Reading 12 — Teaching Companion

What it asks It asks the student to hear one short line. When Maya pulls the string, the family Ivan has watched on TV is on the other side of the glass. He says, “I see me.” and “Lots of me.” Then, in the section titled “still there”: “I cover my eyes.” He looks again. “They are still there.” The line can be said two ways. On his first morning at the zoo, Ivan asked, “Where are the gorillas?” Now here they are, real and not on a screen. But covering his eyes is also what he does later, when Kinyani tests him: “I cower and hide my eyes.” The student reads the line aloud and decides what Ivan feels: glad the gorillas have not gone, or scared that they have not. It is the first step toward the last written question: the gorillas behind the glass are what Ivan is meant to be, and being glad or scared to see them is the same pull he feels at the door.

One reading

Glad. On his first morning at the zoo he asked where the gorillas were. Now they are here, and they are real, not on a screen. He covers his eyes because it is hard to believe. When he looks again, they have not gone away.

• Where are the gorillas?
• It’s the family I’ve been watching. But they’re not on a TV screen.

Another reading

Scared. He covers his eyes, as he will again when Kinyani tests him. Gorillas on TV were safe to watch. These ones are real, and soon he must live with them. Part of him may have hoped they would be gone.

• I cover my eyes.
• She is terrifying.

Listen for

• Reads the line aloud, and says how the voice should sound and why.
• Uses what Ivan asks on his first morning at the zoo: “Where are the gorillas?”
• Notices the order: he covers his eyes, then looks again.
• Does not say the troop has taken Ivan in yet; at this point there is still glass between them.

If stuck

• What did Ivan ask about gorillas when he first woke up at the zoo?
• What does Ivan do right after he says, “I see me”?
• Can you be glad and scared at the same time?

A strong answer A strong response might say Ivan is glad: he asked, “Where are the gorillas?” on his first morning, and now they are real, not on a screen, and still there when he looks again. Another might say he is scared: he covers his eyes, and soon he finds Kinyani “terrifying.” A careful answer may say he is both, and that this is why he covers his eyes and then looks again.

What it asks It asks the student to weigh a choice Ivan makes. At the door, with Kinyani and the others waiting, he says, “I’m not ready for this.” and decides, “I’ll try again tomorrow.” That night he lies awake, wondering about Ruby: “Was she as scared as I am?” In the morning, “I think of Ruby, and I tell myself it’s time.” He goes out to sky and grass and tree: “Mine.” But the others “don’t welcome me.” Kinyani chases him and corners him, and “I cower and hide my eyes.” The student decides whether the day of waiting made Ivan ready, or only got him through the door. It ties to the last written question: if waiting did not make Ivan ready, something else had to, and the next time he faces the troop, he is pretending.

One reading

Yes. The night gave him time to think of Ruby, who was scared too and would have gone through. In the morning he chose to go, by himself, and he stepped out into a world he calls his own.

• I think of Ruby, and I tell myself it’s time.
• Mine.

Another reading

No. He got through the door, but he was no more ready. The first time Kinyani tests him, he cowers, and Maya has to let him back in. What helps him comes later, when he tries acting like a silverback.

• I cower and hide my eyes.
• Maya lets me back into my cage.

Listen for

• Uses what Ivan says at the door: “I’m not ready for this.”
• Uses the night of thinking about Ruby, and the morning: “I tell myself it’s time.”
• Sets the first day outside beside the waiting: the stick, the corner and the cowering.
• Does not treat the cowering as proof that Ivan can never be a silverback; it is one moment.

If stuck

• What does Ivan think about all night after he leaves the door?
• What happens the first time Ivan goes outside?
• Does waiting make a hard thing easier, or do you have to try it first?

A strong answer A strong response might say the day helped: Ivan spent the night thinking of Ruby, and in the morning, “I tell myself it’s time.” Another might say it got him through the door but did not make him ready, since on his first day out, “I cower and hide my eyes.” A careful answer may notice that the next thing Ivan tries is not waiting but pretending, when he imagines “a different Ivan, my father’s son.”

What it asks It asks the student who Ivan’s act is meant for. In the section titled “pretending”, the juvenile male approaches: “He’s eyeing my food hungrily.” Ivan imagines “a different Ivan, my father’s son”, then grumbles, swats, swaggers and beats his chest “till the whole world hears.” “Kinyani watches, and so do the others.” The young male retreats, “Almost as if he believes I’m the silverback I’m pretending to be.” Not long before, Kinyani tested Ivan “to see if I’m a true silverback,” and he cowered. Afterward he lay awake, trying “to imagine Ivan as he might have been.” The student decides whom the show is for: the young male and the food, Kinyani and the troop who saw him cower, or Ivan himself. It takes up one part of the last written question: who the pretending is for, not whether it has come true.

One reading

For Kinyani and the troop. Kinyani tested him to see if he was a true silverback, and he cowered. This is his second chance, and this time they all see it.

• I know that she’s testing me to see if I’m a true silverback, one who can protect her family.
• Kinyani watches, and so do the others.

Another reading

For Ivan himself. Before he moves, he pictures a different Ivan. The show helps him believe in that Ivan, the way the young male seems to.

• I imagine a different Ivan, my father’s son.
• Almost as if he believes I’m the silverback I’m pretending to be.

Listen for

• Starts from what sets it off: the young male is “eyeing my food hungrily.”
• Uses who is watching, and remembers that the last time Kinyani tested him, Ivan cowered.
• Notices what Ivan pictures before he moves: “a different Ivan, my father’s son.”
• Does not treat the show as lying; it works, and the young male retreats.

If stuck

• What does the young male want?
• What did Ivan do the last time Kinyani tested him?
• Can you put on a show for yourself?

A strong answer A strong response might say the show is for the young male, who wants Ivan’s food, and it works: “he retreats.” Another might say it is for Kinyani and the troop, who saw him cower when she tested him; this time “Kinyani watches, and so do the others.” A careful answer may say it is also for Ivan, who pictures “a different Ivan, my father’s son” before he moves, and may notice that the act works even though Ivan calls it pretending.

What it asks It asks the student to read a silence. “Gorillas aren’t chatty, like humans,” Ivan says. “But now and again we swap a story under the sun.” When it is his turn, he tells them about Mack and Ruby and Bob and Stella and Julia and George, and about his mother and father and sister. “When I am done, they look away, silent.” Then: “Kinyani moves closer. Her shoulder brushes mine, and we let the sun soak into our fur. Together.” The student decides whether the troop looks away because a story full of humans they have never met means little to them, or because they feel what he has told them. It ties to the last written question: telling his story is a way of living among gorillas that is neither a swagger nor a cower.

One reading

They do not know what to make of it. Gorillas swap stories, but they are not chatty, and Ivan’s story is full of humans they have never met. Looking away may be how they let it pass.

• Gorillas aren’t chatty, like humans, prone to gossip and bad jokes.
• When I am done, they look away, silent.

Another reading

They feel it. It is a sad story, and silence can be a kind of respect. Then Kinyani moves closer and sits with him in the sun.

• Kinyani moves closer.
• Her shoulder brushes mine, and we let the sun soak into our fur. Together.

Listen for

• Uses who is in Ivan’s story: Mack, Ruby, Bob, Stella, Julia, George, and his mother, father and sister.
• Uses what Ivan says about gorillas and stories: they are not chatty, but they swap a story now and again.
• Notices what comes right after the silence: Kinyani’s shoulder, and the word “Together.”
• Does not say the troop has made Ivan its silverback; the reading shows Kinyani beside him, not a verdict.

If stuck

• Who does Ivan tell the troop about?
• What does Kinyani do after the others look away?
• When someone tells you something sad, what can staying quiet mean?

A strong answer A strong response might say the troop does not know what to make of it: gorillas “aren’t chatty,” and the story is full of humans. Another might say they feel it: the silence is a kind of respect, and then “Kinyani moves closer.” A careful answer may notice that the section ends on one word, “Together.”

What it asks It asks the student why Ivan speaks to someone who cannot hear him. From the tree on the hill he sees past the wall to the elephants, and then Ruby, “belly deep in tall grass with others by her side.” He whispers, “She’s here, Stella,” and then, “Ruby’s safe. Just like I promised.” Stella died before Ivan ever left the mall. Ivan gave her his word, as a silverback, that he would look after Ruby, and in this reading Kinyani tests whether he is “one who can protect her family.” Right after, he calls to Ruby, and he knows “she’ll never hear me.” Still, Ruby pauses. The student decides why Ivan tells Stella anyway: to finish the promise by telling the one he made it to, or to hear it said for himself, after a reading that began with him wondering whether Ruby was “still alone?” It ties to the last written question: the book ends on another whisper, “Mighty Silverback”, that no one may hear.

