Gruen, Sara: *1969

Water for Elephants, 2006 - Thematic Parallels: Hardship

Gruen, Sara: Water for Elephants, 2006
While the plot of this novel revolves around the circus, the topic is really about human resilience and the moral choices people make when faced with cruelty and hardship.
The following books are thematically similar. They lend themselves well to being read in groups, compared with one another, or used to teach a similar topic over an extended period with a class:
- Chevalier, Tracy.: Girl with a Pearl Earring, 1999, ~250pp
  This novel explores forbidden attractions and hierarchical relationships in a vivid historical period—a parallel to Jacob’s relationship with Marlena in "Water for Elephants."
  - Both novels explore how those with little power are used — whether as subjects for art or as performers/laborers — and the moral compromises that result. They de-romanticize glamorous settings by showing the hidden effort, politics, and suffering behind beauty or entertainment. In each, the main character emerges changed: Griet gains painful wisdom about art, power, and her own agency; Jacob gains resilience and a sense of identity.
- Lessing, Doris: The Grass Is Singing, 1950, ~240pp
  This novel deals with social cruelty, inequality, and abuse of power within a challenging setting, mirroring the hardships and interpersonal oppression in "Water for Elephants."
  - Both novels use their settings to explore systemic power abuses — racial in "The Grass Is Singing," economic/class-based in "Water for Elephants." The physical environment (whether wild African bush or chaotic traveling circus) is not neutral — it actively mirrors and intensifies human conflict. Both protagonists are shaped — and to a degree broken — by the systems they enter.
- Paton, Alan: Cry, the Beloved Country, 1948, ~250pp
  This novel deals with social and economic hardships and compassion, akin to the Depression setting of "Water for Elephants."
  - Both novels depict closed, hierarchical systems where those at the bottom have little protection, and moral courage means risking personal safety. They confront the question: How do you stay humane in an inhumane environment? Both are bildungsroman-like in structure, with characters transformed by moral challenges and loss.
- Steinbeck, John: Of Mice and Men, 1937, ~100pp
  This is a novella about struggles during the Great Depression, focusing on marginalized characters and tough survival, which shares the historical era and themes of hardship.
  - Both novels unfold against the economic and emotional hardships of the 1930s (the Great Depression) in America. While "Of Mice and Men" ends with profound loss, "Water for Elephants" ends more hopefully — yet both acknowledge that innocence and safety are fleeting.
List of general discussion questions on Hardship (pdf)
List of essay prompts on Hardship (pdf)