The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle Study Questions Answer Key

Overall Literary Questions 1) Who is the narrator of the story? Tommy Stubbins (also the main character) 2) Name and describe the main characters. a. Tommy 10 year old boy who tells the story; becomes Doctor Dolittles assistant b. Doctor Dolittle the Great Naturalist who speaks animal languages c. Bumpo Kahbooboo Crown Prince of Jolliginki who is on holiday from Oxford; he voyages with Tommy, Doctor Dolittle, and the rest of the crew to Spidermonkey Island d. Polynesia West African parrot who taught Doctor Dolittle and Tommy how to understand bird language e. Jip Doctor Dolittles dog who took care of the house while Doctor Dolittle was away on voyages f. Chee-Chee monkey who voyaged from Africa to England in order to return to Doctor Dolittles g. Miranda Purple Bird of Paradise from South America visits Doctor Dolittle every August to give him news of Long Arrow, son of Golden Arrow 3) There are many minor characters as well. Name three and describe them. a. Dab-Dab a duck who acts as Doctor Dolittles housekeeper b. Long Arrow an Indian naturalist who specializes in plants; he goes missing and the other main characters voyage to find him c. Luke the Hermit man charged with murder; Doctor Dolittle helps Luke by translating his dog, Bobs story d. Don Enrique Cardenas very important Spaniard who supplies the bulls for the bullfights in Monteverde 4) How many settings are described in the book? List each one. a. England: the time of year changes the story begins in summer; town of Puddleby on the Marsh b. At Sea: there are calm, quiet days, etc. Tommy describes these as the moods of the sea (see Part 4, Chapter 3) c. Capa Blancas Islands; town of Monteverde; warm climate d. Spidermonkey Island climate changes, time of year changes 5) From what point of view is the story told? First Person Tommys point of view 6) Does the author use suspense throughout the story? If so, describe an instance. Yes, for example, during the rescue of Long Arrow and the Popsipetel families the audience wonders if they will still be alive and if they will find a way to get them out of the blocked cave. 7) What is the theme? The major theme of all the Dolittle books is the concern for life and living creatures, especially animals. (see eNotes: http://www.enotes.com/voyages-doctorqn/themes-characters) Part 1

1) Who are Tommys three great friends in Puddleby? Name and describe each. a. Joe, the mussel man very good with his hands b. Matthew Mugg, the cats meat man knew everyone in Puddleby and all the dogs and cats c. Luke the Hermit had a secret that no one knew until the Policemen found him 2) What is a naturalist? Who is known as the Great Naturalist? A nacheralist is a man who knows all about animals and butterflies and plans and rocks an all. Doctor Dolittle is known as the Great Naturalist. 3) What was Tommy feeling when he was standing in the dark at the doctors house? He was feeling a little afraid because of all the noise and he could feel animals that he couldnt identify moving around him and sitting on his feet. 4) What language is the doctor just beginning to learn in Chapter 4? the language of the shellfish 5) Who are Jip, Polynesia, and Chee-Chee? Why are they important? Jip is the dog, Polynesia is the parrot, and Chee-Chee is the monkey; they are important because they are main characters who take the voyage to Spidermonkey Island with Tommy, Doctor Dolittle, and Bumpo 6) Why does the doctor go with Tommy to his home on the night they met? To look at the sick squirrel and decide how to care for it 7) Why is Doctor Dolittle disappointed with the Wiff-Waff? Because he knows only a few, simple words and is unable to give Doctor Dolittle any information about life as a shellfish 8) What question does Polynesia ask of Tommy when theyre discussing his ability to learn animal languages? Are you a good noticer? She talks about the powers of observation and how important it is for understanding animal languages. 9) Why do the other birds in the garden laugh at Cheapside? Because Cheapside is from London and all the country birds laugh at him because he chirps with a Cockney accent. 10) Doctor Dolittle says that he would not keep lions and tigers even if he could. Why? Because he believes that lions and tigers never take to captivity and are never happy they miss the big countries that they left behind. 11) Who teaches Tommy how to understand bird and dog language? Polynesia 12) What decision does Tommy make about his future? He decides to become a naturalist 13) What disguise did Chee-Chee use to travel to England from Africa? A big straw hat and a long skirt that dragged the ground 14) Was Chee-Chees voyage awful or pleasurable? Awful, he had to continuously escape from people who were trying to capture him or laughing at him; he had to travel a long way by foot 15) What are the reasons that Tommys parents agree to allow him to become the doctors assistant? The agreement is made on a trial basis if Tommy grows tired of learning how to be a naturalist in two years (when he turns 12) the time will not be lost for him to learn another trade in order to make a living; also during this time, the doctor will teach him to read and write. Part 2 1) What is the Curlew? The ship that the Doctor and Tommy purchase from Joe for their voyage to Spidermonkey Island

2) Why do Tommy and Doctor Dolittle go to visit Luke the Hermit? They want him to be the third man in their crew to sail the Curlew. Did they find him? No, Luke is nowhere to be found. 3) What secret did Jip have about Luke? Luke had killed a man many years before in Mexico. Who told him the secret? Bob, Lukes bulldog 4) What does the doctor warn Bob about before going into the courtroom? Not to make any scenes or bite anyone 5) Who is Mendoza? The man who lied about Lukes involvement in the murder of his business partner he had actually intended to kill Luke 6) How does the judge test Doctor Dolittles animal language skills? By having Doctor Dolittle interview his own dog and find out what he had for supper. 7) Describe what really happened on the night when Lukes business partner died. When Luke was pulling his partner, Bluebeard Bill, from the mine, Mendoza was coming up behind Luke with a gun. To get Lukes attention, and to save his life, Bob bit Luke on the leg and Luke let go of the ropes - Bluebeard Bill fell to the bottom of the mine and died. 8) Was Luke the Hermit found innocent or guilty? Innocent 9) Who is the Purple Bird of Paradise? Where is she from? Miranda is from South America; she visits England every summer and carries messages between Doctor Dolittle and Long Arrow 10) Why was Miranda so late in arriving at Doctor Dolittles house? She was searching for Long Arrow because he is missing the only thing she knows is that he was last seen on Spidermonkey Island 11) Describe the game of Blind Travel. Why did Tommy and Doctor Dolittle decide to play it? First, you open the atlas with your eyes closed. Next, you wave a pencil and still without looking stick it down on whatever page has fallen open. They decided to play because they couldnt decide where they wanted to go on their voyage. 12) What is so special about Spidermonkey Island? Its a floating island. Part 3 1) Who is the third man who is hired to complete the crew of the Curlew? Bumpo 2) What special job did each person have to do in those first few hours of sailing? Bumpo was down below making dinner; Doctor was at the wheel, Jip was watching for floating wrecks, sandbars, and other dangers; Chee-Chee was coiling up ropes in the stern; Polynesia was taking the seas temperature with a bath thermometer (check for icebergs); and Tommy was fastening down the things on deck 3) How many stowaways were on the boat? 3 Who were they and why did they stowaway? The first one found was Matthew he stowed away because he had so wanted to join the voyage on the Curlew; the other two were Luke the Hermit and his wife they had hidden on the ship to get away from all the people who wanted to congratulate them, they wanted to start fresh where not so many people knew their story 4) Who is Ben Butcher and why is he such a nuisance? Ben Butcher was a seaman who first offered to be the third man of the Curlew crew but Doctor Dolittle refused him because seaman are so often know-it-alls Doctor Dolittle prefers to do things his way. Ben is a nuisance because he has stowed away on the Curlew and eaten half the food stores that had been brought.

5) What is Polynesias plan to trap Ben Butcher so he doesnt eat all their food stores? The plan is to trap and lock him in the dining room until they reach the Capa Blancas islands. 6) What were Tommys thoughts about his parents at the end of Chapter 6? That he felt sorry for them because they were content to live the same life every day with no adventure. 7) What did Doctor Dolittle wager with Don Enrique Cardenas? Doctor Dolittle gambled that he could win a bullfight and if he did, Don Enrique was to put an end to bullfights in Monteverde for the rest of his life. 8) What was the secret behind the great bullfight? No one in Monteverde knew that Doctor Dolittle could communicate with animals. 9) Why did the crew have to leave Monteverde so quickly? The people of Monteverde were angry that Doctor Dolittle had won the bullfight and ended bullfighting. Part 4 1) Why is the doctor so excited about the figit? He spoke English words. 2) Summarize the figits story. (See Chapter 2) Why did he know how to speak English? He had lived in an aquarium for 13 months. 3) What happens to Tommy in the storm? He is knocked unconscious and he wakes up alone tied to a piece of broken ship. 4) Who finds Tommy? Miranda Who helps him return to the others? The porpoises push the piece of boat with their noses. 5) What trouble did the crew run into when reaching Spidermonkey Island? The Indians; they could not speak English and had never seen a white man, they were afraid. 6) What was so important about the Jabizri beetle that Doctor Dolittle caught? The beetle had a piece of leaf tied to his leg. It was a note from Long Arrow. 7) How does the crew find the covered cave opening? They follow the beetle all the way around the mountain to see where he goes in. Part 5 1) How did the crew move the huge slab of rock that had fallen in front of the opening? They dug at the bottom into the soft earth to make the slab fall down. 2) Even though the families are saved, the island still faces a serious problem. What is it? The island is caught in a current that is carrying is south into the cold climate and the plants, animals, and people are starting to die. 3) What does Doctor Dolittle show the Indians that allowed them to get warm? Fire 4) Who tells Doctor Dolittle about how the island floats? The porpoises explained that long ago when the island had broken off of South America, the hollow inside of the island got filled with air and was trapped inside. 5) Who are the Terrible Three? Describe each. Doctor Dolittle, the Englishman, was round like a bee; Long Arrow, the Indian, had a mountain of height; and Bumpo, the African, was dark as night 6) How did the Popsipetels win the battle against the Bag-jagderags? The black parrots would land on the heads of the Bag-jagderags and clip snips out of their ears. 7) Who gives the speech of peace in the City of Bag-jadgerag? Doctor Dolittle

8) Why is Doctor Dolittle worried about the hanging stone? He worries that if the stone were to fall that it is large enough to cause a break in the center of the island where the air is trapped and sink the island. 9) Who is elected King of Spidermonkey Island? Doctor Dolittle 10) What name do the Indians give to Doctor Dolittle? Jong Thinkalot 11) What happened to the island? The hanging stone fell and caused the air to escape from the center of the island, the air escaped and the island sank a few hundred feet into the ocean and was never again a floating island. Part 6 1) What were some of the responsibilities that King Jong had on a daily basis? a. Settling disputes about lands and boundaries b. Making peace between husbands and wives c. Passing judgment on cases brought before him in the Hall of Justice d. Taught school e. Road making f. Building water mills g. Attending to the sick 2) What did the crew discuss at their cabinet meeting in Chapter 2? Talking about returning home and when or if that was going to happen 3) What type of information about the plants had Long Arrow collected? Facts about their medicinal qualities. 4) While Polynesia and Tommy are on the beach talking, what appeared before them? The Great Glass Sea Snail (known to sailers as The Sea Serpent) 5) Why had the snail come to rest on the sandbar? It needed a place to rest because it had hurt its tail. What mystery was solved? Doctor Dolittle was finally able to learn the language of the shellfish. 6) Describe Polynesias plan to get the Doctor away from Spidermonkey Island. (See Chapter 6) 7) How does the story end? The snail travels along the ocean floor from South America to England with Tommy, Doctor Dolittle, Bumbo, Polynesia, Jip, and Chee-Chee inside his shell. He dropped them at the mouth of the Puddleby River. The story ends with everyone heading back to the doctors house to get in out of the cold rain.