum) would have known how much Jacob's past meant to him. It's where he met & fell in love with their mother for heavens sake! Instead Jacob was forced to become a 'victim' of today's society and values...one in which there is no use for learning from our previous generations. Instead, he was relegated to becoming a needy nuisance who was an inconvenience to his family and the staff at his care home. It kind of reminds me how the lower-class circus folks were 'red-lighted' once they had no value to the circus tour. Also, it really caught me off-guard when Walter & Camel were literally thrown away once they appeared to be nuisances to the circus hierarchy. (I must say, it was very cool to find out that Big Al was found strangled inside a tent later on. Yes, I read the entire book). Back to the modern day...
It really seems that the government (and the media somewhat) have taken on the role of the traditional family...one in which the parents & elders are respected and valued. What does this mean? It seems, that the Gen-Y & Millenials...whatever...care only about themselves, their computers, digital media & their friends. Their ears, eyes & closed-minds are filled with whatever makes them feel good at the time. I have first-hand experience because I have 19 year-old & seven year-old daughters. Instead, it's immediate gratification 24/7. You don't have to work for anything, it's owed to you. Where the heck did that attitude come from? I think it's the hippie-generation parents who have fostered & encouraged these attitudes. Luckily my parents didn't encourage this crap. My dad worked his ass-off to provide us with a better life...same as his father did. Again, I feel the blame for exaggerated 'social classes' lies on the government, media and care-free parents. I say exaggerated because what defines poverty today is WAY DIFFERENT than what defined it during the Depression Era. Heck, today's poverty-stricken youth have cell-phones, wear $200 sneakers, get free school breakfasts & lunches (even during the summer), watch cable TV and have HUGE attitude. For the most part, the teens of today feel like the are 'due' respect and don't have to give any. They also feel like it's cool to 'hook-up', get pregnant and have no worries nor responsibility for what happens next. What about their children? Who's going to take care of them and see their basic needs are met? I guess the answer is you & me! Via taxes and government programs, WE are forced to be the 'financial' parents to these innocent children while their parents run-the-streets doing their own thing. 'It's All Good' is the frequent no-responsibility phrase of today's youth. Keep in mind these are today's & tomorrow's leaders (Barak Obama) who have no clue about what's really going on in the world, just fist-bumps & focus-grouped, researched platitudes.
To summarize again, there were some definite parallels between the book and today's social-class structures...even though the causes for the divisions might be debatable. Jacob was an incredible character who finally re-found his proper place in society, even if it was today's circus. He was back at his real home and valued...isn't that what we all want, to be valued? great book.