Summer of the Monkeys — Chapter 15

About This Passage

This is the moment Jay Berry finally finds the monkeys after the storm. Notice that Rawls does NOT describe a pack of wild animals — he describes a family. Jimbo has his arms 'wrapped around his little friends as if he were protecting them,' and the little monkeys are 'huddled up against his body.' The storm has transformed these thieves into something tender. The chapter's whole meaning turns on this paragraph: once you have seen Jimbo as a protector, you cannot go back to seeing him as a villain.

Narration Prompt

Retell Chapter 15 in your own words. Start with Jay Berry and Rowdy searching the cold, wet river bottoms after the storm. Then describe the moment Jay Berry almost gave up and sat on the sycamore log. Then tell how he heard the pitiful cry and found the monkeys huddled under the bank. Then explain how he saved the sickest little monkey by rubbing him warm, and how Jimbo climbed into his arms. Finally, describe the monkeys following him home, Mama with the tea kettle, and Daisy being the first to hold Jimbo.

Discussion Questions

1. When Jay Berry sees the sickest little monkey 'stretched out on the cold ground' and almost dead, he reaches in for THAT one first, not for an easier monkey. What does this choice — rescue the weakest before the easy ones — tell you about the kind of person Jay Berry is becoming in this chapter?
2. Papa explains that the storm did most of the catching for Jay Berry, because the tame monkeys had never been out in weather like that. How does this explanation change the story's meaning — is Jay Berry's success a victory of his own hunting skill, a gift, or something in between, and what does the answer teach about how rewards come to people who keep trying?

+ 3 more questions in the complete study guide