The story starts off with Jacob Jankowski, a ninety three year old man who lives in a retirement home. One day the circus rolls into town and he is reminded of his vibrant past of working at the circus. The story flashes back to when he is twenty- three. Jacob is an Ivy league university student studying to become a veterinarian. With the news of his parents' sudden death, Jacob is depressed . He jumps a moving train, thinking he no longer has a home since his parents had kept their bankruptcy a secret from him. Their house is now the possession of the bank's. The train Jacob had jumped on was the Benzini Brother's most spectacular show on Earth. He has unknowingly ran away to the circus.
Upon his parents' death, Jacob is going through an emotional meltdown " I can't eat. I can't sleep. And I certainly can't study. I stare at a sinle paragraph for a quarter of an hour but can't absorb it. How can I, when behind the words, on the white background of the paper, I'm watching an endless loop of my parent's deaths"( 21). Reading how distraught Jacob was, made me feel immense sympathy towards him. Losing your parents must be tough and would undoubtedly impact you both emotionally and physically. I felt really sorry for Jacob. If I were in his position I would be overwhelmed and would not know what to do. Since his parents left him with no money because the house now belonged to the bank, he has no where to go. I would feel extremely abandoned. I probably would not have done what Jacob did. Jumping on a passing train and running away to the circus is a bit too extreme for me. I would have tried to contact any relatives I may have and try to go from there. I wouldn't just make decisions on a whim but take some time to think it through. I understand how Jacob feels about losing someone close to him, or in his case, his parents. I have lost someone close to me so I can comprehend his feelings of depression because it is hard to get over a death of a loved one.
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