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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. What does Stella call her cage?

2. Where do Julia and George post Ivan's painted message?

3. Where do the men place Stella's body after she dies?

4. What does Stella say elephant hearts are made of?

5. What is in the parking lot that makes Mack very happy?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. Why does Mack delay in calling a vet for Stella?

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

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

6. In the story, how are wild elephants like Ruby trained to perform tricks?

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

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

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

10. How is Bob affected by Ruby's story of being saved by humans?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why is Ivan hesitant to join the gorilla troop at the zoo? How does he learn to fit in with the other gorillas? Can you think of a similar situation that might occur among groups of humans?

Essay Topic 2

Describe the role the claw-stick plays in the story. Compare how Mack views the use of the claw-stick with how the other characters view its use. What role does the claw-stick play in the release of the animals? How could this be described as ironic?

Essay Topic 3

How do Ivan’s emotions change throughout the course of the book? What do you think causes this change? Why do you think the picture of the angry gorilla on the mall billboard bothers Ivan? Do you think Ivan changes his mind about gorillas and anger? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,159 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample