The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle Study Questions

Overall Literary Questions 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) Part 1 Who are Tommys three great friends in Puddleby? Name and describe each. What is a naturalist? Who is known as the Great Naturalist? What was Tommy feeling when he was standing in the dark at the doctors house? What language is the doctor just beginning to learn in Chapter 4? Who are Jip, Polynesia, and Chee-Chee? Why are they important? Why does the doctor go with Tommy to his home? Why is Doctor Dolittle disappointed with the Wiff-Waff? What question does Polynesia ask of Tommy when theyre discussing his ability to learn animal languages? 9) Why do the other birds in the garden laugh at Cheapside? 10) Doctor Dolittle says that he would not keep lions and tigers even if he could. Why? 11) Who teaches Tommy how to understand bird and dog language? 12) What decision does Tommy make about his future? 13) What disguise did Chee-Chee use to travel to England from Africa? 14) Was Chee-Chees voyage awful or pleasurable? 15) What are the reasons that Tommys parents agree to allow him to become the doctors assistant? Part 2 1) What is the Curlew? 2) Why do Tommy and Doctor Dolittle go to visit Luke the Hermit? Did they find him? 3) What secret did Jip have about Luke? Who told him the secret? 4) What does the doctor warn Bob about before going into the courtroom? 5) Who is Mendoza? 6) How does the judge test Doctor Dolittles animal language skills? 7) Describe what really happened on the night when Lukes business partner died. 8) Was Luke the Hermit found innocent or guilty? 9) Who is the Purple Bird of Paradise? Where is she from? 10) Why was Miranda so late in arriving at Doctor Dolittles house? 11) Describe the game of Blind Travel. Why did Tommy and Doctor Dolittle decide to play it? 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) Who is the narrator of the story? Name and describe the main characters. How many settings are described in the book? List each one. From what point of view is the story told? Does the author use suspense throughout the story? If so, describe an instance. What is the theme?

12) What is so special about Spidermonkey Island? Part 3 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) Part 4 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) Part 5 1) How did the crew move the huge slab of rock that had fallen in front of the opening? 2) Even though the families are saved, the island still faces a serious problem. What is it? 3) What does Doctor Dolittle show the Indians that allowed them to get warm? 4) Who tells Doctor Dolittle about how the island floats? 5) Who are the Terrible Three? Describe each. 6) How did the Popsipetels win the battle against the Bag-jagderags? 7) Who gives the speech of peace in the City of Bag-jadgerag? 8) Why is Doctor Dolittle worried about the hanging stone? 9) Who is elected King of Spidermonkey Island? 10) What name do the Indians give to Doctor Dolittle? 11) What happened to the island? Part 6 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) What were some of the responsibilities that King Jong had on a daily basis? What did the crew discuss at their cabinet meeting in Chapter 2? What type of information about the plants had Long Arrow collected? While Polynesia and Tommy are on the beach talking, what appeared before them? Why had the snail come to rest on the sandbar? What mystery was solved? Describe Polynesias plan to get the Doctor away from Spidermonkey Island. How does the story end? Why is the doctor so excited about the figit? Summarize the figits story. Why did he know how to speak English? What happens to Tommy in the storm? Who finds Tommy? Who helps him return to the others? What trouble did the crew run into when reaching Spidermonkey Island? What was so important about the Jabizri beetle that Doctor Dolittle caught? How does the crew find the covered cave opening? Who is the third man who is hired to complete the crew of the Curlew? What special job did each person have to do in those first few hours of sailing? How many stowaways were on the boat? Who were they and why did they stowaway? Who is Ben Butcher and why is he such a nuisance? What is Polynesias plan to trap Ben Butcher so he doesnt eat all their food stores? What were Tommys thoughts about his parents at the end of Chapter 6? What did Doctor Dolittle wager with Don Enrique Cardenas? What was the secret behind the great bullfight? Why did the crew have to leave Monteverde so quickly?