The Summer of the Monkeys

The novel "The Summer of the Monkeys" written by Wilson Rawls introduced me to a character who passed from being an egocentric poor boy to a generous and loving one. He comes from an extremely poor family that lived in northern Oklahoma on a farm called Cherokee land because it was in the middle of the Cherokee Nation. The boy is called Jay Berry and he dreamed only about getting a pony and a .22. He has a sister that was born with a crippled leg, when he collects the money to buy the pony and the gun he has a sudden change of mind and feelings and decides to helps his sister by giving up his money to his mom and dad to pay for an operation to fix his sister's leg. He passed from being an egocentric boy to a generous and loving boy.

Throughout the novel the reader will be able to see how Jay Berry begins to change and become a better person. A common thought in his head was "I've been wanting a pony and a .22 ever since the day I was born. Every boy in the hills has a pony and a gun, but me. But things like that cost so much money, it doesn't look like I'll ever have them." (20.) Ever since his grandpa told him that the twenty-nine monkeys he found in the bottoms were from a circus and there was a big reward for them, he

The fact that talking about it made him feel bad shows me he has interest and cares about her, but at the moment he can't figure out a way to help her.

only thought about catching them, collecting the money, and buying his pony and .22. It is clear to the reader that Jay Berry can only think about selfish, superficial things in the beginning of the novel instead of his family's needs, such as the operation to his sister's leg.

Throughout the book, Jay Berry passes from being an egocentric boy to a generous and loving one. Before he realized how much his family needed him he could only think about buying a pony and a .22. When he finally collects enough money to buy what he had always dreamed of he uses it wisely and gives it to his sister so she can have her leg straightened up. Instead of having using that money for himself, as an egocentric boy would have done, he gave it to his sister, as a generous and loving brother, to get her leg fixed. "I had never seen my sister so happy. It made me feel good all over." (p.290) demonstrated me and assured me that for the rest of his life he will never forget what good he did to his family, specially to his sister, that summer. He will always remember that summer as "The Summer of the Monkeys".

Near the end of the novel Jay Berry feels proud of what he did and never regrets having given the money to his sister. One of the most important parts of the book is when he is waiting for his sister to get off the train to see how she is doing and how her leg is after the operation. He admits, "As I stood there, looking at Daisy, I knew that I would never regret giving up my pony. It was all worth it. My little sister wasn't cripple any more." (282) All his hard work to catch those monkeys helped his sister and his family to come together and work hard to achieve their dream. Jay Berry is no longer egocentric, but now he is a generous and loving boy.

As the novel moved on I noticed that Jay Berry began to change a little when he was talking with his grandma about his sister because it was the first time in the novel when he actually gave a little thought to his sister's leg he said,

At this point Jay Berry has completely changed into a generous and loving boy instead. He has decided to let go of his dream of getting the pony and gun and help his sister. His love toward his family made him change his mind because he realized that his sister's leg was way more important to him than what he was going to buy. He's left behind his selfishness and immaturity and realizes now that the world about more than his own desires.

Rowdy, I can't buy this pony. I just can't. If I did buy her, I could never ride her. Every time I got on her back, I'd think of my little sister and that old crippled leg of hers. That's what Grandpa was trying to tell me. He wanted me to give the money to