Summer of the Monkeys — Chapter 16

About This Passage

Rawls chooses this moment to show the reader that Jimbo was never a wild enemy — he was someone's friend. The Johnson Brothers drove all night across two states to get to him. The chapter's whole meaning turns on this one paragraph: the 'catch' was really a return home. Notice how Rawls piles verbs of tenderness ('wrapped,' 'buried,' 'missed,' 'loved,' 'whimpered') onto a scene with a circus man and a chimpanzee — and treats it with the same dignity he would give a father and son.

Narration Prompt

Retell Chapter 16 in four parts. First, tell about Jay Berry's fast run to Grandpa's store and the telegram to the circus. Second, tell about the candy sack, Rowdy's ham bone, and what Jay Berry said about his changed fairy-ring wish. Third, tell about the Johnson Brothers' truck arriving and what Jimbo did the moment he saw Ben Johnson. Fourth, tell what Jay Berry did with some of his $156 and how he felt when the truck drove away.

Discussion Questions

1. Ben Johnson 'buried his face in Jimbo's fur' and told Jimbo how much he had missed him and loved him. What does this reunion tell you about what Jimbo and the other monkeys really were — and what does it change about how you understand the whole hunt?
2. Jay Berry tells Grandpa that at the fairy ring he started to wish for the pony and gun but 'changed my mind.' What do you think a boy who has been the best chimpanzee-hunter in the county all summer might wish for instead — and what does changing the wish say about how Jay Berry is changing?

+ 3 more questions in the complete study guide