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. What game is Ivan's twin sister named after?

2. What does Ivan find odd about Ruby's billboard picture?

3. After the mall is featured on the five o'clock news, who arrives at the mall the next day?

4. Who is Helen?

5. How did Ivan feel when he first saw his domain?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Ruby's curious and questioning nature affect Ivan?

2. How does Ivan react to Ruby's first solo act in Mack's show?

3. How did Mack treat Ivan when the gorilla was young?

4. Why was Ivan able to survive the transition from the jungle to a human habitat while his sister died?

5. How do Ivan and his sister get their (original) names?

6. What is Ivan's plan for getting Ruby out of the mall?

7. Why does Mack buy Ruby?

8. What is the significance of the X's that Ivan draws on his painted jungle wall?

9. How do the animals know that a new animal is arriving at the mall?

10. How does Helen's painting inspire Ivan and what were the consequences of Ivan's attempt to create refrigerator art?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What prompts George to risk his job in order to post Ivan’s art on the billboard? Which character or characters help him make that decision and how do they convince him to risk his job for an animal? What do George’s actions tell you about his personality?

Essay Topic 2

Why is Ivan’s art important to him? Describe how art affects Ivan’s life during his infancy, as a young gorilla living with Mack, as an “employee” of the Big Top Mall, and as an activist for animal rights. What is significant about the art that Ivan creates at the zoo?

Essay Topic 3

If you had to choose one essential message or theme to describe the purpose of Ivan’s story, what would it be? Explain how Ivan learns or experiences this theme. Can you think of a situation in which humans might experience this theme as well?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,186 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample