Summer of the Monkeys: Difference between revisions
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Then, the book tells about Daisy's crippled leg, how hard the family is working hard to get Daisy's leg operation, and how much Jay wants a pony. Somehow, Jay Berry has had a long-time companion, a dog, called Rowdy. But the main focus is on Jay Berry's (and reluctantly, Rowdy's) attempts to catch the monkeys, because his grandfather tells Jay about a reward catching monkeys alive. $100 is offered for a brilliant monkey and $2 for each little monkey, which was a great sum of money due to the story taking place around the 1800s. Repeatedly, under the leadership of the brilliant $100 monkey (that's why he's so expensive), the monkeys outsmart Jay Berry and put him in awkward positions--for example, they steal his belongings, get him drunk, etc. |
Then, the book tells about Daisy's crippled leg, how hard the family is working hard to get Daisy's leg operation, and how much Jay wants a pony. Somehow, Jay Berry has had a long-time companion, a dog, called Rowdy. But the main focus is on Jay Berry's (and reluctantly, Rowdy's) attempts to catch the monkeys, because his grandfather tells Jay about a reward catching monkeys alive. $100 is offered for a brilliant monkey and $2 for each little monkey, which was a great sum of money due to the story taking place around the 1800s. Repeatedly, under the leadership of the brilliant $100 monkey (that's why he's so expensive), the monkeys outsmart Jay Berry and put him in awkward positions--for example, they steal his belongings, get him drunk, etc. |
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The men in the book (Jay, his "Papa", Grandpa), seem to be jocular, and are the ones most obsessed with catching the monkeys. The women (Mama, Daisy), are more matter-of-fact, serious, and worried-about-everything. Jay Berry is often annoyed by them, but greatly enjoys his father's and Grandpa's company. |
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Finally, Grandpa has had it (he's also impatient to catch the monkeys), and decides to take Jay Berry to the town of Tahlequah to go to its library and do research on how to catch monkeys. They find out to use coconuts and a trap cage, and they go to the general store for these. There, Jay Berry also meets an attractive girl who works there, who tries to flirt with him, but he is openly annoyed (he claims not to understand girls), and the girl giggles at him. I think it was a poor choice on his part--the girl was really pretty, and the two were a perfect match (for some reason, I take it that Jay Berry is also cute). Also, Jay Berry's "misunderstanding" of girls is probably just the author trying to say that all boys around that age are in the process of maturing, and only starting to accept women. |
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Later on Daisy finds a fairy ring which is capable of granting wishes. It shows her wishing for something, but it doesn't tell what. Then, Jay gives the monkeys to their owner. The owner gives him the $156, enough to buy his pony. It's also enough to get Daisy's leg fixed. In the end, Jay Berry decides to use the money for Daisy's operation instead of buying the pony. Throughout the book, the author has the characters make and laugh at crude, shallow, only-partly-funny, and exaggerated jokes; evidently, the author really enjoys his humor. |
Later on Daisy finds a fairy ring which is capable of granting wishes. It shows her wishing for something, but it doesn't tell what. Then, Jay gives the monkeys to their owner. The owner gives him the $156, enough to buy his pony. It's also enough to get Daisy's leg fixed. In the end, Jay Berry decides to use the money for Daisy's operation instead of buying the pony. Throughout the book, the author has the characters make and laugh at crude, shallow, only-partly-funny, and exaggerated jokes; evidently, the author really enjoys his humor. |
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Revision as of 05:02, 24 September 2007
 | This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. (March 2007) |
 Newer version of cover. | |
| Author | Wilson Rawls |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | children's novel |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
Publication date | 1976 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 288 |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-440-41580-2 Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
| Preceded by | Where The Red Fern Grows |
Summer of the Monkeys is a 1976 children's novel written by Wilson Rawls. The book was published by Doubleday (later released by Yearling Publishing) and was the winner of the William Allen White Book Award.
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
The book was made into a direct to video movie in 1998 by Buena Vista Home Video (Disney) and starred Corey Sevier as Jay Berry Lee and Wilford Brimley as Grandpa. The movie takes place in rural Canada.
About the book
Summer of the Monkeys takes place in the late 1800s, just before 1900. It's about a boy named Jay Berry Lee, who wants a pony and a .22, but finds out about what's more important to him throughout the story.
The book starts by describing Jay Berry's happy and idyllic life, ruined when he discovered a batch of monkeys. It then talks about Jay Berry's family moving from Missouri to Oklahoma. Oklahoma was known as "The Last Frontier", so this parallels the final settlement of the state in the 1890s. It also represents the continued encroachments of whites onto Native American land, even though this was technically the "Indian Territory".
Then, the book tells about Daisy's crippled leg, how hard the family is working hard to get Daisy's leg operation, and how much Jay wants a pony. Somehow, Jay Berry has had a long-time companion, a dog, called Rowdy. But the main focus is on Jay Berry's (and reluctantly, Rowdy's) attempts to catch the monkeys, because his grandfather tells Jay about a reward catching monkeys alive. $100 is offered for a brilliant monkey and $2 for each little monkey, which was a great sum of money due to the story taking place around the 1800s. Repeatedly, under the leadership of the brilliant $100 monkey (that's why he's so expensive), the monkeys outsmart Jay Berry and put him in awkward positions--for example, they steal his belongings, get him drunk, etc.
The men in the book (Jay, his "Papa", Grandpa), seem to be jocular, and are the ones most obsessed with catching the monkeys. The women (Mama, Daisy), are more matter-of-fact, serious, and worried-about-everything. Jay Berry is often annoyed by them, but greatly enjoys his father's and Grandpa's company.
Finally, Grandpa has had it (he's also impatient to catch the monkeys), and decides to take Jay Berry to the town of Tahlequah to go to its library and do research on how to catch monkeys. They find out to use coconuts and a trap cage, and they go to the general store for these. There, Jay Berry also meets an attractive girl who works there, who tries to flirt with him, but he is openly annoyed (he claims not to understand girls), and the girl giggles at him. I think it was a poor choice on his part--the girl was really pretty, and the two were a perfect match (for some reason, I take it that Jay Berry is also cute). Also, Jay Berry's "misunderstanding" of girls is probably just the author trying to say that all boys around that age are in the process of maturing, and only starting to accept women.
Later on Daisy finds a fairy ring which is capable of granting wishes. It shows her wishing for something, but it doesn't tell what. Then, Jay gives the monkeys to their owner. The owner gives him the $156, enough to buy his pony. It's also enough to get Daisy's leg fixed. In the end, Jay Berry decides to use the money for Daisy's operation instead of buying the pony. Throughout the book, the author has the characters make and laugh at crude, shallow, only-partly-funny, and exaggerated jokes; evidently, the author really enjoys his humor.