Bongo The Space Ape

431 Words2 Pages
In the book I Am a Magical Teenage Princess, Luke Geddes exquisitely writes the tale of Bongo, a once renowned ape. When Bongo was young he was taken from the Liberian jungle to entertain in a second rate circus without hope of being recognized for his genuine talent. Everything changes once Bongo is purchased by Sal, a hopeful actor and movie producer, for his TV series concept. Sal’s show “Bongo the Space Ape” acquires incredible success, soon Bongo’s face is branded on advertisements, cigarettes, and merchandise of vast variety. Private jets, filet mignon, and meeting famous celebrities are all perks of Sal and Bongo’s sudden stardom. But fast forward 50 years and everyone has forgotten about the legendary Bongo except for Sal, who…show more content…
No one wanted to watch trained apes on TV anymore. All the other animal actors were sold to research and cosmetic companies. But will these new shows still be popular in 50 years? Or will they also be replaced and forgotten? Society’s demands and wishes are unpredictable, fame is fleeting. But Bongo and Sal share an inseparable, authentic, lasting bond that make the roller-coaster of a ride they experienced worth it. They have spent almost their whole lives together and now are effectively dying together, both old and decrepit. Their friendship is tested time after time by struggles they face such as Bongo developing diabetes and Sal’s bloody coughing. Friendship is priceless and longstanding The beginning of Bongo’s life story has striking similarities to that of the Native Americans in our country. Circus workers pulled him out of his natural habitat and culture and forced him to adopt a “human” lifestyle and dream “human” dreams, much like how explorers came and forced Indians to take up English ways for everything from clothing to language. In the same way, people made Bongo so dependent on humans that he could never be released back into the wild. And the Indians were robbed of their livelihood never able to return to their rich traditions and celebrations. Unfair advantage was taken of both of these groups and the death of a culture and can be blamed on the first settlers and circus
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    book I Am a Magical Teenage Princess, Luke Geddes brilliantly writes the tale of Bongo, a once renowned ape. At 3 months old, Bongo was taken from the Liberian jungle to entertain in a second rate circus without hope of being recognized for his genuine talent. Everything changed once Bongo was purchased by Jon, an up-and-coming actor and movie producer, for his TV series concept. Jon’s show “Bongo the Space Ape” became incredibly successful, and soon magazine covers, cigarette cartons and various

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