One reading

To finish the promise. He made it to Stella, so she is the one he tells. Saying “Just like I promised” to her is the last part of keeping it, even if she cannot hear.

• She’s here, Stella,
• Ruby’s safe. Just like I promised.

Another reading

For himself. The first thing he wondered at the zoo was whether Ruby was alone in a cage like her old one. Now he can see she is not. Saying it out loud, even in a whisper, makes it real to him.

• Is this where Ruby ended up? In a cage just like her old cage, still alone?
• She’s far away, belly deep in tall grass with others by her side.

Listen for

• Uses the promise: “Just like I promised.”
• Remembers Ivan’s first worry when he wakes at the zoo: is Ruby “still alone?”
• Notices that Ivan knows Ruby will never hear him, and that she pauses anyway.
• Does not say Ivan and Ruby meet again; he sees her far off, from a tree.

If stuck

• What did Ivan promise Stella?
• What did Ivan wonder about Ruby when he first woke up at the zoo?
• Do you ever say something out loud just to hear it yourself?

A strong answer A strong response might say Ivan is finishing his promise: he made it to Stella, so he tells Stella, “Just like I promised.” Another might say he says it for himself: when he woke at the zoo he wondered if Ruby was “still alone?”, and now he sees her “with others by her side.” A careful answer may notice that Ivan whispers here, as he does at the very end, and that Ruby pauses for a second, though he knows “she’ll never hear me.”

What it asks It asks for a cause. In the section titled “oops”, Kinyani “chases me. She throws a stick at me. She corners me.” Ivan knows she is testing him “to see if I’m a true silverback,” and “I cower and hide my eyes.” In the section titled “it”, she “ambles toward me. She taps me on the shoulder and knuckle runs away.” Ivan is not sure what is happening: “I watch her, arms crossed over my chest. I’m careful not to make a sound.” Then, “We’re playing.” Between those two sections come the night Ivan tries to remember being a gorilla, the swagger the troop watches, the nest and the film of Ruby. The student explains what changed: Ivan, or Kinyani. It feeds the last written question without asking it: if Ivan changed, the swagger may be part of why.

One reading

Ivan changed. He stopped cowering. He swaggered and beat his chest, and the young male backed off, with Kinyani watching. A gorilla who can stand up for himself is one she will play with.

• Kinyani watches, and so do the others.
• I move toward the young upstart, and he retreats.

Another reading

Kinyani changed. During tag, Ivan does nothing new: he stands still and quiet and does not know what is going on. The game is her idea, and she has to start it twice before he understands.

• I’m careful not to make a sound.
• I’m not sure what we’re doing.
• She ambles back, shoves at me, dashes past.

Listen for

• Sets the two scenes side by side: the stick and the corner in “oops”, the tap and the run in “it”.
• Names what happens in between, in order: the night of remembering, the swagger, the nest and the film of Ruby.
• Uses how unsure Ivan is during tag: arms crossed, careful not to make a sound.
• Writes in complete sentences, with a reason and a line from the reading, and does not say Kinyani has made Ivan her silverback.

If stuck

• What does Kinyani do the first time Ivan goes outside?
• What does Ivan do while Kinyani taps him and runs?
• When someone stops testing you and starts playing with you, who has changed?

A strong answer A strong response names a cause and shows it with a line. A student who says Ivan changed might point out that he stopped cowering and swaggered at the young male while “Kinyani watches, and so do the others.” A student who says Kinyani changed might argue that Ivan does nothing new: he is “careful not to make a sound”, and says, “I’m not sure what we’re doing.” The game is her idea. A careful answer does not say Kinyani now sees Ivan as a silverback; the reading shows a game, not a verdict.

What it asks It asks the student to weigh what Ivan does with the thing that makes the zoo a cage. At the top of the hill he finds a wall, “high and wide, carefully built to keep us in and others out.” He thinks, “This is, after all, still a cage.” Then he scoops up the soft dirt, and the wall “waits, like an endless blank billboard.” He slaps on handfuls of mud, makes a handprint and a noseprint, and says, “I’m an artist at work.” He does not know what he is making, “and I don’t care.” When he is done, he likes it: “It feels dreamy and wild, like something Julia might have made.” To see it better he climbs a tree, and from there he sees past the wall, to Ruby. The student decides whether painting the wall changes what it means to Ivan, or leaves it a cage wall with mud on it. It sets up the last written question: whatever Ivan becomes, he becomes it inside this wall.

