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

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is the first person to see Ivan's word?

2. What does Ivan decide to add to the painting he makes for Ruby?

3. What does Bob do to comfort Ruby after Stella's death?

4. After Ruby's nightmare, what does Ivan call Ruby's cage?

5. Why doesn't Mack seek medical treatment for Stella's foot?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

5. How does Ivan's appearances at the mall as a young gorilla compare to his experiences at the mall as an adult gorilla?

6. How does Mack train Ruby to replace Stella?

7. Why is Ivan puzzled by the fear that most humans have of gorillas?

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

9. What does Stella mean when she says, "Humans can surprise you sometimes"?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does Ivan learn from watching television? What types of shows does Ivan watch and what does he learn from each type of show? How does watching the television in the mall make Ivan feel? How is the television in the zoo different from the television in the mall?

Essay Topic 2

Describe Mack’s relationship with Ivan. What type of relationship did they have when Mack first bought Ivan? How and why did that relationship change? How does Ivan describe their relationship at the mall? At the end of the story, why do you think Mack tries to remind Ivan of their earlier relationship?

Essay Topic 3

Ivan is the narrator of the story. Why do you think the author chose to have him tell the story instead of writing it from a human’s perspective? What do we learn from Ivan’s point of view that we might not learn had the story been told from a human’s point of view?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,366 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample