Discussion Question #12

[Amy]

Friedrick Thiessen asserts that he thinks of himself “not as a writer so much as someone who provides a gateway, a tangential route for readers to the circus.” He is a voice for those unable to attend the circus and suggests that the circus is bigger than itself. What role do the reveurs play in keeping the spirit of the circus alive outside of the confines of the circus tents? Why are Frederick Thiessen and the reveurs important to the story? Why do you think some people were so entranced by the circus that they devoted themselves to following it around?

[Amy]

I think it's like anything else that inspires a cult following . . .without those people, the circus would just be a circus. With those people, you have a whole legend built up around the circus. You have followers who devote themselves almost like a religion to that thing and it becomes larger than life.

[Amy]

I think that they were integral to the story. They were needed to keep the reader interested more than they were needed to keep the circus going. Because the circus traveled so much the author would have had to come up with new characters in every town. By using these same characters in every town, even nameless ones with red scarf, she saved her self from having to create more characters! Yeah, my rating is bound to be a 2 star rating after answering these questions! lol

[Amy]

I know...I had to change mine from 3 to 2 on further reflection.