One reading

Yes. Before, the wall was built to hold him in. Once he paints it, it is his work, and he likes what he made. He climbs a tree to see it, and from there he sees past the wall to Ruby.

• And the wall waits, like an endless blank billboard.
• I’m an artist at work.
• I like it.

Another reading

No. Mud does not move a brick. The wall still keeps him in, as it was built to. Ivan had his art in his old cage too, and he still calls that place a cage.

• It’s high and wide, carefully built to keep us in and others out.
• This is, after all, still a cage.
• I miss my old cozy cage.

Listen for

• Uses what the wall is for: “to keep us in and others out.”
• Notices what the wall looks like to Ivan just before he paints: “an endless blank billboard.”
• Notices where the painting leads: he climbs the tree to see it and sees past the wall.
• Writes in complete sentences, gives a reason and a line from the reading, and answers the other side; does not say what the painting shows.

If stuck

• What is the wall built to do?
• What does the wall look like to Ivan just before he paints?
• Can you change what a thing means without changing the thing?

A strong answer A strong response takes a side and answers the other. A student who says yes might point out that the wall that waits “like an endless blank billboard” becomes Ivan’s own work. He says, “I’m an artist at work.” Later he says, “I like it.” A student who says no might answer that the wall is still “carefully built to keep us in and others out”, and that Ivan had his art in his old cage too, yet he still calls it a cage: “I miss my old cozy cage.” A careful answer may notice that painting the wall is what takes him up the tree, where he sees past it.

What it asks It asks the whole question of the reading. At the door Ivan says, “I’m not ready to be a silverback.” When Kinyani tests him, “I cower and hide my eyes.” Later he imagines “a different Ivan, my father’s son”, swaggers, and the young male retreats, “Almost as if he believes I’m the silverback I’m pretending to be.” After that come the nest, the game of tag, the grooming, the story told to the troop and the wall he paints. George, seeing him across the moat, says, “Stronger. Happier, even.” Bob calls, “You are the One and Only Ivan,” and Ivan nods and turns toward his family. The book ends on his whisper, “Mighty Silverback”. No one in the troop says it, and no one may even hear it. The student decides whether the whisper names what Ivan has become, or one more part he is still playing. The earlier written questions asked what changed between Ivan and Kinyani, and whether painting the wall changes what it means to him; this one asks what Ivan is.

One reading

He has become one. He did not start ready, but he kept trying, and it worked: the young male backed off, Kinyani played with him and sat beside him, and George can see the change. The whisper is Ivan saying it at last.

• Stronger. Happier, even.
• I nod, then turn toward my family, my life, my home.

Another reading

He is still pretending, or still practicing. He used the word himself: pretending. No one calls him a silverback but Ivan, and he only whispers it. When he was acting, he beat his chest for the whole world to hear.

• Almost as if he believes I’m the silverback I’m pretending to be.
• I beat my chest till the whole world hears.

Listen for

• Starts from where Ivan begins: “I’m not ready to be a silverback.” and “I cower and hide my eyes.”
• Uses Ivan’s own word for the swagger, “pretending”, and what it does to the young male.
• Sets the loud chest-beating beside the quiet whisper at the end, and says what the difference shows.
• Writes in complete sentences, gives a reason and a line from the reading, answers the other side, and does not rule on one moment alone (the last words, or one cowering).

If stuck

• What does Ivan say about himself at the door?
• Who calls Ivan a silverback at the end?
• If you act brave long enough, do you become brave?

A strong answer A strong response takes a side, gives a reason and answers the other side. A student who says he has become one might trace the change from “I cower and hide my eyes” to the young male retreating, to Kinyani’s shoulder, and to George’s “Stronger. Happier, even.” A student who says he is still pretending might point out that Ivan names it himself, “the silverback I’m pretending to be”, and that the only one who calls him “Mighty Silverback” is Ivan, in a whisper. A careful answer may say the reading leaves it open, and may ask whether pretending is how Ivan becomes one.