View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Dr. Poole claim he cannot fix the Chief's train?

2. What is the name of the scientists' ship in Ape and Essence?

3. What surprises Chief about Dr. Poole's admission that he arrived on a boat?

4. In the beginning of the screenplay, the narrator warns that "all too often" Art takes Nature and __________.

5. The narrator makes an analogy between Gandhi's nonviolence and what feature of Bob Brigg's life?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Bob Briggs ask Lou Lublin for, and why? How does this relate to a religious painting?

2. Describe the scene in which baboons are gathered at a palace.

3. How is Dr. Poole described? What does Dr. Schneeglock think of him?

4. Describe the circumstances during which Dr. Poole is kidnapped.

5. What point does the script narrator make about baboons and knowledge?

6. What is the New Zealand Rediscovery Expedition, and what is its mission?

7. List the allusions/references found in this section of the text.

8. Describe the Chief's conception of "Democracy."

9. What is Bob Briggs appraisal of Gandhi?

10. Describe the opening of the movie "Ape and Essence."

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Much discussion is centered around the discovery of the truth and the nature of knowledge. What kind of theory of truth/knowledge does the novel put forth? How do the Arch Vicar and Dr. Poole differ about the nature of truth and knowledge? What is the consequence for an absence of truth?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the character of William Tallis and the extent to which he is a surrogate or reflection of Huxley himself. Why is it important that he wrote the Ape and Essence screenplay? What is the significance of his gravestone, and the grave's location?

Essay Topic 3

Explain how the back story and plot points of the script "Ape and Essence" reveal the author's own fears about the threat of nuclear war and annihilation.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,075 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample